54 Nza Street, Independent Layout, Enugu State,...
Transcript of 54 Nza Street, Independent Layout, Enugu State,...
AFRICAN HERITAGE
INSTITUTION
54 Nza Street, Independent Layout,
Enugu State, Nigeria.www.afriheritage.org
“Ending Poverty in Nigeria:
Using What we Have to Get What
we Want”
THE BIG IDEAS PODIUM
by
His Excellency
Donald Duke
Former Governor of Cross-River State, Nigeria
5TH October, 2017
OUR MISSION AND VISION
A not-for-profit, non-partisan and independent
organization devoted to economic research,
capacity building and networking with its
corporate headquarters located in Enugu, South
Eastern part of Nigeria. Our VISION is a
Renascent Africa that is democratic, prosperous
and a major player in the global economy. Our
MISSION is to provide intellectual leadership in
helping Nigeria and Africa think through the
emerging economic renaissance.
Biography of Donald Duke
Donald Duke was born on 30th September, 1961, in Calabar, Cross River State, to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Etim Duke, as the fourth child in a family of five. He had his early education at Corona and St. Mary’s schools respectively in Lagos. He also attended Federal Government Colleges in Ilorin and Sokoto, and later went to the Federal School of Arts and Science, Lagos for his ‘A’ level. He graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria as a lawyer in 1982, and was called to the Bar in 1983 afterhis one year stint at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos. His quest for higher degree took him to the University of Pennsylvania, USA, where he obtained L.L.M. in Business Law and Admiralty in 1984.Having been sufficiently grounded and exposed in academics, business, law and its practices in the United States, he returnedto Nigeria and together with some associates established a law firm - Onyia and Duke, based in Lagos. He later assumed full leadership of the family’s shipping business by becoming the Chief Executive of Hegeds International Limited.Donald Duke’s journey into public service dates back to 1991 when he was appointed into the Board of Voice of Nigeria. This was followed by his appointment as Commissioner of Finance, Budget and Planning by the then Governor of Cross River State, Clement Ebri. In 1999, he contested election under the Peoples democratic Party and was elected Governor of Cross River State, and in 2003,
he was re-elected. Amongst his achievements as governor of Cross River State, he is remembered for his vast contributions to Agriculture, good governance, environment, information and communications; urban development and most especially unit investment and tourism. He introduced an International Mountain Race at the Obudu Mountain Resort. The race grew to become one of the most lucrative mountain running competitions in the world under his stewardship. In 2005, he created a special reserve fund for the state meant to “hedge against economic downturn, and the inevitable rainy day”. He initiated theTinapa Resort project as a way to boost business and tourism in the state. Most importantly, the Calabar carnival -- which, today, has become an international brand on the calendar of global tourism, arts and culture -- owes its emergence, popularity and packaging to the visionary leadership of this astute Nigerian. Donald Duke’s unending desire and strong passion to reduce poverty in Nigeria can be captured in one of his “words on marble”: “What got the military out of power was not democracy but the dreadful state of the economy. If we, the democratic government, cannot deliver food for the mass of people we can forget about democracy”
PROGRAMME OF EVENT08.00am - 9.00am Arrival and Registration
9.30am - 10.00am Introduction of Dignitaries – Communications Mgr.
10.00am – 10.05am Welcome Remarks -- Prof. Ufo Okeke-Uzodike, Executive
Director, African Heritage Institution
10.05am – 10.10am Opening Comments – Prof. Michael O. Ezenwa
10.10am – 11.10am Presentation – H.E. Donald Duke
11.10am – 11.25am Discussant 1: Prof. (Mrs) Stella Okunna
11.25am – 11.40am Discussant 2: Prof. Josephine Alumuna
12.20pm - 2.20pm Comments, Questions and Answers – Participants
(Not exceeding 3 minutes per person)
2.20pm – 2.25pm Vote of Thanks – Dr. Onyeukwu E. Onyeukwu
2.25pm – 2.30pm Group Photograph of Panellists
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mGAQ
Moderator
Professor Michael Ezenwa
A professor of Clinical psychology,
Associate Dean, School of Postgraduate
Studies,
Nnamdi Azikiwe University,
Awka, Anambra State.
President-elect,
Nigerian Psychology Association
❖To mitigate the disaster that has beenwrought upon this nation over the years, besides VISION, there are two other fundamentals:
✓ WILL
and
✓ STRATEGY
It is important I state this clearly at the very outset, for what has befallen us is not a lack of vision, but the “will” and “strategy”
in equal measure.
We have several examples to show, ‘housing for all by the year 2000’, ‘vision 2010’, ‘vision 2020’, ‘vision 20,20,20’. All ambitious clichés, but hollow in execution because neither the will exists and or the strategy for implementation is befuddled.
