President Buhari's Jobs Search written by Garba Shehu, SSA Media & Publicity to Pres. Buhari
The ongoing ministerial briefing of the President at the State House,
Abuja, put a spotlight on an important sector long neglected by previous
administrations, yet one that can create millions of jobs.
The first briefing of a President by the Ministry of Science and
Technology and its parastatal organization, the National Agency for
Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, over a period of many
years showcased opportunities and the enormous achievements made in the
invention, fabrication and assembly of capital products for the
sustainable industrialization of the country.
A matter for serious concern for President Muhammadu Buhari, who
campaigned on a promise to create jobs is the paucity of investments in
industry, without which there can be no new jobs or incomes.
Experts have warned a long time ago that Nigeria has been frittering away its demographic dividend.
Sixty-five
percent (65%) of the country’s population is made up of youth, and a
majority of whom are said to be jobless. The President has been quick to
see the danger which he describes as the next most potent for the
nation after Boko Haram.
In fairness to them, it is not as if past governments hadn’t seen this problem coming.
The
difference President Buahari wants to make can only succeed by moving
away for past measures with only palliative effect on youth
unemployment.
President Buhari has often spoken
about agriculture, public works, IT, industry and mining as capable of
delivering the quick wins.
Past agricultural practices have had the effect of constricting the definition of farming.
For
agriculture to deliver jobs on the scale the President is looking at,
it has to go beyond cropping and cereals production. The whole concept
has to change.
It is for this reason that the
new administration is seeking to boost livestock,fisheries,
horticulture; geese, duck and bee farming and all that. In the
neighboring Cameroon, export of fresh flowers is a key flank of their
foreign exchange earnings.
Those who patronize
Chinese restaurants know the value of ducks. It is so high in export
value that the few who have tried taking it abroad say it is a money
spinner.
In addition, there is also what they
call medical agriculture. Organic plants are grown and exported such as
the moringa that have herbal and medicinal value with ready markets
everywhere. After listening to the presentation on this sector, the
President’s parting shot, having realized the challenges was “ I’m going
to give you a tough Minister.”
The President
has also been speaking about public works projects, subject to
improvement in the earnings of the government. But he is not oblivious
of the limitations of this line of job-creation. Its absorptive capacity
is limited largely to labour and low in capacity in dealing with
skilled manpower.
When NASENI and the Ministry of Science and Technology came calling, they broached an important issue dear to the President.
They
made presentations to him on home-initiated and home-sustained
industrialization processes through the development of relevant
processes,appropriate local machine designs and machine-building
capacities for capital goods and equipment manufacture that can lead to
job-creation, economic well-being and national development.
The
President was much excited seeing this. He wondered aloud why industry
was not lapping up these local inventions. It was equally clear that the
problems on the part of these important agencies of government agencies
is the lack of capital infusion to move prototypes to capital and
industrial goods. He asked for a one-on-one meeting with the NASENI
Executive Vice Chairman for further briefing.
Successful
economies such the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States got to
where they are today because because they did just this. They encouraged
invention and adaptation through business incubation and the
availability of venture capital. The President spoke about his
enthusiasm for energizing local manufacturing of goods using indigenous
technology as against the wholesale importation of goods and services as
is the current practice.
In response to this
concern came the overwhelming as well as disturbing impression that
Nigeria’s industrialization and growth are being held back by an
industrial sector dominated by foreign interests that are keener on
maintaining home ties than in keying into local patent. For this reason,
private investment using the local patent has remained in the doldrums.
To
change the unwanted situation, government, according to some experts,
has to put its own house in order and look at policies that will drive
up the capacity of industry to employ enmasse. Some even argue for trade
barriers and subsidies since everyone is doing the same.
Government
at the center may consider a national industrial plan in accordance
with national plan objectives and party principles or manifesto. Many
think this is necessary to define priorities and give budget benchmarks
because state government are not always run in a serious or objective
manner. When he saw what NASENI and the other agencies in the science
and tech sector were doing, the President’s question, obviously out both
interest and concern is: have you ever made this type of presentation
to the states? The answer was that only Bauchi and Nassarawa have so far
shown a measure of seriousness.
For such a central plan to
succeed, it must take into account the peculiarities and endowment of
the states. In addition, it should be a “must-implement” for APC states
and optional for those in the hands of the opposition. By this, APC
states can become model states in job creation through innovation and
industrial production. In addition to giving the party relevance, this
plan imposition may have the effect of synergism in national development
efforts.
With his expressed commitment to supporting the science and
technology sector, along with agriculture, mining, IT and industry
through invention and local manufacture, the President has taken a major
step towards fulfilling a key campaign promise, which is to address the
failure of the economy to create jobs.
-Malam Garba Shehu
SSA Media & Publicity to
President Muhammadu Buhari
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