The Secretary General of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Blessing Akinlosotu has called on the government at all levels to prioritise its patronage for made in Nigeria goods.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, Akinlosotu stressed that patronage for Nigerian goods is the only way to boost industrialization and grow the economy.
According to him, patronage for Nigerian products must also include the patronage of Nigerian services companies and workers as against the penchant for use of foreigners or expatriates.
“It is rather unfortunate that lack of patronage by Government has rendered virtually all local professionals worthless.
“In a situation where Nigerian Government borrows money from the Chinese Government and the said loans are expended on Chinese contractors in the name of being an expatriate will without any doubt lead to capital flight and inability to pay the loans borrowed.
He urged the government to be careful in handling its loans so as the avert the situation currently playing out in Zambia where the Chinese has taken over the Zambian Airline, Railway and some other National assets.
The NYCN Scribe noted that it is impossible to talk of political independence without self-sufficiency especially in area of consumption, noting that such will grow the GDP of the nation.
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He warned that if Nigeria continue to leave the handling of its resources to foreigners, it would prevent the development of local capacity.
He stressed that Nigerian had capable hands to handle our affairs in construction, IT and other.
“If we do not produce what we consume, it simply means we buy what we consume from abroad and also means we do not have anything we are leveraging on.
“If you look at the framework for local content or virtually any government intervention, it starts from the necessary legal framework.
“We must have an institutional arrangement to ensure the enforcement of the framework, we must also have the issue of the participation of the private sector to achieve the local content,” he said.
