The Federal Government has been urged to put the right mechanism in place to ensure an improved business environment for entrepreneurs, while also taking education of the citizenry as top priority.
The Chairman of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) Lagos Chapter, Mr. Gafar Odubote stated this today ;Thursday in a statement on the occasion of Nigeria’s Democracy Day, which is celebrated every June 12.
Odubote stated that the business environment in the country was tough, especially for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which he said had to provide almost every facility for themselves amidst multiple charges and unfriendly operating environment.
He lamented that most of the SMEs in the country had closed shop in recent years due to lack of encouragement by the governments at all levels.
He warned that the current situation posed a serious threat to employment and increased insecurity for the country, stressing that these were undermining the nation’s democracy.
“The Federal Government has a lot to do to salvage our democracy. The business environment is not at ease. Many of the growing small companies have collapsed, while others are striving to remain in business.
“The more companies go under, the more the unemployment rate in the country climbs. We really need to save the situation. If this is not curbed, we have a huge security threat in our hands. People must be engaged to dissuade them from criminal ventures,” he said.
Odubote further appealed to governments, especially the Lagos State Government to invest more in quality education to ensure a better tomorrow for the country.
He explained that any country that pays lip service to education would remain unproductive, while expatriates would continue to repatriate capital flight that affect the country’s economy.
He specifically referenced the recent outcries that followed the system glitch of the recently conducted Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the West African Examination Council (WAEC), where most students across the nation were compelled to write their English paper at night.
He insisted these were not good for the image of the country in the international community and urged the government to improve on its efforts going forward.
The statement also encouraged the citizens to continue to support the government in its efforts at taking the country out of the current quagmire.
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