A presidential candidate in the 2019 election and aspirant in the 2023 poll, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, on Wednesday, listed four reasons why Nigeria, with its huge “strategic natural resources” remains poor.
Newsbreak.ng reports that according to Moghalu, Nigeria “did better as a country when oil was not a major factor in the economy”.
The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy-Governor, therefore, asked his compatriots to vote for the right leaders “back to back, or over a long time, say 50 years” to defeat poverty.
The reasons why most African countries, like Nigeria, have lots of strategic natural resources but remain impoverished are, mainly: (1) Bad governance, which originates in bad politics and includes corruption and sectionalism; (2) weak and dependent institutions;
— Kingsley Moghalu (@MoghaluKingsley) December 14, 2022
He wrote on his verified Twitter handle: “The reasons why most African countries, like Nigeria, have lots of strategic natural resources but remain impoverished are, mainly:
(1) Bad governance, which originates in bad politics and includes corruption and sectionalism;
(2) weak and dependent institutions;
(3) the absence of intellect, and knowledge gaps, in public policy and governance; and
(4) the absence of deep thinking, a philosophical foundation and value systems in society. The last two can be summarized, in Nigerian parlance, as the absence of “grammar”.
“This can change in either of two ways – relatively quickly within 16 years if we elect the right kinds of leaders back to back, or over a long time, say 50 years, after we might have gotten to the bottom of the barrel of misery and conflict and get tired of being a poor country.”
Discussion about this post