By Tony Udemba
The All Progressives Congress – led federal government has been urged to embrace the on-going call for restructuring of the country. This was the view of Chief Ben Arinze Chinaemelu, a Lagos based industrialist and international businessman. In an interview with Daily Sun in Lagos recently, he stated that restructuring would lead to general socio-economic and infrastructural development of the country, which would in turn stimulate investment potentials of various states and engender massive job creation for Nigerians.
What is your take on the on-going calls for restructuring from different parts of the country?
Sincerely speaking, I don’t see anything wrong with restructuring. For sometimes now I have watched with keen interest the on-going public discussions and arguments on restructuring, and I tend to say that given the amount of debate and interest the issue has generated amongst Nigerians, there is the need for those in authority to urgently set –up the necessary mechanism and platform where Nigerians from across the six geo-political zones can come together and discuss passionately as patriotic citizens, disagree and finally agree on how best to restructure the country in order to guarantee and enthrone justice, fairness, and equity to all Nigerians.
It is imperative for the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to embrace the overwhelming call for restructuring in order to move this country forward. In a situation where you have six geo-political zones in the country and majority of them are calling for restructuring, it becomes necessary for those in authority to listen to them, and do the needful. Even in a marriage between a man and a woman, if one of them comes up with a complaint, it becomes necessary for the other party to listen to the complaint of the partner in order to arrive at an acceptable understanding between them. There is no doubt that this would make their marriage to last longer.
What is your impression about the economic situation in the country?
The truth is that there is hunger in the country and people are suffering. Additionally, the reality before Nigerians in the past few years is that of despair and distraught, as the nation’s economy continue to experience lots of challenges and endless difficulties which has led to the collapse of many businesses across the country.
If you look back at the economic situation in the country some years ago, you will agree with me that since 2015, Nigeria has been grappling from one economic challenge to another, as things grew from worse to worst. It became so pathetic that the forex suddenly tumbled from about N180 –N370 per US dollar to N450 – N500 per US dollar, and even at that, dollars became an essential commodity and so scarce to buy. With the collapse of many manufacturing companies, a large number of workers lost their jobs, thereby adding to the growing number of the unemployed persons across the country. Regardless of what anyone says about the economy coming back to life, the truth is that the economy is still passing through a turbulent time and the few manufacturing companies in operation are just managing to survive.
What is your view on the spate of insecurity in the country?
Simply put, the growing crime rate in the country is traceable to the growing number of unemployment. The high number of unemployed persons in this country is too alarming, and a time bomb if nothing is done to get them positively engaged. While there is the need for the government to adequately empower the police and other relevant security agencies with adequate firepower and modern equipment to enable them effectively combat violent crimes of various dimension across the country, it is also imperative and absolutely necessary for the government, both at federal and state levels, to take dispassionate look at the increasing number of unemployed persons in the country. There is the compelling need for the government to urgently come up with workable solutions and programmes aimed at creating employment opportunities to the increasing number of jobless graduates roaming the streets in order to prevent them from going into violent crimes.
How would the five states governors in the South East attract investments to the region?
I am particularly excited when I heard about the recent meeting between the governors of the South-East and their counter-parts from the South-South, especially as the baseline of their discussions are focused on socio-economic integration of the two regions. This will be a wonderful masterstroke by the governors, if fully accomplished, and I strongly believe that such will boost the economies of these states, attract investments from their citizens in the diasporas, thereby creating employment opportunities for teeming youths in these regions. Coming nearer home, I will advice the five governors of the
South East to close ranks, and partner with the private sector in order to open up and establish industries in the area, as well as create jobs. To achieve these lofty ideas, governments have to construct road networks, industrial parks and other basic infrastructures that would attract businesses. Basically, while it is the responsibility of the government to build infrastructures and create enabling environment for businesses to thrive, it is the private sector that set-up businesses and establish industries and create jobs.
To further boost the capacity of the states to develop rapidly, It will be nice for the federal government to hand over federal roads to the states for effective rehabilitation and management. And with that in place, the states may wish to engage in public-private partnership arrangements with proviso for the tolling of such roads to recoup the funds spent on the roads. And with the replication of such models in the development of infrastructure in many states in Nigeria, overtime these states will begin to witness investments, improved revenue generation, job creation for the unemployed youths, tremendous developments in various sectors.