A former governor of Abia state Orji Uzor Kalu has said that Nigerians should be enjoying power supply by now if only former president Olusegun Obasanjo listened to his advice.
Kalu made the claim when he hosted some Catholic Bishops and the diplomatic community at his Abuja home on Wednesday.
He said Nigerians should not expect government to do everything for them.
He stated further that he could not judge President Buhari’s tenure yet as he had a four-year mandate.
He also advised the federal government to invest heavily in agriculture and the manufacturing sector.
“I’m calling on Nigerian youths to be of good use to themselves. Let me be honest with you, I cannot judge Buhari. He has a four-year mandate to turn things around. He still has time and I expect that he will do something. Young people might be feeling frustrated. Government must not do everything.
“The only thing is that government is not paying enough attention to the manufacturing sector. If I am government, I will pay attention to manufacturing and agriculture. You pay attention through the entrepreneurs by giving them single digit loans and opportunities. All the enterprise done by government will not work until they see us as partners. When Dangote was starting his cement factory, he was encouraged by the government. Today, he is all over Nigeria.
“The problem is people are envious and jealous; they see Orji Kalu who is rich, but they do not know what I have gone through to get to this level. They want to be like me, and that is not possible. Government should grant more incentives to the entrepreneurs.
“In June 1999, I told President Olusegun Obasanjo how to solve the power sector by doing something differently. We brought people and they promised to fix the power problem up to 75 percent. But Obasanjo refused. The amount needed was N14 billion. If Nigeria can fix power and insecurity, the country will move forward”.
Dolapo is a writer and journalist who works with YNaija. He has interests in Christianity, politics and sports.
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