What should embarrass 200m Nigerians the most if we are discussing the topic of not manufacturing what we consume?

Ayo Akinfe

Items we use in huge quantities but shamelessly do not manufacture:

(1) Generator sets
(2) Armaments to equip our security services
(3) Okada motorcycles
(4) The 12m automobiles we drive
(5) The bicycles our villagers ride
(6) All the megaphones and loudspeakers we use in our churches and mosques
(7) All the ankara, guinea brocade, lace and damask material we use for fabrics
(8) Household goods like fridge-freezers, dishwashers, TV sets, washing machines
(9) Communication gadgets like laptop computers, mobile phones and iPads
(10) Fashion accessories like Brazilian hair, make-up, eyelashes, false nails, etc

These are all items which the government needs to place a complete import ban on. If we cannot manufacture them, we have no right to consume them as far as I am concerned.

I was expecting President Buhari to set production targets for all these items in his New Year’s Day speech. Unfortunately, the government is too busy chasing its political enemies like Omoyele Sowore to have time for serious matters.

In South Korea, they have a saying: “Anything we don’t produce, we don’t need.” Nigerians need to start thinking that way, starting off with healthcare. Any ailment we cannot treat in Nigeria should be seen as Mother Nature’s way of controlling our population.

If you are ill and you cannot be treated in Nigeria, consider it God’s will that you must die. If say six governors and 10 ministers were to die every four years from untreated ailments, I put it to you that they would pay more attention to healthcare.

Our shamelessness has got so bad that we now even fly to Dubai to hold parties. Which other nation on earth sustains the entertainment and hospitality industries of another abeg?

This dependence on the industrialised world is simply not sustainable. With global economic output expected to be down by about a quarter in 2021, we are in for a rude shock!