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We must open up the economy to create jobs – Atiku

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Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has insisted on the restructuring of Nigeria’s governance system with devolution of powers, the opening up of the economy for private sector participation, the encouragement of commercial agriculture, more inclusiveness of the youth and women in governance, the pursuit of justice and equity, among other solutions towards the attainment of the collective aspiration of Nigerians for a more productive, self sufficient, better secured and happier society.

The presidential hopeful in the forthcoming 2019 elections, disclosed this on Wednesday at an interactive session with a cross section of his enthusiasts at a workshop on “Deepening Understanding of the Nigerian Political Environment” organised by the Political Academy in Sagamu, Ogun State.

Restating his commitment to the Nigerian project, Atiku pointed out that he has been preaching about the need for restructuring since 2004 as a matter of “vision and belief that it will take Nigeria to greater heights for the achievement of the aspiration of our country.”

“The issue can be viewed from two perspectives: like I said during my Chatham House speech, https://www.chathamhouse.org/file/next-generation-nigeria-importance-strengthening-states-economic-management our constitution provides for exclusive legislative and concurrent lists. The items in the exclusive list controlled by the Federal Government are too many. The concurrent list has such issues as health, education, agriculture and others which any of the tiers of government can handle.

As the head of government, I am prepared to surrender some of the items on the concurrent list to the states and local governments. I don’t believe the Federal Government should have more than ten to twelve areas on its exclusive list. We must be prepared to let go on items like mineral resources, let states run them while the Federal Government can collect taxes from the states. The US has more oil than Nigeria but they don’t have a ministry of petroleum resources. Whatever resources you have you exploit. Every state has resources, let them develop at their own pace.”

According to him, part of his restructuring plan, is also to open up the economy to greater private sector participation with which he targets to resolve the problems of infrastructure deficits and spiraling unemployment.

“When I decided to contest for the presidency, one of the first things I did was to study the needs and difficulties of our youth population and it was clear that the major need of the youth is jobs. Many of them are engaged in different not-too-productive things because they don’t have jobs. When they have jobs, they will have less time for play. The best way to create jobs is to open up the economy to the private sector. It is the private sector that provides jobs not government. Government opens up the economy and there are 1001 ways to open up the economy. This also includes the development of infrastructure. The private sector can, for instance, invest in building the rails, manage and recoup their investment and profit through long leases with government guarantees while the facilities are available to serve the people.”

Further on job creation, Atiku informed that he is a firm believer in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises as he has demonstrated this through his private business life and while in service as Vice President and he intends to revive institutional support for the sector for meaningful growth.

“My boss (Obasanjo) and I were responsible for setting up the SME agency which they are using today. We established it because we know the value on the economy and job creation. If it is not working well today it is because they have mismanaged it. In my private business, I set up a micro finance company and instructed the management to reserve eighty percent of the loans for women. Through that we succeeded in pulling out over 45,000 households from poverty group.”

Also primary in his consideration for the revival and repositioning of the economy is the encouragement of commercial agriculture alongside support for small scale subsistence farming.

“Most of our agricultural economy has been subsistence, small scale farming. The highest potential we recorded was during the First Republic. It was a mix between subsistence and commercial farming. We must go back to this dual system. We will encourage and provide support for commercial farming. It is only when you engage in commercial agriculture that you can produce enough for food, processing and export to meaningfully add to national revenue. This will also serve as catalyst for the processing industry and create more jobs. Importantly however, we must continue to support small scale farming and provide short, medium and long term loans through the banks.”

Wondering why there has been no clear government policy and concerted support for the entertainment industry, Atiku revealed that the sector is an important part of his economic development plan given its job generation and revenue yielding potentials.

“I have sat down with young people in the entertainment industry. One major concern that they express is the lack of strong regulation against intellectual property theft. This is an area that I am going to focus on, if I have the opportunity. Nigeria’s entertainment industry is a booming enterprise which will create thousands of new jobs but the problem is that there has been no clear government policy and programme for the development of the sector. I believe we should have a policy and put up a programme for them to have access to funding while we regulate it.”

He assured of his commitment to protecting intellectual property rights so the young actors, and indeed all those engaged in the creative industry, among others get the money they deserve for working so hard.

