A financial expert, Mr
Joshua Oderinde, has urged the Federal Government to carry out more enlightenment on its entrepreneurship programmes to encourage employment generation.
Oderinde, a former chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, (ICAN) Ikeja District, gave the advice in an interview with newsmenin Lagoson, Tuesday.
He said the current recession in the country was a compelling reason for government to promote entrepreneurship among citizens in order to create jobs and build local production capacities.
Oderinde said that the country‘s export potential would be increased if the government attracted more Nigerians to its many entrepreneurship programmes through aggressive enlightenment.
“My advice to the government is to enlighten the people about the policy issues in the economy.
“ They should make information more available to people so that they will be able to go into entrepreneurship.
“We need more entrepreneurs to address the business gaps, boost exports and earn more foreign exchange in order to overcome our current economic challenges.
“There are many initiatives the government put in place like the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, Federal Institute of Industrial Research that people can take advantage of, and create jobs.
“That is why it is very important at this critical time for government to enlighten the people about these initiatives to drive entrepreneurship, boost export and attract to grow the economy,’’ he said.
Oderinde urged the government to focus on value-addition on exportable products as a way of raising more revenue to revitalize the economy.
The expert challenged accountants to help move the country out of its current problem by thinking out-of-the box and applying the strictest professional discipline in all their work.
Another expert, Mrs Morenike Olaiwole, urged professional bodies in business-related areas to help the country out of the doldrums by sensitising their members to entrepreneurship.
Olaiwole, Chairman, ICAN, Ikeja District, said the professional body had organised fora where members were educated on the need to embrace entrepreneurship as a way out recession.
“We organise ourselves in forums monthly to discuss trending issues in the economy.
“And now that we are facing recession, we have been focusing on our forums lately also have survival strategies to get out of recession.
“We  need to educate our members on what they can do to cope and survive in the current situation and tap the various business and entrepreneurship opportunities that still abound in the economy,’’ she said.
Olaiwole assured that the country would get out of the dire situation if the country increased its export capacities and self-employment generations.