” I am not really surprised at the ridiculous crash of crude oil as a result of the shut down of world’s economy hinged on the coronavirus pandemic.
If you’ve carefully followed me from the last ten years, I’ve consistently maintained that the country’s economy cannot be continously sustained by oil. That until measures are put in place to look at other areas of economic fortunes, the country will be doomed.
I knew that the proceeds from oil and it’s over dependency will eventually become non sustainable. If the effects of coronavirus hadn’t caused it, other world economic malaise would have eventually surfaced.
I’ve received countless calls from kogi state, especially from Kogi East where I come from, on how devastating this will be to the state and people.
If you can vividly remember, I’ve always advocated transiting kogi into an enterprising state. The economy should be driven by the private sector. What government need to do at best is to raise its game to issuing insurances and guarantees to private players to engender clustering and inter connectedness.
On the adverse effects on the economy of kogi East, I am not disposed to alluding to this assertion, because the region’s economic mainstay has never been hinged on oil largesse, but predominantly agro-based.
What is logical for us at the moment is to leverage on the comparative advantage agriculture has provided us. For instance, as I would want to advocate in another space, if 20 sons and daughters will put together ₦50m each, we’ll be pulling together about ₦1billion in what is referred to as ‘crowd funding’. Such amount ploughed back into agriculture in kogi east will directly and indirectly provide jobs and source of livelihood for well over 20,000 households.
Such a modest investment in agriculture over time will pull out majority of the household in kogi East from poverty.
This can also be sustained in so many ways including ’roundabout system’ where repayment of funding from a particular project is incumbent from the proceeds from the project. This is a very sustainable technique to availing finance, and reviving industry.
Government can also take a cue from this, but most importantly, it must guide against policies that are pro-poor but not inclusive “.
Dr. Victor Alewo Adoji.
DVAA POLITICAL ORGANISATION!
#ENDLESSPOSSIBILITIES.