He restated his vision to get Nigeria working again by creating jobs, increasing opportunity, uniting its people and making the country safe for all.

Celebrities

AY Makun, Basketmouth discuss their 17-year feud

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AY Makun and Basketmouth have made their first public appearance together, marking a new chapter after their 17-year feud.

The rift between the two prominent comedians began in 2006 over unpaid performance fees and intensified in 2022, with both avoiding each other publicly.

In March 2023, AY claimed Basketmouth had yet to pay him for a show he anchored for him. Responding, Basketmouth described his colleague’s account of the incident as “lies”.

However, following Basketmouth’s apology in 2023, both comedians have put aside their differences.

In the latest episode of the ‘Glass House with AY‘ podcast, the comedian argued he did not get the money for the show while Basketmouth maintained that he was paid.

AY also shared insights into his prolonged rift with Basketmouth.

“I did not know when the fight started. I just noticed it started. Every day I wake up thinking it is a normal thing, boys will be boys and like that, it grew into several years,” he said.

“Then the third year, it seems like people were spreading more rumours about the feud till it lasted that long. It lasted too long”.

AY emphasised the feud’s impact on younger comedians. “Our feud caused some damages because in a way we were like providers for people,” he said.

Basketmouth added: “Most times people swear allegiance by default. So when we were not on good terms some people made it their business”.

“…A comedian called me to tell me AY reached out to him for a gig and was asking if it was okay to work with AY. I told him it was okay and I was happy it happened because people would know it was okay to work for either of us because it was about more money and opportunities.

“There was a guy who picked a side and came at me. Now that we are cool, he would be confused. It is collaboration over competition.”

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Paul Okoye accuses Peter of song theft, vows to release ‘original version’

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Paul ‘Rudeboy’ Okoye, the Nigerian singer, has accused Peter ‘Mr P’ Okoye, his twin brother, over alleged intellectual property theft.

Mr P recently released the single ‘Winning’ — a few months after the brothers confirmed that Psquare, their shared music group, no longer exists.

However, in a recent Instagram post, Rudeboy claimed that the song was his, arguing that it was supposed to feature in his forthcoming album. He also alleged the producer hijacked the track.

“Written and sang by Rudeboy. Produced by same producer. Now how come? Now am I supposed to release another version? Mr Producer, your case is for another day,” he wrote.

“Just a simple thing, bring 6 songs, let me bring 6 songs. I submitted 6 songs to the so-called management. Why re-singing my own song? word for word. Song that was supposed to be in my album next year June.”

In another post, the singer vowed to release “original versions of any copied songs”, adding that “the days of manipulation are over”.

“The days of manipulation are over. And to the management, make I hear any song wey na only me sing, I go release the original version. Oloriburuku! Music is not that hard,” he wrote.

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Uche Ogbodo reveals why she blocked May Edochie on social media

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Uche Ogbodo, the Nollywood actress, has opened up about her decision to block May, the first wife of Yul Edochie, on social media.

The actress was responding to critics who linked the recent robbery at her boutique store to her support for Yul’s second wife Judy Austin via her Instagram page.

Uche claimed May’s fans have been consistently harassing her online. The film star said this prompted her to block May due to her “apparent tolerance for their toxic behaviour”.

She emphasized that karma does not target innocent people with pure hearts, and clarified that the robbery was simply a life event, not a form of karma.

Uche also expressed frustration with the “negative comments from May’s supporters”, telling them to stop watching her videos if they are bothered.

“Toxic May Edochie fans! Unah go dey Taya ooo. Very very toxic bunch of lunatics! You people don’t own this social media,” she wrote.

“No matter how toxic you get, you can never pass Wizkid’s FC. Stop watching my videos if it hurts so bad. Misfortune is life, and it’s rotational; it will surely swing. So wait for your own turn. Allow me to enjoy mine.

“Singing Karma Karma. Does karma visit innocent person? Someone whose heart is pure and not ridden with evil? Hell No!

“Thief stole my goods then it’s my Karma because I chose to mind my business. The real karma is coming to you for being evil and vile towards people.

“I blocked May because you wouldn’t let me like her pictures in peace. And she seems to enjoy the toxicity! So that pisses me off! As she cannot tell you to stop.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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