The night before the meeting [Commonwealth conference], Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, whom I had visited two years before, gave us a banquet in the hotel. Raja and I were seated opposite a hefty Nigerian, Chief Festus, their finance minister. The conversation is still fresh in my mind. He was going to retire soon, he said. He had done enough for his country and now had to look after his business, a shoe factory. As finance minister, he had imposed a tax on imported shoes so that Nigeria could make shoes. Raja and I were incredulous. Chief Festus had a good appetite that showed in his rotund figure, elegantly camouflaged in colorful Nigerian robes with gold ornamentation and a splendid cap. I went to bed that night convinced that they were a different people playing by a different set of rules.

Yew, From Third World to First, Harper-Collins, pp 352.

It's kind of amazing that since that time till now , we are still yet to shed this useless " self sufficiency " argument.

It even gets sad when u see the nonsense championed by the finance minister chief festus.

Cc grandstar, theoldpretender