The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria is about to be among nations with several developmental programmes ongoing in various sectors of the country.
He revealed this at the 2017/2018 50th Convocation Lecture of the University of Lagos on Monday in Lagos.
The theme of the lecture is, “Nigeria Rising: The Path to Prosperity’’.
According to the APC man, the most vital aspect of any government’s economic policy must be an enhancement of human resource.
His words, “I suspect the topic, Nigeria Rising; the Path to Prosperity is informed by the curiosity of what people expect from President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the next four years, or what “Next Level’’ really means.
“I therefore, think that I should begin by affirming that the Buhari administration believes that Nigeria’s prosperity means a decent existence for all, ending extreme poverty, increasing productivity and ending corruption.
“We believe in wealth creation system that is capable of taking millions out of poverty, while providing for those who cannot work. “Wealth creation options must include access to cheap credit. It must include job schemes for the unemployed and cash transfers to the most poor and vulnerable. “The administration is also working toward providing good healthcare and education that makes our workforce relevant in the knowledge economy.
“In plotting the path to prosperity, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, we took into account the weaknesses of the Nigerian economy and the illusions that distort our real understanding of our economy.
“First is the focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth figures without the understanding of the underlying dynamics.
“But we have to understand that high oil revenue does not equal better jobs or better human development indices.
“For example, the period of astronomical high oil revenues was when we had high level of poverty, infant mortality and unemployment.
“Our economy was also being run on a consumption growth model, which is only advantageous if consumption is being met by domestic production of goods and services.
“However, our consumption was being met by import, and thus, though the GDP was going up, more people were going into poverty.”
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