BY TONY EDIKE
GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, faulted Friday, Federal Government’s recent decision to lift the ban on importation of certain goods, saying the move was a discouragement to the nation’s quest to promote locally made goods.

He wondered why a government that should be encouraging the establishment of motor vehicle assembly plants would raise the age limit placed on importation of used vehicles into the country from 10 to 15 years, stressing that the policy was not only killing local industries but would ensure continued outward flow in return for items that should be produced locally for export.

He spoke at a lecture on “Nigeria and its Abundance of Possibilities” to mark the 40th convocation of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

While conceding that the earlier ban was frustrated by importers using ports in neighbouring countries to smuggle in items from abroad, the governor disagreed that the solution to the problem was in the lifting of the ban on such goods.

“If the gate that protects my house from burglars is being frequently breached, the answer must lie in making the gate safer not in opening it wider and ajar.  We must overhaul our customs service and make it more effective, no matter how hard that may appear.  In the current situation, I have no doubt that unscrupulous importers will continue to smuggle in substandard products which do not meet our standard prescriptions and that the problem of smuggling now swept under the carpet will continue to haunt us as a nation,” he said.

He continued, “It is therefore surprising that the Federal Government would even venture to adopt any policy that directly frustrates local entrepreneurs, job creators and job seekers.  This, unfortunately, is my view of the Federal Government’s recent act of lifting the ban placed on the importation of textile materials, furniture, toothpicks and cassava products.  I think this is a very discouraging event at a time when our overriding mission should really be to promote made in Nigeria goods.”

Fashola said that the country’s leadership must look inwards to harness the abundant opportunities that could transform the economy and reposition it for greatness.

He lamented that policy somersault has seriously dealt a hard blow on the country, recalling that the number of textile factories operating in the country had fallen from 124 in 1996 to 25, while the number of workers in the industry slumped from 130,000 to 24,000.

According to him, despite the nation’s population doubling within the next twenty years, there were no potentials of developing the economy to march the needs of the  increasing population, stressing that every tier of government should strive to promote schemes and skills that can match the nation’s needs.

He urged Nigerian universities to emphasize vocational training and develop academic curriculum that could be tailored toward acquiring practical skills that would enable the graduates to be self-employed rather than the current practice where millions of Nigerians are jobless.