Apparently referring to the current high-wire politics and
horse-trading ahead of 2015, former president Olusegun Obasanjo has
declared that Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido has exhibited good
governance abilities, and has the capacity and competence to rule
Nigeria.
The ex-president also described Jigawa as one of the most investor-friendly states in the country.
Obasanjo made the remarks in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital,
yesterday while delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony
of a three-day Jigawa State Economic Summit.
He said, “You know you can help somebody to get a job but you cannot
help him to do it. If somebody cannot do the job, we have Sule Lamido
who is competent to do the job.
“Some people are saying one person can’t make changes. This is
rubbish; if you have a competent person who knows where he is going to,
he can make changes along with his team that would impact the lives of
people as we have seen it in Jigawa State.”
According to Obasanjo, good governance is key for any practical and
factual economic development plan because “the government is not
expected to invest directly but to provide enabling environment for
private investors to implement the plan”.
“The way Governor Lamido revitalised the Jigawa state education
sector, made adequate provision of good roads network, infrastructures,
social security, free trade has now made the state be a haven for
investors, and, to the best of my knowledge, today there is no state
in Nigeria which investors’ confidence on can be greater than Jigawa
State,” said Obasanjo who ruled the country from 1999 to 2007. “I am
optimistic that this summit would help in mapping out a long-term
economic plan that could lead to the successful economic development
which can be translated into increase of employment, wealth creation,
poverty reduction and improve the well-being of the people of the state
and Nigeria.”
Obasanjo added that there is need to change Nigeria from the land of
opportunity to the land of actuality by giving emphasis to education,
infrastructure, social security and human development.
The former president however revealed that he was the one that
imposed Governor Lamido on the people of Jigawa State and that he was
happy that he did not disappoint him.
In his welcome address, Governor Lamido said they organised the
summit with a view to opening the state’s window to the whole world to
come and invest in Jigawa State.
He said his government was ever ready to give all necessary support
and cooperation to any investor who wanted to invest in Jigawa State,
and the state is also ready to work with any collaborator who wants
assist Jigawa to attain better life.
According to the governor, the aim of organising the summit was to
chart a plan for developing Jigawa State economically to tally with that
of Asian Tigers like Japan and Singapore, not in terms of big buildings
but for the state’s people to attain standard human life.
Some of the prominent personalities at the economic summit included
business mogul Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Alhaji Salisu Sambajo, Mr Mohammed
Abacha, former minister of commerce Senator Bello Maitama Yusif, former
minister of power and mineral resources Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, former
minister of Federal Capital Territory Aliyu Modibbo, and Emir of
Hadejia Adamu Abubakar Maje.
Other personalities included former minister of commerce Mustapha
Bello, Emir of Ringim Sayyadi Mahmu, Emir of Kazaura Alhaji Najib
Adamu, governor of Zandara in Niger Republic, British high commissioner
to Nigeria Mr Andrew Poka, Akyem of Wembley and Duke of Edinburg Mr
Lord Boateng who chaired the summit.
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