In the spirit of celebration of the 2024 World MSMEs day, the President General of the African Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (AASME), Darlington Onuoha Kalu has proffered solution to the economic hardship in Nigeria.
Addressing a group of journalists in Aba, Kalu who spoke on this year’s theme: “Galvanizing MSMEs worldwide by supporting women and youth entrepreneurship and resilient supply
chain and combing its building a stronger future together,” highlighted the huge gains the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, would have brought to the fore if the federal government is harnessing the full potentials of the MSMEs.
Kalu said it is saddening that Nigeria is facing the worst economic hardship, since 1999 to 2024, which is so critical that our currency exchange is about N1,450 to $1USD, inflation is on the high rise, cost of living, transportation, education, health care, insecurity etc. He however, added that empowering the MSMEs will help the country rebuild the economy.
“We in the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises MSMEs, thinks that the solution to this economic hardship is a wide gap between the political parties in power of the governance of Nigeria and the core operators of the MSMES, both in the formal and informal sector of the National economy, that the government are not carrying along the 95% of the population in the MSMEs so far along in their (a) planning and policy, and implementation of the PPI.” Kalu said.
Kalu noted that the inability of the federal government to give full attention to the Small and Medium Enterprises MSMEs, is drastically affecting the economy.
“This is drastically affecting the economy of the nation, e.g What is the production of the Nigerian crude oil per day, and what is the capacity of the consumption of the finished products by Nigerians per day and what is the capacity of the refined products of the crude per day by the Nigerian refineries if any is working and the import of the finished products into Nigeria for the Nigerians consumption in various arrears.”
The President General of the African Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (AASME), Kalu, described the lack of electricity and insecurity in the country as ‘killer of businesses’, according to him, this has pushed many investors out of the country.
“The electricity supply in Nigeria is not on the increase supply as the managers are not making provision of New Power Generation but only using the acquired infrastructure they have as energy distribution companies to stare the nation MSMEs with high bills of none power existences this is affecting the economic development of the nation.”
“The farmer are finding it difficult to go to farm due to high level of insecurity in the farm areas as the government is not providing any form of assistance to that effect.
“The investor are not forthcoming, things are generally bad in the Nigerian economic system that it only requires that we should all come together and galvanized support with the women and youth entrepreneurs to build a stronger future together.” Kalu added.
Proffering solution, Kalu urged the federal government to carry along the 95% of the population in the MSMEs along in their planning and policy, and implementation of the PPI and also, adopting the National Medium Development Plan Vision 2021-2025, which demands the FG to set aside 30% of their budget, State 20% and L.G.A. 10%, then the MSMEs will help develop and strengthen the country’s economy.
“This will be achieved by the Federal Government of Nigeria adopting with their National Medium Development Plan Vision 2021-2025, which we mentioned during the sensitization summit that Federal Government should set aside 30% of their budget, State 20% and L.G.A. 10%.
“That following the adoption of the set aside of the various budget, then the MSMEs will be fully in charge to be developed and financially empowered for their business, innovation, training, skill and capacity with certification to join the global trend of the MSMES globalization, we thank you all for joining in building a better MSMEs states than we met it in this Democracy Economy we are now marching in as a new page of Nigeria,” Kalu added.
