Atiku urges patience on reforms
By Francis Obinor
VICE-President Abubakar Atiku on Monday urged Nigerians to be patient with the government's current reforms aimed at revamping the ailing economy, saying the "country's best years are ahead of us".
Atiku, who spoke at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) 2004 Founders' Day lecture at the institution's theatre, also defended the foreign trips of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to him, the trips although still condemned by many, are aimed at promoting the country's foreign policy and laundering its image, which has been sneered by some foreign negative reports.
"Nigeria's best years are ahead of us. We are on the threshold of restoring our lost glory", he said.
The Vice-President noted that the trips by his boss would further make the country's foreign policy to become vibrant.
He explained that some of the trips had yielded fruits especially in the country's debt rescheduling and foreign investments.
Atiku urged Nigerians to be patient with government's reforms, which he said, would boost their dignity if allowed to work.
"A vibrant and active foreign policy can be built on a strong economy. The government is working hard to restore Nigeria's dignity. The economic reforms are meant to turn the economy around to enable the country play an active role in international fora", he stated.
He said the privatisation programme embarked upon by the government was to make the economy a private-driven one to achieve the desired objective.
In a lecture entitled: "The ECOWAS agenda in the 21st Century: Promoting Good Governance, Peace, Stability and Sustainable Development" delivered at the occasion, ECOWAS Executive Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, lamented that poverty, institutional corruption, pseudo-democracy and absence of virile civil societies, among others, were making desired peace and stability elusive in the sub-region.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) scribe lauded Nigeria's various efforts to stabilise the region through peace mediation roles especially in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra-Leone.
Nigeria, according to him, by its size, human and natural resources, as well as population has played an immense role to stabilise the region.
The Ghanaian-born diplomat cum lawyer lauded the various roles played by Obasanjo and Atiku, as well as former military ruler, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Prof. Ralph Nwuche to enthrone peace and stability in the region.
But he said the country could do more to strengthen the body by showing sterling examples through the rule of law, justice, fiscal discipline and removal of member states.
"A democratic Nigeria with rule of law, justice, fiscal discipline is morally better placed to resolve the conflicts in the sub-region", he said.
He continued: "An economically vibrant Nigeria will also benefit the sub-region. Nigeria must lead the way in area of free movement, security concerns should not be allowed to hinder free movement among state members. This will boost trade, create jobs, fight poverty and create wealth for the people".
Chambas told the audience that included former Chief of General Staff, Vice Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe; Lagos Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro; NIIA Director-General, Prof. Joy Ogwu; Chief Yomi Edu, Chief Arthur Mbanefo and Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu that for ECOWAS to effectively pull through its difficulties in the millennium, a mechanism had been evolved to ensure peace and stability in the sub-region.
"ECOWAS has repositioned itself for the challenges of the millennium to make the objectives of the founding fathers work better for member states and ensure regional integration, democracy, good governance, rule of law, peace and security", he said.
Chambas, who earlier recalled the establishment of ECOWAS on May 28, 1975, with Nigeria and Togo playing active roles, lamented that a private sector-energised participation to stimulate trade in the sub-region was lacking.
He explained that its presence would help jump-start economic development.
"The root causes of problems in the sub-region are poverty, institutional corruption, absence of private sector energised participation and absence of virile civil societies", he stated.
The ECOWAS scribe noted that the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was becoming effective to fight poverty but said all the economies in the region needed to grow with at least seven per cent for appreciable impact to be noticed.
He said: "Regional economic integration should be boosted taking NEPAD initiative while efforts should be made to raise the trade level among member states by removing various forms of tariffs.
"West Africa has experienced the fastest population growth. By 2020, it will be 430 million and 500 million by 2040 at the rate it is going now. This in itself affects the per capita income of the people who are producing less wealth without a corresponding increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Achieving millennium growth to halve poverty by 2015 is becoming elusive.
"With the following achievements in the energy, telecommunications, maritime, free movement, single currency, ECOAIR, member states have been able to engender regional integration. No other sub-regional group has been able to achieve the feat especially in the area of free movement, abolition of visas and residential rights for members".
ECOWAS, according to him, is becoming a model for others in the area of conflict resolution and is poised with logistical support from its partners to "become a model in Africa".`
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