Former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has said that the current economic recession in the country might be a blessing in disguise and an opportunity for Nigerians to look inward.
Daniel, who is also the chairman of Kresta Laurel Limited said that the current hardship would compel the country to develop her local contents and make her citizens to effect outright adjustment in their ways of life.
The former governor stated this while receiving a delegation of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Nigeria led by its President, Deacon Titus Soetan, in his office in Lagos.
He stressed that government should place more emphasis on local manufacturing and production, especially in the agricultural sector.
“It is criminal to the economy, if we spend so much foreign exchange on importation of food into the country to the detriment of our staple food that have more nutritional value. It is high time we banned food importation and curtailed smuggling of such into the Nigerian markets. The total mind-set of our people must change, not only in food consumption, but in every sphere of our lives”, he said.
Daniel also charged ICAN as a body to network regularly with its members in government and brainstorm on the way forward towards reviving the economy.
He argued that professionals must be given pride of place in policy formulation, adding that it had, therefore, become important that in moving the nation forward, the best of the brains must be employed.
“Here, the ICAN has a pivotal role to play by creating a forum to brainstorm and come forth with fool-proof agenda and solid recommendations on finding a lasting solution to our economic challenges. It becomes embarrassing and pathetic that our economic managers at the highest echelon speak in discordant tunes about the state of the nation’s economy. It is avoidable and should be avoided”, Daniel said.
ICAN President, Soetan, earlier in his address, described Otunba Daniel as an accomplished engineer, a mentor and benefactor who had always supported the accounting body.
He assured of ICAN’s readiness to intervene and support the government of the day in matters relating to economic policies.
Soetan also used the opportunity to notify the former governor of the 46th yearly Accountants’ Conference holding in Abuja with the theme, “Accountability Now Nigeria,” where financial experts would discuss salient economic issues as part of the efforts of the Institute towards ensuring accountability and good governance in the country.
In a realeted development, while being decorated by the executive officers of the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers led by its Chairman, Engr. Abiodun Oyedepo, with the Fellowship of NISE at the Kresta Laurel Complex, Lagos on Friday, the former Ogun governor advocated proper legislation on adherence to safety measures in workplaces, especially in the engineering and construction industries, to prevent avoidable accidents.
According to Daniel, “Safety is one of the most important factors in engineering and so, the NISE is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that safety measures are put in place and strictly adhered to in work places, both private and public. As a matter of fact, routine inspection must be carried out regularly to double check adherence and conformity with such measures as stipulated”.
He cited the example of Kresta Laurel Limited, which he said had not recorded any fatal incident since it began operations over 25 years ago because of the adequate safety measures put in place.
“The gap between developed and developing nations of the world is the presence of adequate safety measures and the premium placed in its observance to the letters,” he said.
Daniel advised the institution to lobby for legislation on safety codes to give it legal teeth and thereby reduce the scourge of accidents in sundry formations.
