Let 2020 be a year of prosperity

As we have reached the New Year 2020, let’s remind ourselves that Nigeria is a country of many opportunities but we rarely exploit them. Let’s also say some truth.  Governments at all levels struggle to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurial development and creativity. The absence of such environment has led to poverty of ideas […]

As we have reached the New Year 2020, let’s remind ourselves that Nigeria is a country of many opportunities but we rarely exploit them.

Let’s also say some truth.  Governments at all levels struggle to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurial development and creativity. The absence of such environment has led to poverty of ideas on how to take advantage of the many opportunities at our doorsteps.

Notwithstanding, some Nigerians have defied this and are making fortunes from the opportunities that abound. Nonetheless, there are still many untapped prospects at our backdoor which can be money spinners.

2020 should be the year for governments to design how it can create a supportive environment for Nigerians to explore potentials for entrepreneurial development.

For instance, farmers produce thousands of tonnes of perishable crops like tomatoes, pepper, onions, lettuce and cabbage among others especially in the northern part of Nigeria. But most of these are lost due to lack of adequate storage and packaging facilities. To tackle this, the government can establish local fabrication of small scales storage facilities and packaging machines for perishable crops. There are many young Nigerians with sound technical know-how of fabrication of simple and small scale farm machineries. What they need is proper co-ordination, tools and good workshops. Well, the good news is that the N235billion CBN intervention fund for manufacturing re-financing and restructuring facilities of banks loan is still available.

Has Nigeria not commit a huge error by neglecting technical and vocational schools? Most graduates of technical schools can replicate many types of simple and small scale machineries imported into Nigeria today. That’s how China started. If the Nigerian government can take bold initiatives towards organized and well-tooled workshops to encourage technical knowledge development, it will be a viable way for foreign exchange, employment and industrialization.

There has been talk about waste to wealth in Nigeria but not much has been done about it. Waste recycling is a huge source of income. E-waste recycling is also a new way to employ thousands of young people. Experts have said that a large number of what is labeled “e-waste” are whole electronic equipment or parts that are readily marketable for reuse or can be recycled for materials recovery. Cell phones and other electronic items contain high amounts of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, copper, iron, aluminum, etc. Nigeria is a huge market for cell phones, thus millions of tonnes of cell phones waste are generated every year. E-waste recycling will be a money spinner and a good way of tackling toxic waste in Nigeria. Cell phones e-waste recycling export to France is employing thousands of youth in the Ivory Coast. Nigeria can emulate the Ivorians.

All these are just a bit of the various potentials untapped in Nigeria. It is high time all other viable avenues are explored- let 2020 be the year.

Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Jimeta, Adamawa State