A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adamu Garba, on Monday claimed that what Nigeria needs is consumption and not production.
According to him, “whoever is talking about consumption to production doesn’t understand the dynamics required for a country to be productive”.
It should be recalled that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the last general election, has been insisting on the need to move Nigeria from consumption to production.
However, Garba disagreed, saying that the country must create value in its consumption, adding that people must spend money.
He said: “Nigerian demography is green and supposed to be an asset, but it is gradually turning into a liability.
“Young people’s propensity to save money as opposed to spending is higher. Young people have to spend what they earn for value to be created.
“The truth is, Nigerian value is in its consumption, not production. Whoever is talking about consumption to production doesn’t understand the dynamics required for a country to be productive. Our HDI (Human Development Index) is pretty low, and you need about two decades to build a strong HDI. We don’t have that luxury of time now.
“We must create value in our consumption. Guys must spend that money.
“Another issue is that our younger demography doesn’t want to enroll in military service. This is not good. We need a large military, up to a million-fighting force, between now and 2030 to build a force that is capable of fighting and winning. This is needed to protect our supply lines and guarantee the flow of food and energy we need.
“Nigeria must grow to be an effective military power to continue to protect the interests of the hundreds of millions of Nigerians who will need the food and energy we need to be stable and grow as a nation.
”Young Nigerians need to join the military in droves. This is critical for the future of Nigeria.”
