Pioneer national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, has said Nigeria is a failed nation because of the inability of successive governments to plan for the future.
Akande, who pointedly said, “We fail to plan and, yet, we are surprised that we fail in almost all sectors as we are all lapsing into generations of plan-less hypocrites,” noted that the incoming administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu would have between 20 and 50-year development plan for the country.
Speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital at a lecture in honour of Chief Reuben Fasoranti, the leader of Afenifere, the pan Yoruba socio-political group at the weekend, the Tinubu’s ally added: “When Tinubu was Governor of Lagos State, he did not just plan for his eight years in office; he did a Master Plan for Lagos State which has since been running for more than the past 20 years and which has transformed the city-state into the powerhouse of the Nigerian economy.
“I can assure you, that was not what we inherited. In this same country, we use to have five years capital development plans and seven years capital development plans. Now we only plan for the immediate next election!
“We thank God that this time around; Nigerians have elected a leader who has planned for a long time to be our President. Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu is a well-known person to Baba Fasoranti and he is also an inheritor of the Awoist legacy of planning and integrity.
“Therefore, it is right and necessary to expect a 20 or 50 years master plan for Nigeria from President Tinubu which would transform this blessed country into a great one.”
While saying that the President of the country cannot be the sole agent of change, Akande noted that all good patriots needed to get involved and keep all hands on deck.
According to the close ally of the Presiden-elect, Nigerians needed to align modernity with their development.
He, however, blamed the love of foreign goods for the rate of unemployment and economic downturn in the country.
His words: “We cannot be in love with the products of modernity like cars, telephones, and air travels while we continue to live in dreadful underdevelopment. But presently, to our collective shame, almost all the cars on Nigerian roads are imported. We import foods, wines, spirits, clothing, perfume, body sprays, toothpicks, and toiletries and then turn around to complain that the Naira is not strong.
“Let us, as followers, make the Naira strong by changing our ways. Let us learn to make our cars, produce our food, drink our wine, and wear our clothes because those individuals, corporate entities, or countries, who think deeply daily, plan meticulously, and work assiduously towards the realization of their plans would continue to devise all means to confuse, exploit and enslave the lazy, fun-loving and plan-less pleasure seekers.
“Every member of this audience has a telephone set. Some people may even have two or three. If you look outside, you will see the latest cars manufactured in Europe, Asia, and America. Most of us are wearing dresses made in other countries, especially in Europe and Asia. Some of our women are wearing discarded hair from Asian or South American women. We love foreign wine and foreign cuisine. Yet, we complain.”
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