WITH the recent announcement by President Muhammadu Buhari that Nigeria is broke, the need for us as a nation to begin to look inwards in terms of resuscitating the economy and creating jobs for our teeming youths has become more critical. Frankly, the dwindling resources accruing to Nigeria, and indeed other oil producing economies such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and others can be attributed to the sharp drop in oil prices globally.

Again, this calls to question our preparedness as a nation to withstand the shocks, and cushion the negative effects of the sudden slide in oil prices. But for our carefree attitude under the sixteen years of PDP administration, we ought to have planned ahead for the rainy day as we have it today. Nonetheless, rather than continue to lament, these austere period should be used to pay attention to non-oil sectors of the economy and reorder our priorities especially the automotive sector which has the capacity to create millions of jobs for Nigerians.

In doing this, the federal government must synergize with the first indigenous automobile manufacturer, INNOSON by patronising their products and granting them necessary incentives and waivers for expansion. Such incentives will in the long run help in capacity building as more Nigerians will benefit from the technology transfer, and acquire skills that will help the nation in multifarious ways.

There is no gainsaying that the direct corollary of any government support to INNOSON in terms of expansion will be numerous job openings for our unemployed youths. Apart from job creation, such expansion will offer an opportunity for skills acquision, and this comes with multiplier effects.

Therefore, as the new ministers assume office, they ought to help the administration think out of the box in its mission to rescue Nigeria from imminent economic downturn. If truth must be told, Nigeria’s dependence on a mono source of revenue, as in oil earnings has put our economy in precarious state and it’s only a diversification to other areas such as automotive, ICT, agriculture and other areas of manufacturing that can disentangle our economy from the uncertainties in the oil industry.

It is indeed remarkable that INNOSON took the bold step several years ago by venturing into automobile manufacturing, and for the first time Nigeria can boast of belonging to the league of automobile manufacturers.

This is unprecedented as the move truly depicts Nigeria as Africa’s largest economy. Indeed we can do more as a people, but this will require a concerted effort by all stakeholders for the country to launch itself as a truly independent economy, that is able to withstand the vagaries of oil fluctuations, that in most cases, we can hardly control.

Recently, the new comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hamid Ali (Rtd) lamented that our economy is 99% import-dependent, and there was need to reverse the trend. Definitely, this is s cogent observation and there is absolute need to increase exports as against imports. Yet the onus lies with the federal government as policy formulators to lead the way by removing obstacles impeding the growth and expansion of indigenous companies such as INNOSON. There is no doubt that once the enabling environment is created, Nigerian companies can compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.INNOSON has since its inception employed over 15,000 Nigerians in their factories, and all what is required is for the federal government to encourage them to set up such factories in the six geo political zones of Nigeria.

As a nation, we should leverage on the abundant manpower in our shores, as well as the innovative attributes that abound, such as INNOSON, by making Nigeria Africa’s hub for automobile production. This can be achieved by discouraging the importation of fairly-used vehicles into the country.

In the same vein, a conducive environment should be created for indigenous automobile manufacturers such as INNOSON to thrive. Once this is done, it will jumpstart the economy and help release the untapped creative energies of our young graduates. The time is now, considering Nigeria’s dwindling oil fortunes.

It is indeed a thing of joy that we have a president who is determined to restore the glory of the land, by shifting emphasis from our hydrocarbon mono economy to other areas such as automotive, agriculture, mining, coal and textile industries.

Now that the ministers have been inaugurated, it is expected that they immediately hit the ground running towards ensuring that they quickly bridge the yawning gap which the slide in global oil prices has  visited  on the nation’s economy. One way to do this is to look inwards in terms of procuring vehicles for official use. When we patronise locally made vehicles, we create jobs for our people, but the reverse is the case when we outsource our procurement of vehicles to foreign companies. It is also a thing of pride that INNOSON vehicles have been tested and certified to meet international standard. This is a thing of joy for us as a nation bearing in mind that it gives us pride and prestige as a nation.

Until we shelve our appetite for foreign made goods, the much trumpeted scourge of unemployment will remain with us. The reason is that for every foreign made vehicle we purchase, we create jobs for citizens of other countries.

Therefore, we must take pride in our locally produced cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles as we have in INNOSON.

Our patriotism as a people can only be measured by the level of patronage that indigenous manufacturers such as INNOSON receive from federal, state and local governments. Obviously, such patronage is the incentive the local companies require to remain afloat.

It is an undeniable fact that patronising foreign made vehicles leads to capital flight and in these austere times, we ought to conserve as much foreign exchange as possible in order to avoid imminent devaluation of the naira, depletion in our foreign reserves and other associated drawbacks.

It is important that the new ministers key into the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari in supporting local industries for the growth and development of Nigeria.

Mr. Chukwudi Enekwechi a journalist, wrote from Abuja.