Chidoka reviews Nigeria’s economic growth, hopeful on better nation

THE Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka, at the weekend said that despite the present difficulties the country is facing, Nigeria is seen by the whole world as a country that holds great opportunities for her citizens with projections that its economy would continue to grow at the rate of over six per cent for the next 20 years.

   Chidoka, who stated this when he delivered the 44th Convocation Lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) titled: “Rebuilding the Nigerian Dream: Mapping the Building Blocks”, said that Nigeria has highly-skilled and hardworking people with huge natural resources and large population that make the country a big market for goods and services which are key areas that would serve as stimulant to her economic growth.

  He stated that Nigerians are fastidious and therefore have the tendency to criticise their country even when it is unnecessary, adding that although that attitude is seemingly wrong but it spurs the citizens and government to do things better.

  “The most virulent critics of Nigeria are Nigerians. When two or three Nigerians are gathered, their topic is usually Nigeria: Its missed opportunities, its poor outcomes and, particularly, the giant strides of other countries. A few years ago, Nigerians celebrated one year of no blackouts in Ghana. Even though no such celebration took place in Ghana.

  “They talked about how the Ghana Cedi was equivalent to the U.S. Dollar even though it was just a decimalisation. Now that Cedi has turned out to be one of the world’s worst-performing currencies, losing nearly 300 per cent of its value within a couple of months, and blackouts have become a common feature in Ghana as its budget deficit balloons, the Nigerian media has curiously kept silent. I don’t see any media commentaries on the fact that Ghana has fallen back to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

(Talley, 2014), and indeed to Nigeria, for assistance,” Chidoka said.

  He remarked that Nigeria has great opportunities that ensure a better future for its citizens, noting that these opportunities should be harnessed by young Nigerians who should be creative and make use of any chance that comes their way, adding that the country has huge potentials to be great.