Focus on LG development for sustainable national growth – Adeshina tells Tinubu

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The Director General of the UK-based Diaspora Grassroots for Better Governance in Nigeria, Mr Ade Adeshina, has urged Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to shift significant attention to empowering the local government system and operations, to ensure sustainable national development goals.

Adeshina made the call during an interview with newsmen on Sunday where he stated that the primary purpose of the government, after ensuring the safety of life and property, was to guarantee improved conditions of the citizens wherever they live in the country.

According to the DG who highlighted some ills in the country while suggesting measures to salvage them, many Local Government Areas (LGAs) have not witnessed the dividends of democracy noting that rural communities had suffered the most due to poor governance.

He said,

“Simple road networks cannot be built to required standards.

“Local government council officials lack required scrutiny and, are in most cases, incapable of managing public pulse.

“Given Nigeria’s abundant natural and human resources, the current state of development is a source of concern.

“We must heed the words of former Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who said that Nigeria should not be a poor nation given its vast resources,” Adeshina said.

Adeshina added that the removal of fuel subsidies and the resulting high inflation rate had exacerbated the challenges faced by ordinary Nigerians while noting that the exchange rate of one dollar for N1,040 in the parallel market, as at Oct. 12,  had also compounded the issue.

Adesina further said to address these challenges and set Nigeria on a path to sustainable growth, the federal government must focus on infrastructure development across the 774 LGAs and that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration must reform the civil service to make every officer accountable for his actions and omissions.

He urged the President to ensure the provision of standardised road and rail networks to open up rural communities for businesses to enable economic inclusion while stating that central to this transformation is the need for robust infrastructure development.

“The transition from a production-oriented economy, as our founders envisioned, to a consumption-based economy in the 1970s has hindered our progress.

“We must return to a production-oriented path, growing and producing what we need locally and embracing our homegrown products.