A former governor of Osun State and pioneer chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, has identified the inability of successive governments to have development plans for critical sectors of the economy as the bane of Nigeria’s development.
Akande who stated this in Akure, Ondo state capital, during a lecture organised to mark the 97th birthday of the Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, said the incoming government of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu would put in place a development plan of between 20 to 50 years to end the underdevelopment in the country.
He stated that Nigeria is a failed nation because of the inability to plan for the future and said “We fail to plan and, yet, we are surprised that we fail in almost all sectors as we are all lapsing into generations of plan-less hypocrites.
” I can assure you, that was not what we inherited. In this same country, we use to have a five-year capital development plan and a seven-year capital development plan. Now we only plan for the immediate next election!
“We thank God that this time around; Nigerians have elected a leader who has planned for a long time to be our President. Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu is a well-known person to Baba Fasoranti and he is also an inheritor of the Awoist legacy of planning and integrity.
“When Tinubu was Governor of Lagos State, he did not just plan for his eight years in office; he did a Master Plan for Lagos State which has since been running for more than the past 20 years and which has transformed the city-state into the powerhouse of the Nigerian economy.
“Therefore, it is right and necessary to expect a 20 or 50 years master plan for Nigeria from President Tinubu which would transform this blessed country into a great one.”
The pioneer APC chairman noted that the President of the country cannot be the sole agent of change and that all good patriots need to get involved and keep all hands on deck. He said Nigerians need to align modernity with their development.
He blamed the love of foreign goods for the rate of unemployment and economic downturn in the country and said “We cannot be in love with the products of modernity like cars, telephones and air travels while we continue to live in dreadful underdevelopment.
“But presently, to our collective shame, almost all the cars on Nigerian roads are imported. We import foods, wines, spirits, clothing, perfume, body sprays, toothpick and toiletries and then turn around to complain that the Naira is not strong.
“Let us, as followers, make the Naira strong by changing our ways. Let us learn to make our own cars, produce our own food, drink our own wine and wear our own cloths because those individuals, corporate entities or countries, who think deep daily, plan meticulously and work assiduously towards the realization of their plans would continue to devise all means to confuse, exploit and enslave the lazy, fun-loving and plan-less pleasure seekers.
“Every member of this audience has a telephone set. Some people may even have two or three. If you look outside, you will see the latest cars manufactured in Europe, Asia and America.
“Most of us are wearing dresses made in other countries, especially in Europe and Asia. Some of our women are wearing discarded hair from Asian or South American women. We love foreign wine and foreign cuisine. Yet, we complain.”
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