NECA canvasses restructuring to tackle insecurity

The outgoing Director-General of the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Olusegun Oshinowo has said that unless the country accepts restructuring as the way forward, issues of insecurity, poverty, and unemployment would never be addressed meaningfully.

He also tasked Government on the creation of a federal structure with the best of economic policies that would allow the citizens embrace policies without being forced.

Oshinowo said this during a farewell press briefing, announcing his exit as the director-general of NECA, where he held sway for 19 years.

He said government’s policies should be focused on free market enterprise, where regulatory agencies create an environment for business support, rather than seen as killers of business.

According to him, state governments should take control of their states while they build their own infrastructure.

Oshinowo, who said Nigeria is far off from the United Nations’ standard on policing, said Nigeria’s security framework is not fully established, as we allowed the menace to creep in on us because of structural issues.

Giving an insight into his stewardship as the former director general of NECA, Oshinowo said his biggest regret was the absence of good governance in Nigeria, as it has failed to improve the living standard of the citizenry.
According to him, a measure of relevance of government is how well the citizens are faring, in terms of welfare and their expectations.

Oshinowo, who called for a changed narrative in governance, said: “Any government that has not lifted the people from poverty has no business being in government. Real strength for an economy is having a healthy income to support the economy.”

Oshinowo, who commended the media for their support during his reign, also solicited the co-operation for the incoming director-general, Timothy Olawale, who will take over on January 1, 2019.

On his next move, he said he would be involved and active in empowerment programmmes, as he was passionate about youths embracing entrepreneurship.

He added that the future of the youth is not guaranteed due to the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria.

In his remark, Olawale, said the association would continue to deepen the relevance of members as well as sustain empowerment for human capital development to deliver tools for vision in the next five years.