Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has urged the Federal Government to abandon what he described as an import-driven economic model, insisting that Nigeria’s economic recovery depends on expanding domestic production, reviving manufacturing and creating an export-oriented economy.
Atiku argued that the country’s worsening economic conditions were the outcome of policy choices that favoured consumption over production and importation over industrialisation.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said Nigeria must “produce what it eats, manufacture what it uses and export what it makes” if it hopes to achieve sustainable growth and reduce poverty.
“Nigeria cannot borrow, import and tax its way to prosperity. For too long, we have celebrated importation while neglecting production. We import food that should be grown in our fields, goods that should be manufactured in our factories and even raw materials that ought to be processed by Nigerian hands.
“No nation has ever become prosperous by exporting jobs and importing poverty,” Atiku declared.
