The decay in the Nigeria’s economy has been attributed to poor leadership which has placed wrong people in the position of authority.
Making this observation was the former National Coach, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde in an exclusive interview with this platform at his Felele residence in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
Chief Onigbinde who was talked on National issues said that the country has refused to grow economically because of lack of understanding of the situation and the plight of the masses. He said that Nigeria is a country where a carpenter could be asked to man the ministry of Finance or those who are not fit to administer what they know nothing about.
He pointed out that this has in a way affected the thinking of Nigerians that they can lobby to get what they want as long as they have who is going to help them adding that to get out of the economic recession, it would take a painful task. According to him, Nigeria is experiencing recession because, of wrong economic policies, and corruption which has eaten deep into our ways of life.
‘’Honestly, there is corruption everywhere even in sports administration and that is why people like us who would not allow discrepancies are sidelined, to handle key positions in respect of our sports in the country. ‘’
He pointed out that what the people may say, the present Government of President Muhammadu Buhari should be commended for his anti-corruption drive. ‘’As far as I am concerned there is no government in the country who has done what he has done in the two years of his administration. At least he has shown to Nigerians that he is ready to fight corruption which has been the bane of our problem and growth. Corruption is so bad to the extent that we have lost everything. The country has refused to grow, economically, technologically and in all facets of our lives. Corruption is adversely affecting our sports, our businesses, and governance.’’
He condemned those who are casting aspersions on the government of President Buhari that he is not finding a solution to our problems. “Tell me any government in the last three decades who has done as much as he has done. What people don’t understand is that the economy that is bad for centuries cannot be fixed in two years. I think Abacha died in 1998, and it was being reported that his loots have been found. Has it been reported that the government has been able to put all the money he looted together from where they were? Again the present government has been announcing that they have found this they have found that, have they been able to put all of these together because some of this money said to have been recovered are still going to be used as evidence in court to prosecute those accused, so the money cannot be touched. Even all the houses confiscated, have they been sold, so this is the situation which an ordinary man on the street would not understand and that is why they kept saying that of all the money recovered the government has not been able to do something about it to cushion the effect of the economy and the recession the country is going through’’ in as much as they keep
On the scarcity of food, he said that the insurgency and the infiltrations of the herds’ men into the farm land in many parts of the Northern Nigeria and in some parts of the southern parts were responsible for this. He pointed out that the Government within a year has been able to repel the BokoHaram and the Military are still doing their best to ensure that proper normalcy is brought to the affected areas.
On the Herds men invading farms, he said that this is a worst scenario in the country because this has never happened before saying that, this has been responsible for the restiveness we now have in the country ‘’and that is why many nationalities which made up the country called Nigeria are agitating for restructuring for them to be able to manage the resources belonging to them for their development. Perhaps if we return to the era of the First Republic where each Region controls its economy and only contribute to the centre, the country would be peaceful’’ He further argued.
Chief Onigbinde also argued that the nation is going through this mess because of lack of discipline by everybody. To be sincere you and I know that we are not disciplined in this country and if we are serious or disciplined, we are going nowhere. ‘’Our economy would be stagnant and everything would stand still. But I think the present government is in the fore front compared to the last three regimes,” he said.W