A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and aspirant in the 2019 presidential race, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, has spoken about how he will transform the country if he is voted to lead Nigeria.
Moghalu spoke during a lecture organised by Centre for Financial Journalism (CFJ) on Thursday.
The presidential aspirant said Nigeria should get to a state of development in which the government set an enabling environment, creates the policy and allows the market to function efficiently.
“So, it is not every man for himself without a regulation, that is an extreme form of capitalism, and what happens is that this system produces wealth for a very few, whereas the majority of the country remains poor which is the current situation in Nigeria,” he said.
He also noted that since no country can develop beyond the competence or incompetence of its leadership, it is important that Nigerians elect a new breed of political leaders.
“Our career political class have failed, also, our career politicians have failed us, that is why Nigeria is now the poverty capital of the world, we have the greatest number of people living in poverty all over the world,” Moghalu said that is precisely why he is running for the presidency said.
He added that there is no reason why the Nigerian president should rush to sign a treaty with the WTO (World Trade Organization) “There is some part of this agreement that does not quite accord with Nigerian national interest, so he is right to wait. China negotiated with the WTO for 15 years before they signed the WTO treaty, Russia negotiated for 19 years before they signed the WTO treaty,” Moghalu who added he has been advocating that for years that the Nigerian government should take a second look at the treaty in tune with its national interest said.
On his plans for the economy, if elected, Moghalu said his government will create a major venture capital fund that will invest in businesses to stimulate the economy and to help to create jobs. “These are some of the important changes that he will focus on.
“There will be a fundamental overhaul of the educational system of Nigeria to make the economy stronger. The economy system will be re-founded in such a way that a graduate from secondary school and universities will focus on skill, so the educational system will now be a skill-based educational system.
“These help to create more jobs in our economy. There are 30 million people unemployed and this is quite alarming. We will have a clear worldview for the Nigerian state and a clear economic philosophy.
”We will define it, explain it to the people of Nigeria and also explain the practical consequences of that philosophy. We run a democratic government and there are elections, Nigerian citizens have the right to contest in an election.”
Moghalu also dismissed the notion that he is contesting to seek for relevance and appointment. Instead, he said he has a set vision that he is running on that Nigerians should buy into that vision to be set free from poverty, insecurity, and from the grip of the political class that has failed and brought the country to where it is today.
The former CBN deputy governor said there is a need for a fundamental change in type of political leadership in Nigeria.
“Nigeria needs a generational shift, a generational shift that is not based on age but based on idea.” He added that he would run a participatory and accountable government with transparency in finances. According to him, because secrecy aids corruption technology will be used to manage finances in such a way that it will aid
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