Nigeria’s Economic woes demand joint effort of Government, Private Sector – Omotola
Lai Omotola
Published By: Kazeem Ugbodaga
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CFL Group of companies, Lai Omotola, has said the current hardship facing the nation could not be resolved by the government alone.
He emphasised that the solution would only come through joint collaboration between the government and the private sector.
Omotola made these remarks on Thursday during a news conference held to mark the 26th anniversary of CFL Group in the Maryland area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
“Let it be clear that our present hardship cannot be resolved singularly by government but by the joint collaboration with the private sectors,” he said.
He lamented that the country is experiencing the most challenging times in its history, noting that as the hardship persisted, so did opportunities.
He urged Nigerians not to succumb to the difficulties but to rise to the challenge and overcome them.
“We must not give in to the hardship but rise to the challenge and defeat it. This should be our attitude,” Omotola added.
He argued that entrepreneurs, not politicians, would change the nation’s fortunes, as witnessed in developed countries.
According to him, the role of government is either to suppress or promote private enterprise.
“Entrepreneurs will build houses, build schools, build hospitals, build roads, build rails, provide electricity, provide energy, allow us to speak to ourselves by providing connectivity and entertain us. Our continuous fixation on government, such that until government does it, we cannot live, is a wrong doctrine which should be dispensed with forthwith. Government will continue to be government.
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“As entrepreneurs, we should be able to adapt to ever-changing government. If government policy kills businesses, it shouldn’t kill the entrepreneurs,” he asserted.
Omotola pointed out that Nigeria harboured one of the most exploitative business elites, accusing them of draining the nation’s resources without providing any value in return.
“How do you explain over N40 trillion spent on fuel subsidies over the past 28 years? How do you explain N10 trillion spent on agriculture during Buhari’s regime? How do you explain N8 trillion absorbed by AMCON from bad bank loans, and CBN’s N10 trillion on various interventions?”
He continued, “Today, the price of petrol is above N1,000, and the introduction of Band A from Discos, and all these are failures of the business elite who have mismanaged enterprises, affecting us all as customers.
“How do you explain how a business elite is able to buy a Rolls Royce and an aircraft while still being in billions of debts to the banks, living a lavish lifestyle in debt? I will explain: they secure court orders and continue to thrive on bank loans and government contracts.”
Omotola further criticised the practice of stashing development funds in foreign accounts, which he claimed had led to the collapse of industries, increased joblessness, and the rise of insecurity.
“A large percentage of our budget goes to fighting insecurity,” he lamented.
He also condemned the activities of big companies involved in foreign exchange trading and money laundering, describing their actions as shameful. “This can’t happen in any developed country. These people remain unrepentant,” Omotola remarked.
“Someone might ask why only blame the business people and not the politicians. Every politician needs a business person to commit fraud, so it’s the issue of the giver and the taker. I am not in government, and I will not speak for them. My constituents are the business community,” he clarified.
Omotola added that the economic challenges the nation faced were not insurmountable. “What is difficult is when people take up jobs they cannot do,” he said.
