Nonsochukwu Uwa, Owerri
Former Federal Minister of Finance, Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, has said that Nigeria’s problem is not funding but a lack of true governance.
He made this known during the monthly Ikengaonline Town-Hall meeting held on Thursday, with the topic, “Nigeria’s incoming government: prospects and challenges.”
The former Minister argued that if only credible leaders mount the position of leadership that the burdens of Nigerians would be reduced.
He pointed out that “Nigeria is a large country with enormous resources.”
“We have a lot of resources to leverage on. But we have had low savings because of poor administration. Funding should not be our problem. Our problem is the lack of true governance that will improve the health sector and rural infrastructure among others. The thing there is that we need credible leadership.
“We have a diverse economy just that because of leadership the various sectors have not been working well. Like I have been saying, Nigerians are tired of hearing that we have the potential now what they want to hear is how these natural resources are used to better their lives.”
The former Minister also advocated for a social safety programmes for the aged and the poor, arguing that with the amount of resources in the country the government should be prepared enough to take care of these classes of people.
“The issue of the social safety net is how well you take care of the people who can’t compete with others, especially the aged ones. It will also show how modernised we are with our resources and how prepared we are.”
