A former banker, Mr Raji Rasaki, at the weekend called on Nigerians to patronise locally made goods in order to contribute their quota to the growth of the nation’s economy.
Rasaki, who made the call in an interview with The Tide’s source in Ibadan, stressed the need to encourage the private sector by consuming their products and discourage Nigerian graduates from relying on white collar jobs instead of self employment.
“The government should further discourage the consumption of foreign goods; because it is really killing our own local industries.
“It is when local industries are working that we can reduce the unemployment rate and those employed will contribute their quota to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said.
Rasaki lauded the Nigerian Brewery for sourcing their raw materials locally, as it had encouraged some farmers to go into mechanised farming, knowing that the company would buy the produce at a good price.
“For instance, the rate at which rice is imported into the country has gone down drastically; with this our economy will improve gradually. It may not be at the expected rate but it will grow better and stronger,” he said.
Rasaki noted that there was the need to always pass the nation’s annual budget early in the year, as it has direct implication on economic growth and development.
“There is no way the economy can improve if the budget is passed at the middle of the year. What the government has been spending was what spilled over from the 2017 approved budget.
“Government is the largest spender of money and once the budget is not approved, there is a limit to how much government can spend,’’ he said.