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Buhari's Government And Ajaokuta Steel by holland002(m): 12:15am On Feb 02, 2016 |
Buhari’s Government And
Ajaokuta Steel
Micheal Jegede
— Jun 2, 2015 3:23 am | Leave a
comment
With what a completed Ajaokuta Steel
Company (ASCO) holds for the growth of
Nigeria’s economy, it is sad and
disheartening to see that successive
governments in the country have
absolutely failed to do the needful to
ensure the steel firm comes fully on
board after about 40 years of awarding
the contract. Most pathetic is to hear that
the project which has consumed over $5
billion and required just about $650
million to be completed, reached about
98% technical completion before work
was stopped on it in 1992.
Prior to the election of Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan as president in 2011, he had
asserted during his campaign then that
“One thing that is dear to Nigerians is the
Ajaokuta Steel Complex and until we
revive that complex, we cannot talk about
Vision 20:2020. This is because for you to
play big globally, you must industrialise
and for you to industrialise you must
produce steel. The Ajaokuta complex
must be revived.” Despite this
proclamation by Jonathan, not much was
done by his government towards the
revitalisation of the abandoned national
treasure. All through Jonathan’s years as
president, it has been zero allocation for
Ajaokuta Steel in the annual budget.
The outgoing Senator, representing Kogi
Central Senatorial District in the seventh
Senate, Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, for
instance, had noted that the outgoing
President did not demonstrate enough
zeal towards steel development in
Nigeria, while flaying the zero allocation
for capital projects in the budget for
Ajaokuta Steel Company in 2014.
Abatemi-Usman, a champion of steel
development known for his frontline
crusade for the completion of Ajaokuta
Steel, had asked: “Where is the place of
Ajaokuta Steel in our bid for industrial
revolution? Do we seem to understand
the importance of steel and the
significant role it can play in enhancing
our economy? If you ask me, I will say Mr.
President (Jonathan) is just paying lip
service to the issue of Ajaokuta Steel and
steel development in general.
When he (Jonathan) came to Lokoja, Kogi
State during the electioneering period in
2011, the thrust of his campaign
promises for which our people voted for
him was his pledge to revive the Ajaokuta
Steel Complex. Over three years down
the line, we’ve not seen much from him
in that regard.”
However, the questions in the lips of
many observers now are: will the Buhari
government make significant difference
in the actualisation of the Ajaokuta Steel
dream? Is it going to be another four
years of lip-service to the issue of steel
development in the country? Will Buhari
on his own part strive to fulfill his pledge
on Ajaokuta steel, the largest integrated
steel complex in the Sub-Saharan Africa?
Just like Jonathan in 2011, Buhari was
reported to have vowed to resuscitate
ASCO if elected president of Nigeria
during his electioneering campaign in the
build up to the 2015 presidential election.
The ex-General explained in Lokoja, the
Kogi State capital that the revival of the
company which has remained moribund
for years will generate employment for
the country’s teeming youth population
and create wealth for Kogi State and the
nation as a whole. He gave assurance
that the fortunes of the steel complex will
change for the better the moment he
assumed office.
Since his victorious outing in the
presidential poll, several calls and
appeals have gone to Buhari not to
renege on his promise to make Ajaokuta
steel work. Many have noted that it will
do the country a world of good for
Buhari’s government to use steel as the
basis and launch pad for the outright
diversification of the country’s economy.
The monolithic status of our economy
where we seem to depend solely on oil as
our only major source of revenue is, in
the thinking of keen observers, not an
ideal situation when we have other
numerous natural resources at our
disposal left untapped.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the
umbrella body for all Nigerian workers
emphasised the need for the
administration of Buhari to focus on the
revival of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex
located in Kogi State at this year’s May
Day celebration. President of the
Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in his
address maintained that the
revitalisation of the steel complex would
spur industrialisation and pave way for
job creation.
According to him, “This edifice (Ajaokuta
Steel Complex) was conceived to be the
cornerstone of our administration.
Unfortunately, our political class has
refused to accept the simple truth that no
country can truly industrialise without
any iron and steel industry. The fate of
Aladja, Oshogbo, Jos and Katsina steel
rolling mills post privatisation is too grim
to recall here.”
In the same vein, Chinedu Nwozor, the
deputy President, Nigeria Union of Mine
Workers (NUMW), equally implored the
president to resuscitate the Ajaokuta
Steel. The NUMW president stressed that
solid steel base remains the true pillar for
industrial revolution, describing ASCO as the economic hope of Nigeria. |
Re: Buhari's Government And Ajaokuta Steel by holland002(m): 12:16am On Feb 02, 2016 |
leadership.ng/news/437691/buharis-government-and-ajaokuta-steel |
Re: Buhari's Government And Ajaokuta Steel by laprince(m): 12:27am On Feb 02, 2016 |
Should Ajaokuta steel company begin operation, our economy could be sustained. |
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