The chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele says those leaving Nigeria should not wish others staying back evil.
He stated this during The Covenant Nation’s non-political and non-partisan national development fair on the platform on Monday.
“There is nothing wrong in leaving. Don’t get me wrong. But if you leave, don’t wish the rest of us bad.
“And while you are here and continue to be here, don’t wish us evil. If you have citizens who are actively working against their own country, there is no amount of prayers you will pray, that country will not succeed.”
According to him, a greater number of Nigerians can’t travel out or japa as called in local parlance.
“Even if you are planning to leave, just remember, there are 95 per cent of us who cannot go anywhere,” Oyedele said.
While noting the importance of patriotism, he said, no foreigner can develop Nigeria.
“All the countries that were developed were developed by their people,” he added.
For him, strong institutions and investments in manpower are key to building a great country and thus governments must at all levels pay attention to these areas.
Oyedele urged them to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, saying that way, people would not be eager to leave the country.
Also, speaking at the Platform programme, the founder of The Education Partnership Centre (TEP Centre), Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, said Nigeria must dream a new dream in order to lift Africa.
Analysing the future in 2077, the instructor encouraged Nigeria to prepare for the digital age.
“If we are going to move another 54 years and actually see a country like Nigeria play its role in lifting Africa, then we are going to have to dream a new dream and we are going to have to dream that dream from now.
“I realise that it is only people who are committed and we don’t have to be many. It’s only that group of committed citizens that can make that change happen because we are the ones who can dream that dream. As people did 108 years ago, we are going to have to start doing that today.”
She encouraged Nigerians to volunteer to help drive the country’s educational transition.
“So, my charge to you is who wants to put their hands up to begin to mobilise people – to ask the question – What do we want our society to look like? What should we be educating for? Who should we be educating for? What sort of systems should we be looking for?
“I don’t know who is going to dream a new dream but I am and I pray you are as well,” Adefeso-Olateju said.
Earlier, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani said the country’s youth are its biggest asset.
According to him, Africa has a huge youth population with Nigeria having a chunk of that number – many of them tech-savvy.
“In Nigeria, it is 60 per cent of our 220 million people who are under the age of 25 which means we have the ingredient that is actually going to power the world because these young people are digital natives. And if we give them the resources, they can actually become that engine that the world requires to be able to strive.
“We are the future. And you know why we are the future here? We are a continent of 1.2 billion and forty per cent of those are young people – across Africa – I believe under the age of 25. And this is where Nigeria is important. It is not just that we show off for the sake of showing off,” he said.
