Revitalizing Nigerian Natural Resources

 

Post by Ebis Okpeke

It bands my heart whenever I try to decipher the modus behind the negligence and almost absolute shift of concentration from local production economy to foreign and internationally controlled economy by Nigerian Leaders and Africa at large.

Nigeria can be prescribed as the most blessed black African country with so much human and natural resources,  from crude oil, water,  to cocoa,  to palm trees,  to gold, to agricultural products like yam, cassava , cocoyam , plantains , fish farming,  to other economic trees like mahogany,  rubber trees etc that if given the needed attention can create not only jobs enough for unemployed Nigerian Youths but can accommodate Youths from other sister Nations and Countries in Africa.

It will interest you that each of these natural resources can be processed into so many finished goods from it, like the cassava for instance, can produce locally made garri, starch, perfumes, fertilizers,  fufu,  etcetera but few to mention.  The palm tree also, can be processed and transformed into many finished products for consumption and capital creation like, palm oil, palm wine, brooms, the chaffs in the kernel can be used for road constructions like the chippings and concreates, and many more.

In Nigeria, all the 36 states are endowed with different types of natural resources but the attention of the Government over the years had focused on the crude oil alone while others are left abandoned or moribund.

Therefore, it is time the Nigeria Government as well as state Governments, including Local Councils to make amend and decentralize attention in the economy and make good use of the Human and Natural resources in their territories aside the crude oil.

The crude oil may go dry one day and cause earthquake on the host lands, states and communities in the nearest future if not strategically remedied and provided modalities to tackling such natural disasters.

Let's draw our attentions to the late President Julius Nyerere,  who in 1958 became Tanzania President and made some economic changes in his country , he stopped all forms of importation of goods and services and rather focused his administration in local production and exportation,  he was the first African president after Nelson Mandela of South Africa, who stopped all forms of acquiring  foreign loans and throughout his three terms in office , he never recorded any loan/ debt within the peripherals of the intentional Community . He made the local economy of Tanzania developed in growth and today, the benefits are enormous for the people as contained in his Arusha and Ujama Declarations to freedom.

Create Revenue for yourself aside crude oil and give our Youths employment.

 

Ebis Okpeke De Creek Boy!

Writes from Agorogbene community