Hold FG responsible for the spate of insecurity in Nigeria- Amb. Chukwu

By Cyprian Ebele, Onitsha

Worried by the spate of insecurity in Nigeria which has resulted in the socio-political and economic quagmire, a property developer, Simeon Kelvin Chukwu, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Crystal Garden Estate, accused the Federal Government of not living up to expectation in security, education and enabling environment for national growth adding that it should be held responsible for lacking in those areas. 

He specifically condemned the manner in which the federal government is handling the insecurity situation, pointing out that government policies and programs needed to be reengineered for better economic welfare.

 “However, I trust that we will pay attention to housing, education and security. The greatest challenge we have now as a nation is a trait of insecurity and there is no nation that can survive, let alone thrive with insecurity. 

“When you cannot sleep with your two eyes closed and when you cannot go about your business whenever you want, then there is a serious challenge, we have to pay attention on handling that and I know the government has the capacity to stop it if they want to.

“I think it is Abacha that said “any insecurity that lasts for 24 hours, that the hands of the government is there. So the government knows what to do, there is nobody the government wants to access that they cannot access, unless some people are benefitting from it. 

“So when that stops, there are lots of people who have been interested to invest in Nigeria but they are not because of this insecurity. So let the government sort this issue, it can be sorted,” he stated.

“Then on education, I think it is Nelson Mandela that said education is the future of any nation, if you want development, it is education that will bring that development, the curriculum we have has to be restructured, reengineered and bring out things that are relevant to our generation. the lecturer that has  lectured for 40 years ago with the same note cannot make a difference.

“So we have to update these things to ensure that somebody goes through the university and comes out proud that he can stand on his own and do something not coming out of school and still looks for job. He should become a job creator by himself.

“Then enabling environment for investors to strive not when one is doing a business and hustling and seems to be riding then it looks like it’s like the government wants to nip them back in the bud, no nation has been developed by politicians, nations are developed by entrepreneur but that nation will provide enabling environment for those entrepreneurs to thrive.

“That’s how nations are built, so there is a documentary that is called the men that built America, it didn’t say politician, it is men that built America, businessmen. if the government sets a policy that did not favour even the start ups, small business owners then how can that nation strive.

“If borrowing can ameliorate our problem ok, a borrower is a slave to the lender, it can be good when it becomes a leverage, when it is used for developments, but this one we know disappears into private pockets and to pay back becomes a problem. A nation owning this trillion naira, I don’t know how that nation will make progress.

“We have a whole lot of things that can give us money, there is no state in this nation that doesn’t have solid  minerals deposit, the government has not paid attention to activate this natural resources, apart from oil we have gold, diamond, tantalite, if we are serious to active these, they can give us serious money, cocoa is there .

“We export them and they refine and bring back to us and we buy it more expensive, in other words they keep on reaping us more. So if the government pays attention in development of internal natural contents.

“It will stop us from borrowing, because nobody develops by just borrowing and borrowing  and consume not corroding for capital project  or building consent but consumption, so no nation can develop by that,” he maintained.

Lamenting that after 65 years of Independence Nigeria has remained stagnant, he said, “A 65 years old man is no longer young, he must have garnered so many things, there is a quotation that says a fool at 40 is a fool forever. 

“It means at 40, a man should have been a man, must have achieved every achievement the man  is supposed to have achieved. So 65 is already an old man, he will now begin to plan retirement but as it stands in the state of our economy it looks like where we started from looks better than where we are.

” But I am optimistic that where we are going will be better than where we are because if you look at some other developed nations like America, UK, they are so many years ahead of us and they have had their own share of this economic quagmire , even right now.

“Every nation is jostling with it but we are optimistic that the government will begin to implement policies that will re engineer the economy especially as it affects the common people,  because whatever policy that is being implemented if it does not benefit the common people, that policy will not be recognized, respected or honoured” he stressed.