COVID-19 has shone an effervescent light and given glaring clarity to an existential cornerstone of our human species that has been known throughout man’s history from the first narrations of man organising in societies. Whether it be empires, Roman or English; whether it be ideological constructs like Communism in Soviet Russia or China; whether it be in democracies, the Athenian Democracy or the United States; “the sustainability of any system, any idea, any society is always directly linked to the economic wellbeing of the people.”

The correlation between economic realities and the ascendency or decline, prosperity or poverty of the Nigerian State and people have never been shown up in such stark relief as it is in these times. In the wake of COVID-19, the Nations that will rapidly get their economies thriving and prospering again will be those that can “create” and sell to others. The bedrock of such economies is built on the ability to manufacture and offer services with the attendant hallmark of providing jobs for their people. At the very core of the provision of the majority of jobs in these economies is the ability of their indigenous industry and businesses to “create”.

In the realisation that we are a day, a month, a year, nay decades late, we must collectively and actively advocate the reset of the Nigerian economy with the mission of laying down the bedrock for our indigenous industry and businesses to “create”.

In acknowledgement that all our myriad national “palava” indexes are directly or indirectly linked to the economy, it must be clear, it should be clear that we cannot leave it totally to the mercy of a class of idlers, botchers, rudderless, visionlessness and missionless political class whose only recommendation is that they are proficient in the deployment of force to capture power and are second to none in the stuffing of offshore and onshore accounts, Ghana must go bags, caps and agbadas.

The Nigerian political ruling class has historically been shown up as a swamp of corruption and malfeasance and it is critical and a pressing imperative that citizen advocacy be ramped up to change the economic narrative. It is even more critical that the “giants of Nigerian industry and business”, take a decisive and resolute stand to change that narrative. In this call I exclude the mythical briefcase totting “carpetbaggers” who at little notice are “gone with the wind”, but I include all indigenous entrepreneurs who are committed in infrastructure and application of resources to the continued viability of the Nigerian Enterprise.

Since there must be leaders in any Enterprise, it must fall on our indigenous conglomerates and their leaders to form up, set vision and mission and blatantly use their powers to give directions to Government through crafting of policies, incentives, etc, that will reset Nigeria economically. A tiny blessing in these times has seen the first combined endeavor of such scale by Nigerian Industry players through the auspices of CACOVID. It must be with resolute and unshakable conviction that we must stand as Ambassadors for Nigerian Industry and Businesses.

It is not hypothetical, “as has been seen and can be seen in our many bush fires, that all that has been invested in ability, infrastructure, resources can be laid low with but a spark”. Leaders and players of our Industry and business need no better motivation to begin to act. The “carpetbaggers” and accumulating “political class” only have briefcases to tot at the sound of the spark.

“I want Nigerian entrepreneurs to dream mightily without subjection to inhibitions of their grand dreams because I know that it is to the extent of their dreams that the shadow of our peoples poverty either recedes or continues to loom larger.” The first call to action must be the mission to advocate for a “law”, that shall commit all Government in Nigeria to mandatorily only buy, source, contract made or sourced in Nigeria, save that it cannot be made or sourced in Nigeria.

•Victor Ikhatalor is Ambassador of Nigerian Industry and Business. @MyTribeNigeria

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