I “ll transform Kogi to robust, fast-growing, knowledge driven economy – Dino
By Tunde Opalana
Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, Senator Dino Melaye has promised to transform the state into one of the most robust, fastest-growing and knowledge driven economies in the country by the year 2030.
Melaye said while reeling out his mission plan and vision for Kogi State in Abuja on Wednesday at the inauguration of selected committee to draft Policy Document for his governorship campaign.
He said the state needed a total turn around because it has remained a confluence of unrealised potentials, lacklustre socio-economic performance and massive frustration, despite being
one of the most endowed states in Nigeria in terms of natural and human resources.
In order to reverse this unacceptable trend and to actualise his vision, he said “we intend to follow the path of nations and regions in the world who have achieved monumental socio-economic transformation through visioning, thoughtful experimentation, adequate planning and unwavering determination to bring dreams into reality. For example, what changed in Dubai or Singapore was not their climate, or people or natural resources but a leadership with extraordinary vision and total commitment to deliberate and sustained efforts to bring dreams into reality.
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“The world economy has changed. There was a time when agriculture and manufacturing were the main drivers of growth and wealth creation but today close to 2/3rd of the global economy is a knowledge economy. That is why single individuals now have companies that are bigger than some national economies and nations or regions that understand the language of science and technology have become stupendously rich.
“Some of those nations do not even have natural resources. Kogi State is extremely lucky that both the old and new pathways to socio-economic development are open to us. We can, therefore, attain our vision by effectively harnessing our abundant natural and human resources while also drawing heavily on the experience of other climes in the application of the new methods for creating growth and wealth in the 21st century.”
In the hight of the foregoing, he charged the Committee to propose effective strategies, policies and programmes for attaining the vision as well as the mission of creating an economically vibrant, socially integrated and politically stable Kogi State.
Dwelling on his focal mission for the state, Melaye said “firstly, in a globalised and borderless economy, no country or state can realise its full potentials without attracting private investments from all over the world. There is a lot investible capital out there and many investors are looking for where to birth their investments.
“The truth, however, is that Foreign Direct Investments are not blind. They go to where there is an enabling environment characterised by good leadership, stability, law and order, transparency, predictability and consistent regulatory environment all of which are aggregated as “The Ease of Doing Business”.
“Secondly, it is widely acknowledged that Kogi is one of the richest States in the country. Some of the countries with the highest per capita GDP in the world like Singapore, Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg are not only smaller than Kogi in terms of population and land mass but also do not have anything close to our endowment in natural resources.
“This is the time for us to start preparing for a restructured Nigeria where every State in the Federation will be compelled to see itself virtually as a country that has to survive on its own resources. We can survive and even excel because devolution of powers means more control over our minerals and mines, liberty to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, build transportation and communication system and have control over our internal security.
“Why, for example, can’t we be self- sufficient in electricity to power our industrialisation? Why can’t we get a concession to make Ajeokuta work? Why can’t we obtain a concession to extend the railway from Itakpe to Abuja and open up Lokoja as a great tourism destination? Why can’t we build the first 7-star hotel with world class Conference facilities in Nigeria in lokoja? And why can’t we build a bridge over the Niger between Lokoja and Shintaku?
“Thirdly, in developing our Strategies and policies we should always focus on what we can do differently. The last few decades have witnessed a clamour for a new way of looking at Government or conducting Government business in order to restore people’s faith and trust.
“This has entailed flattening the bureaucracy and adopting the entrepreneurial spirit to transform the public sector and make it increasingly mission-driven, results – oriented and customer- driven. This is where our Civil Services Reforms are relevant but the great lesson is that, the Reforms must go beyond adherence to rules and regulations, transparency, accountability and due process to the ultimate objective of delivering more service with less resources.
“This will inevitably require us to focus on the size and cost of governance, training, performance management etc.
We also need a new way of thinking about public sector investments especially in human and social infrastructure like health and education. The underlying principle is that the benefits of such investments are not just social but economic. A healthy citizen is a more productive citizen while education enhances citizen’s chances of benefitting from opportunities and contributing to our global competitiveness.”
To facilitate the Committee’s assignment, the gubernatorial candidate made available to the Chairman a document titled “Think Tank on a Blueprint for the Transformation of Kogi State” which is the brainchild of the former governor of the state, Captain Idris Ichalla Wada in his efforts to provide a developmental roadmap for the last PDP administration in Kogi state.
