Senator Jibril Walid, a second republic Senator and Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed confidence that the determination of the party to find solutions to the ongoing insecurity in the country will make many Nigerians abandon the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Fielding questions at the weekend from newsmen at a wedding reception of the son of the National President of Textiles Workers Union, Comrade John Adaji, the BOT chairman noted that Nigerians need a government that is committed to the industrialisation of the country.
He assured that the APC would have no option other than to pack out of government when the PDP produces its presidential candidate and the zone is known to Nigerians.
Senator Walid said, “We in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are very careful and hopeful about the achievements and industrial development of Nigeria.”
He explained that they met and agreed that the national chairman of their great party should come from the north-central, stressing that that one had been achieved, while other arrangements are on the way and are going to decide soon where their presidential candidate would come from.
According to him, the next government which he hoped is going to be the PDP government would look at the issue of insecurity and find a lasting solution to it and bring back the country to a state of peaceful coexistence and free movement.
He opined that with the present insecurity in the country, every common man and woman knows that Nigeria is in a big problem under the current government, adding that Nigeria is in a state of disarray, but a good political party and a good government can solve this problem of insecurity.
Senator Walid lamented that traveling by road is now dangerous, traveling by train is also dangerous, pointing out that those who have the money travel by air, while the common man cannot travel by air, anywhere one go today is not safe.
He stated that the industrial development in Nigeria is not going well because government policy is not consistent over the years.
He observed that if government policy is consistent, Nigeria wouldn’t have been where it is today, stressing that every policy needs to be consistent for a period of five years running.
He added that changing policy soon after implementation by the successive governments is not good for the industrial development of the country, stressing that if Nigeria must be re-industrialised, government policy on the manufacturing sector must be consistent to stand the test of time.
According to Comrade Adaji, Nigerians have been subjected to lamentations over comatose industries in the country, while the nation’s leaders showed little or no political Will to re-industrialise the country.
He noted that in those days of the great leaders like Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo, among others, there was competition over industrialisation of the North, the West, and the Eastern zones, lamenting that today Nigerians lament the comatose industries in the country.
He said in the 70s and 80s when the population of Nigeria was much less than what we have now, there were several industries everywhere in the country, stressing that today, Nigeria has over 200 million people and cannot boast of functional industries that should triple that of the early 70s.
He noted that it is lamentation because every successive government proved wrong in improving the situation, saying that there is no policy consistent to transform the manufacturing sector.
He stressed that the implication of these comatose industries is the insecurity Nigerians are witnessing today because one thing leads to another that has also led to massive youths unemployment.
He said, “One of the solutions to this ugly situation is that our leaders should develop political Will to solve these socio-economic problems. We have the manpower and the population to transform the manufacturing sector.”
