By; TOM GARBA, Yola
A Northern group, Arewa New Agenda (ANA) raised alarm that US, China and other countries with much stronger economic policies have taken over Nigeria’s economy.
ANA made the revelation through an expert on solid mineral resources, Mr John J. Y. Pakka in Abuja during a conference on tackling poverty in Northern Nigeria.
ANA whose mandate is one Arewa, one Vision and one Agenda in with the theme, “Moving Households from vulnerability to prosperity, a dialogue session” where Pakka presented a paper on ending poverty through productivity inclusion.
Pakka during his presentation, said the reality of Nigeria’s current economy is that Nigerians are living in a stolen economy and the country is only existing by the mere geographical location of its name.
Pakka during the ANA event where high profiled personalities from the Northern region, including Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, CFR, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation who was the distinguished guest of the occasion, former Governor of Bauchi, Isa Yuguda, former Governor of Zamfara, Ahmed Sani (Yeriman Bukura), former Majority Leader, Senator Jonathan Zwingina, the Convener, Distinguished Senator Ahmad Abubakar Moallayidi, Sheikh Khalid Nurudeen, the Methodist Bishop of Sokoto, Rt Dr. Ishaya Kunama and many attended the event, which Pakka revealed the true state of Nigeria’s mineral resources as an abandoned sector unharnessed.
According to Pakka, “that who feeds you owns you.” Expressing worries that China, US are providers of shelter, education, health and other basic needs of living.
The Adamawa born mineral resources expert stressed that everything depends on importation, which will lead to a collapsed economy.
“We are living in a stolen economy, our mobility, infrastructure, clothes, technology, agriculture are all foreign based. The over two hundred million Nigerians depend on importation. So our economy is not in Nigeria, it’s somewhere elsewhere,” he said.
He explained that the smart economies of the world like China have taken seventy per cent of Nigerians, according to him, Chinese government has smartly stolen Nigeria’s economy with impunity because they provide virtually all the country needs to survive.
“Because they provide us what we survive on, over two hundred million Nigerians are living in China and virtually all of us are living outside Nigeria. Whoever you are, businessman or civil servant, you are a foreigner because you are feeding on someone’s economy.
“It’s only our geographical location that is Nigeria. I’m telling you the reality of our economy that whatever you think human beings need are imported, it’s the crux of the issue that’s killing our economy and bringing down our Naira value to a mere tissue paper.” He said
Pakka however, said that if the government should tilt towards having a proactive, revitalized and contemporary move through bills, Nigeria will have a revived economy and in six months, the wide gap between dollar and Naira will collapse.
He called on the federal government to use the National Assembly to create bills that are contemporary in nature with direct effects to the common Man the margin between dollar and naira will be history.
Pakka also reiterated that if government should understand and work on the mapping of Nigeria where fallow land is in abundance and bring in clusters productivity through corporate model, bringing in investors, Nigeria will become an enterprise nation with a self reliant economy.
“If Nigeria’s government will shift their thinking, activate solid minerals value chain, and secure agricultural value chain, put them on a platform that is exportable, bring in technology for finishing, demand on dollar will automatically fall. Because when you are not producing value, you are a dependent and that will certainly cripple down the economy of any nation.
“Anything you demand high has prospect of good value. Anything you demand low has less value. By the time what you need is produced locally, we don’t need a dollar. It’s unfortunate Nigeria of today is having high demand of dollar than Naira. It’s the propeller of our economic crisis,” he said.
