Shettima enjoins OAU graduates to embrace opportunities in Tinubu’s economic reforms

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

Vice President, Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerian graduates to take advantage of the opportunities that abound in the country’s economy being repositioned and transformed.

Delivering a convocation lecture at the 48th convocation ceremony of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Shettima underscored the significant economic reforms initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, especially the Naira, fuel subsidies, tax reforms as well as local manufacturing, highlighting the increase in local sourcing of raw materials and the growth of domestic entrepreneurship.

The Vice President, represented by Dr Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to Mr President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, said this growth has created opportunities for graduates to contribute to the value chain and actively participate in the country’s economic development.

He pointed out the positive changes in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and petroleum. He also mentioned the spike in exports and the shift towards local refining and distribution in the energy sector.

His words: ” The fulcrum of these reforms is that the Nigerian economy is being repositioned and transformed in significant and fundamental ways. Many sectors are becoming more independent, sourcing raw materials locally rather than importing. This means there are more openings for entrepreneurs locally, especially for people who are ready to add positively to the value chain. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria reported just two weeks ago that investment in manufacturing has increased by 32%. Our pharmaceutical sector, for example, has transformed, with the phenomenon of contract manufacturing, precluding local pharmacists from having to import everything from abroad unlike before. Exports have spiked, leading to all-time record of over $4 billion in Nigeria’s balance of trade for three quarters running. Even the petroleum and gas sectors have transformed, with the coming on board of Dangote Refinery, Port Harcourt Refinery and other modular ones.

“No longer is Nigeria simply exporting crude oil and gas abroad. There is now great pressure from local users who are refining, distributing locally and exporting. Even the gas aspect is being captured with the CNG initiative. This is a new Nigeria. Are we seeing the opportunities, dear graduands? Don’t just follow the naysaying crowd. Open your eyes and plug in to a new prosperity, that is locally grounded.

Shettima urged the graduating students to embrace the challenges that lie ahead, drawing inspiration from the world’s most innovative minds who have overcome obstacles to create lasting change.

“Don’t be fazed. Do not be frazzled. Not even with the usual rhetoric about how Nigeria is hard. Nigeria is a tough place because real opportunities are usually cloaked by that hardness. Difficulties most often disguises great advantages which only the valiant, the imaginative, the resilient, the positive and sometimes, the lucky, can unveil,” he charged.