The Nigerian Export Promotion says the nation’s economy can thrive better without oil if the non-oil sector is prioritised.
NEPC North Central Zonal Coordinator, Mr Samson Idowu, stated this on Sunday in Jos in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
Idowu said Nigeria was blessed with abundant non-oil resources ranging from agricultural produce to mineral resources.
“If you look at the countries doing well globally today, they are not countries that are rich in oil.
In fact, there’s a school of thought that oil is a curse than a blessing for Nigeria.
“The likes of Cocoa House, Liberty Stadium, Groundnut Pyramids and many other assets including the free education in western Nigeria were from our sweat from agriculture.
“It is the discovery of oil at Oloibiri that brought us to where we are now that everybody is running to Abuja for brown envelope.
I can boldly say that we excelled without oil and we will thrive and even better if there is no oil,” he stated.
Idowu expressed confidence that with the right policy, right support, right intervention and right focus, Nigeria economy would be on the right track.
The coordinator stated that there were many calls for the country’s restructuring but what was needed was economic restructuring.
According to him, all the regions should focus on what they have competitive and comparative advantage of, and depend less on Abuja.
“So we shouldn’t wait for the oil to dry up before we take a step because the oil is drying up.
He urged government not to wait until the oil dried up before adequate attention would be given to non-oil sector.