Comically, the National Bureau of Statistics states the national unemployment rate at 14.2%. This is comical because even the uniformed knows that perhaps seven out of ten
folks you meet are either unemployed
or under employed.
The same bureau states that our national inflation rate is at 16.25%, which is considered too high. In other words there is too much money in circulation. My question is where is this money, because most folks I know, don't have a dime, whilst a very few have too much.
And to my mind, inflation in the context of Nigeria is a fancy word for “government’s failure or inability
to properly distribute wealth”
The government adjudges its ability to manage the economy on how low it can keep the exchange rate, which is attractive to their wealthy acolytes, rather than how many jobs are created in the real sectors of the economy.
Simply put, we run a“wacko economy”,
designed to create jobs and opportunities in foreign countries.
In all these, we are sitting on a bombwhich is gradually detonating but we fail to appreciate this because the fizzles
are far away - Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, the Creeks, areas with little access, so they
are like fizzles along the cord of a dynamite running towards the bomb while we twiddle. As we will soon see, Lagos and Abuja are not that far off.
The perfect definition of what Nigeria has become, so pathetic that our elites seek
and indeed encourage education and health services abroad. And only an unparalleled WILL, such that we have
never been able to muster from independence can achieve this
In a bottom up economy, the citizens are gainfully employed and government generates revenue largely through
taxation. In other words the government is funded by the people, or
stated succinctly, the government’s wellbeing is dependent on the
productivity of the people
Here in Nigeria, we operate a “rent seeking economy”,
rents and duties are obtained by the government and then government tries to infuse or monetize the economy top
down
Let's pause for a moment and consider a country where flared gas is processed and piped nationwide as a subsidy (even free) for productive investment, helping ameliorate other hardships experienced
in doing business in a difficult environment
Averagely, it cost about $1m per kilometer of pipeline or $5b for a
national grid, perhaps a bit more giving allowance for terrain and our indigenous factors. This is less than a quarter of our
oil earnings or about same amount in remittances overseas for education and healthcare annually. Or starkly, less the
amount used for food imports
The logic here is that this flared gas could be used to fuel our economic
growth, catalyse productivity, increase GDP, increase employment and make
goods made in Nigeria globally competitive
Nigeria's finance sector is bedevilled principally by two twin evils:
▪ High interest rate and
▪ short tenured finances
The former is as a result of an assumed high inflation rate and cost of
doing business and the latter, the unavailability of credits due to
low savings. Both reasons are assumed and to my mind, a fallacy of policy makers
They simple buy treasury bills and at 18% risk free, they declare lavish profits,
fly private jets, promote themselves on television as tomorrows people, all at the expense of the nation and her economy.
Classic case of “if mugu no fall,
guy man no go chop”!
To strengthen the economy certain measures need be in place:
1. Our tax system: Our taxation system is so haphazard, discretionary and confusing that it is a major
disincentive for investment.2. Encouraging, widening and enforcement of
insurance will also creates a vast pool of funds that will further ensure the availability of credit and the application
of pension funds in particularly safe sectors such as low and mid level housing. Nigeria has a housing shortage of
twenty million. This portends a huge opportunity to stimulate employment and manufacturing in the housing
industry
Aggressively pursuing a housing program of up to 2 million units in new towns using alternate building methods as the Nigerian Navy has done in Calabar could easily create as much as 10/15 million skilled and
unskilled jobs
Our national focus should be in four broad sectors.
• SKILLS
• HEALTH, • INFRASTRUCTURE and• TECHNOLOGY
Ensuring that every Nigerian is skilled, has access to healthcare, the requisite infrastructure to further his
aspirations and the basic technological knowhow to function
in a digital world should be our current national mission statement
Discussant I
Professor Chinyere Stella
OKUNNA
A professor of Mass Communications, former Commissioner for
Information and Economic Planning & Budget respectively. She also
served as Chief of Staff, in Ananbra State.
She is at present, the Dean, Faculty of the Social Sciences, Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.
She also doubles as the Director, UNIZIK Radio, 94.1 FM
Discussant II
Professor Josephine
Nkiru-edna Alumanah
Formerly of the Department of Sociology/Anthropology Executive Director of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) ‘Action in
Distress (AID) Foundation’, with offices in Nsukka in Enugu State and Asaba in Delta State.
The NGO undertakes among other programmes Human Rights and Poverty Alleviation; Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights; Gender Democracy and
Good Governance; Library Services and Documentation; and Evidence-based Research.
Professor Josephine Alumanah is a member of the International Committee for October 17, whose main goal is to promote the International day for the
Eradication of Poverty.