GOVERNOR Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has explained that he did not attack the founder of Microsoft, Mr Bill Gate over Nigeria’s economic recovery and growth plan.This was even as he insisted that Gate got it wrong in his opinion on which tier of government should investment in education and healthcare.
Speaking during the closing of the Kaduna Investment Summit (KADINVEST 3.0) on Thursday said though, there is nothing wrong in attacking Bill Gate, but he never did, but merely put things in context.
This was also as, Minister of Transport, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi who also spoke at the event urged investors not to be dismayed by pockets of kidnapping in parts of the country, saying that investments can be used to end kidnapping in the country.
According to El-Rufai, “Coming to the economic recovery growth plan, we were all involved in it as state governments and we all keyed into it. The whole idea is that we internalise the plan and support the macro plan. That is what we are doing in Kaduna. We have our own development plan which aligns with the Federal Government economic recovery growth plan.
“A few weeks ago, when Microsoft founder Bill Gate came to Nigeria and appealed to the Nigerian government to invest more in education, I made a comment that was reported widely as attacking Bill Gate. It was not an attack on Bill Gate, it merely putting things in the contest.
“Mr Gate observed that, in the economic recovery and growth plan, there was not enough money for human capital development, for Health and Education and I did not disagree. What I merely pointed out is that the economic recovery and growth plan has numbers that reflected Federal Government’s investment in health and education.
“But the federal government only dealt with tertiary education and healthcare to a large extent. The bulk of education and healthcare investment are subnational because of primary education, junior secondary education and primary health care where most of the problems are, are all within the purview of state government, just like secondary healthcare are all under the state government.
“What I told Mr Gate is that you have identified the problem correctly, but you are looking at the wrong tier of government to handle it. The state and local governments have the responsibilities to invest in education and healthcare. So, it is up to state governments to invest more in education and healthcare and I gave an example of what we are doing in Kaduna and also urged my colleagues, the Governors to do same. Because, unless the state governments do so, the country will be clapping with one hand.
“That is what I said, but it was misrepresented to mean that, I was attacking Bill Gate. There is nothing wrong with attacking Bill Gate, we can differ, but that is not what I happened, I merely explained the context, where the investment should be.
“But, I must add that, Bill Gate is a big partner, he has invested $1.6billion in Nigeria. And a large percentage of that money was invested in Kaduna State. I will not disclose how much, because other states will be envious.” El-Rufai explained.
Amaechi praised the Kaduna people for their activism in social media, saying that it indicates how educated they are. “In the past, none of you can send a video to a minister, now you don’t only send, you direct me on what to do.
“Last week, I got a video though I don’t know locomotive that brought people to Kaduna has lost power. Somebody sent me the video to show how much they are sweating. I responded immediately by forwarding that same video to the Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation asking him to confirm. He got back to me to say one of our locomotives was bad and that it will be fixed immediately.
“So, I urged you to continue on that line of being active by making us accountable to you because without you there is no government. Without the Kaduna people there is no Malam el-Rufai and without the Kaduna people there is no Buhari.”
Speaking on why the railway fare was increased, Amaechi said government subsidize rail transportation with N40 million monthly, “some of you confronted me asking why should we increase the cost of transportation of the railway.
“All of you rich men were enjoying subsidy, for each locomotive, we spend N56 million. When we were charging you N600 we were getting N16 million. So all you big men, we are dashing you N40 million per month. So you take N40 million and you give us N16 million out of the N56 million.
“Actually rich men use the train but the actual intent of the President is to allow us to move the poor people from Kaduna to Abuja. But if you go to Idu Railway station or Rigasa Railway station, you will see big men park their cars and use the train by that chasing away the poor men.
“Since we discovered big men are using the railway, we jacked up the price.
This is what is called appropriate pricing. So we price according to your pocket.
“But this doesn’t affect our subsidy because we still subsidise our railway.
There is nowhere in the world that you don’t subsidize the railway. Yesterday there was a strike in France by railway workers because, by the time their President looked at the debt portfolio, he realized they can sack him as president, so he needs to reform the railway.
“Railways can only make money courtesy of cargo and there is no much cargo from Kaduna to Abuja. Though Malam el-Rufai doesn’t agree with me when I make this argument.
“The only thing I can say in support of Malam el-Rufai is that we may not make money now but in future when the investors come and development commences that is when you see the movement of goods from either Abuja to Kaduna or from Kaduna to Abuja and that time is now,” the minister added.
and then