 |
| Acting President Yemi Osinbajo |
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said hard work and
not praying and fasting alone can develop Nigeria’s economy.
He said men and women with patriotic zeal built the great economies,
adding that they were not spirits.
Prof. Osinbajo spoke during an interactive session with
senior civil servants on how the Executive Orders he signed on the ease of
doing business would operate.
He urged them to ensure that all hands were put on the deck
to revive the economy.
Osinbajo urged Nigerians to launch vigorously into
agriculture, especially rice production, to boost food security.
His words: “Great economies and great nations, prosperity
and abundance of nations and communities are created by men and not spirits. No
matter how much you pray or fast, our country cannot grow without some of us
deciding to do the hard work that makes nations work.
“I am a pastor, a spiritual person, and I understand the law
of sowing and reaping. It is a spiritual law that has tremendous physical
implications. Every time that we delay or frustrate what we can do today
leaving it till tomorrow, we hold back the future. We too must reap what we
have sown by experiencing delays. If you help others to achieve, if you help
your nation; you have sown good seeds, you will find help and you will prosper
too.
“So, don’t see this as a government policy. Understand it as
a personal policy.”
He said the executive order would address an issue, which
President Muhamadu Buhari has described as a cornerstone of the country’s
economic policy – The Buy and Use Nigeria Policy.
“The President said at the launch of the Economic Recovery
and Growth Plan that we must grow what we eat and make what we use.
“Just to give an example, we eat a lot of rice and we import
most of it. Yet we can grow enough rice to serve Africa. So, we started a
self-sufficiency in rice,” he said.
Warning civil servants against stifling businesses by
delaying registration, he said civil servants were strategic to making the
executive work.
The Acting President said: “Every generation of people owes
the next generation a debt. That debt is paid by ensuring that we provide for the
means for the next generation to survive. Or at least we have a duty to ensure
that we do not destroy the means of survival and prosperity of the next
generation. But there are some people in every generation, who have a special
burden, a more important role than others in preparing for present prosperity
and future abundance.
“This group of people is called public servants. I have
served in the public service most of my adult life. As a university teacher,
adviser to Federal Minister and Attorney General, I earned a salary. So, I
understand how salary increases can be such good news. But most importantly, I
learnt of the power of the public service to change the social, economic and
political story of a nation.
“The power house of the economy, the fastest and most
efficient job creators are private businesses – both small and large
investments, local and foreign. Everyone who starts a business, invests in an
existing business or expands a going
concern, creates opportunities for jobs, jobs mean money in people’s pockets.
It means that whole families can survive, live well and pay taxes, so that
government can continue to provide services, build schools, hospitals, roads
and other infrastructure.
“But small or large businesses cannot be created or can be
frustrated out of existence, if the environment for doing business in a country
is harsh or difficult. It is the public service that provides the services that
determine whether the business environment will be friendly and welcoming for
business or whether it will drive away business and destroy opportunities for
job creation.
“When I say public service, I mean the executive, judiciary
and the legislature.”
Osinbajo said: “So, when a potential business owner wants to
register a company, collect tax clearance certificate or obtain National Agency
for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) registration or Standards
Organisation of Nigeria (SON) certification, expatriate quotas, any other
papers, approvals or certification from government and we do not willingly and
efficiently help him or her, we are killing the jobs and prosperity that he
would have created.
“Every time we say come back next week to someone for
something we can do today, we postpone prosperity of one person, but in
reality, we postpone the prosperity of so many who would have earned something
from the business. So, every time that a public officer is an obstacle to
business in any way, he attacks the prosperity of our economy and he attacks
our future because it means our children cannot find jobs.”
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Okechukwu
Enalemah said promoting transparency and efficiency in business environment was
key to realising the objectives of the orders.
He urged the civil servants to imbibe the culture of
discipline and transparency.
0 comments:
Post a Comment