A former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has that declared Nigeria has no reason to be poor but needs leaders who can manage her diversities for optimum advantage using the principles of comparative costs and advantage to develop every part of the country simultaneously.
The former governor stated this yesterday while giving an opening remark as chancellor of the Political Leadership Training Institute (POLA) at the Continuous Political Education Programme of POLA.
Speaking at the two-day training themed “Understanding Democracy, Quality Representation and Political Management“, Daniel cautioned that the dream of a prosperous country would amount merely to a wait for Godot if unity takes the back seat.
“Creativity leadership is about managing and tapping into the economic advantages of each state for the common good. Kano, Sokoto and many other northern states for leather from hides and skin; Ogun and Ondo for Bitumen; Niger Delta states for petroleum and chemicals; the hills and rocks of the Eastern states for marbles and granites which are just polished stones; Cocoa with value added in the Western states. Every part of the country also has adequate human resources and manpower that can be exported for foreign exchange to balance trade deficits. This will strengthen our currency especially if we can also reduce our thirst and taste for foreign goods and shun ostentatious lifestyles.
“I have always said this, and I repeat, Nigeria does not have any reason to be poor. We tried this model in Ogun State when I was governor, we tried to develop the tourism industry, we used sports as an economic instrument to create job opportunities and to solving social problems dealing with crimes. All social problems can best be handled by creating economic prosperity for the larger number of people,” he said.