Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday counseled Nigerians against hauling abuses on Nigeria and the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government as a result of hardship in the country, stating that it would be impossible for abusers to benefit from a system they have cursed.
He reminded those portraying the country as failed to note that it is not all gloomy as the health, petroleum agriculture and real estate sectors were doing well.
Speaking at the 2024 Nigerian Risk Leadership Summit and Awards held with the theme ‘Connecting Risks Resilience and Innovation for Sustainable Growth’ in Abuja, the Vice President, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Tope Fasua, said: “There are a lot of opportunities in Nigeria. Let us count our blessings. Let us not put our country down. It cannot be tales of woes all the time.
“As bad as things are today and with all the inflation, there are sectors that are doing incredibly well. The health sector is doing very well. The petroleum sector is doing well. The Agric sector is doing well, for those who are planting cassava.
“People buy it there on the farm. I am not saying that things are easy. The government has come with very tough reforms. However, you have to position yourself for reform. If you go out and say Nigeria is a shitty country, forgive my French, you are going to get shitty results. Someone said that you are not going to benefit from the country that you curse.”
He said the government plans to take many indigenous companies to the global stage and open up the economy to more innovations in the business space.
“Whereas we are working towards taking many of our companies global and opening up the economy to more innovations in the business space, we celebrate our MSMEs and urge them to do a lot more.
“Innovation is the key to modern wealth and prosperity and is fused with sustainability. Innovation is about adding value to what we already have and making the lives of human beings easier,” he said.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Conrad Clark, Joachim Adenusi, in his address, advised the government to be innovative in managing risks, to equip industry leaders.
“We must explore innovative approaches to managing risks so that we can equip industry leaders and policymakers with the appropriate knowledge and tools to make informed decisions that will best benefit the growth of our great nation Nigeria.
“And, yes, if we are able to manage risks on time, we may reduce the number of unending daily crises frustrating many Nigerians and start experiencing effective sustainable growth.”