Oil & Gas
AN industrialist, Dr Cosmas Maduka, on Tuesday identified institutional dysfunction and stagnation as major challenges facing Nigeria’s quest for accelerated development.
Maduka, the Chief Executive Officer of the COSCHARIS Group, spoke at the opening of the 13th University of Lagos Annual Research Conference and Fair, on Tuesday in Lagos.
He was the guest speaker at the event, which had the theme: ”Resource Utilisation and Sustainable Development”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more than 50 universities and across the world are participating at the multi-disciplinary research fair.
“We are part of the problem, but we are also a major part of the solution.
“To many analysts, informed and uninformed, Nigeria’s development as a country has not matched expectations relative to the quantum of resources that it has been endowed with.
“In some other environments, the concern could be that of over exploitation of available resources without due regards to sustainability.
“Thus, there arise arguments as to whether there exists right or wrong ways to exploit resources and the linkage to the development of a country, and whether there is even a common understanding of the concept of resources as well as what we truly mean by sustainability,” he said.
Maduka said that the impact of oil wealth on the national psyche affected how the citizenry acted in all circumstances.
According to him, the wealth brought illusion of an infinite abundant resources and a culture of fiscal irresponsibility, official extravagance and inability to plan for and manage resources effectively.
Maduka said that Nigeria’s econony would develop rapidly if the citizens could shun the attitudes.
He said that there was the need for the country to adequately fix the power sector since it was largely instrumental to production and industrialisation.
Maduka, however, lauded the ongoing rehabilitation of the railway system, describing it as a step in the right direction.
He called for speedy rehabilitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company in an effort improve the economy.
Maduka said that Nigeria should give more attention to the education sector to facilitate development.
“The need for restructuring of the Nigerian federation is long overdue and cannot be overemphasised because it is a prerequisite to the much-desired sustainable growth and development,” Maduka added.
The Director, Research and Innovation, University of Lagos, Prof. Wellington Oyibo, told NAN on the sidelines that the conference would afford participants a platform to discuss issues relating to resource utilisation in the country as a way of repositioning the nation for greatness.
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“We will strive to look at where we are coming from, where we are, and where we want to be.
“We know that we have the capacity; so, we will also look at how much of this capacity we have utilised,” he said.
Oyibo told NAN that the institution was set to showcase what it had done in the area of research.
“We have research findings coming from our students which we are patenting.
“These patents have some economic values for the nation.
“In the area of energy, there is a research going on; same for the mining industry where we are looking for development of certain elements from solid mineral resources that will be utilised for businesses,” he said.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said that he was expecting solutions to societal problems at the end of the three-day event.(NAN)
– Aug. 29, 2018 @ 9:45 GMT |
Tags: Oil wealth impact on national psyche affected citizenry – COSCHARIS CEO
