₦airaland Forum

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR OF RIVERS STATE.

Dear Governor Wike,

Permit me to share this opinion of mine on how we can start creating an economy for our dear state, with you, through this medium.

One of the areas I would love you to pay attention to, is the Small and Medium Scale Business Corridor. The economy of any state may be reliant on a mega natural or artificial resource, but it is sustained by the Small and Medium Scale Business Corridor. This is where the people are and this is where the heartbeat of everything does exist. Unfortunately for us, ours is at the point of 'little or nothing'.


Below is a small analogy:

From any point in Rivers State, either to your left or to your right, in front of you or behind you, a property is rotting away. This points to one thing - businesses are closing down. No matter the area of the state, ten out of every fifteen cars that stream the road are rickety and this also tells you of our spending power. Our people are weak financially and so has our taste become. The increasing number of people who wake up to play draft, argue politics and sports over a bottle of local dry gin is an indicator that we keep loosing jobs and are not creating new ones. Recall the number of deaths we recorded from the last dry gin wahala. The faces of the people on the streets spell poverty and the anger and transfer of agression we live with is fuelling crime in the state.


The issues:

Over the last 16 years, we have moved from a politically dependent economy, to a complete political economy. By this I mean, that the economy before 1999 was in imbalance propelled by the regulatory policies of government. If the government put a ban on importation of cement, everyone ran into the production of cement; a ban on importation of rice, everyone became a rice farmer. As bad as this was, it was still better. We still had the carricature businesses and the small amount of jobs and commerce they injected into the economy. Today it is completely different. The only business known to us is politics. The big Oga is a politician, the big man in Old GRA is a political entrepreneur and the unemployed man back home is a political wannabe or waiting on God to send him a miracle. It is therefore not surprising that of the five cars that are better looking out of the pool of fifteen, three belong to political office holders, one to a political entrepreneur and the other to a religious leader. Same goes for the houses and other good things of life. We need to take another path to create a sustainable economy for our state and reduce the overbearing dependence on the allocation from the centre.
Politics has become the only succulent breast in Rivers State and this is the reason for the 'greegree' that we see everywhere. This is not supposed to be so, especially in a state like ours. A state so rich and full of mind blowing potentials.

Why are we not activating the SERVICES industry?

Why are we are not looking in the direction of a planned and systematic culture, tourism and hospitality?

Why are we not looking in the direction of trading and sustainable agriculture?

Why are we not looking in the direction of sports business?

Why are we not looking in the direction of technology business?

Why are we not looking in the direction of manufacturing and allied businesses?

Sir, let me mention as an aside, that it is shocking that the state government spends so much in clearing refuse from Port Harcourt, when in actual sense, we should be making money from it and the multipliers therein. I am also surprised that we keep voting huge sums of money into CARNIRIV when in actual sense, CARNIRIV is supposed to be remitting revenue to the state purse.

Back to the subject matter, I am of the opinion that you can begin by investing in SKILLS, we can find alternatives in job creation.

I also know that if we make the process of obtaining a C of O less cumbersome, we will be opening up access to funding from financial institutions for SMEs to spring up and increase our IGR through taxes and tenement fees.
Your Excellency, if you open up the religious tourism, cultural and geographical/historical tourism, infrastructural tourism sectors, it would be an investment worth your efforts.

The state as it stands has some wonderful sustainable agriculture ideas, but STEALING has been the bane of it. If you pay attention to this sector with the input of fresh ideas, the Small and Medium Scale Business Corridor will wake up.

If we pay attention to assemblage and transfer of knowledge, we will be lifting the Small and Medium Scale Business Corridor and looking into manufacturing.

If we look into Transport with a business eye and restructure Waterlines, we will be stimulating the SME corridor.

If we look at the trading business at Rumuwoji market, Mile 3 Market, Building materials and others, we will notice the capital flight between Rivers and Abia and Anambara. And we will profitably restructure and stimulate the SME corridor.

Your Excellency, I know and appreciate the enormity of work to be done especially in seeking alternatives to the south bound Oil and creating an economy for the State, but I am of the opinion that unlocking the Small and Medium Scale Business Corridor is the most cost efficient, most profitable and most sustainable.

God bless Rivers State!

Eze Basil Chinwendu Oluo,
Port Harcourt.
ebcodoracle@gmail.com

long tym bro. you still dey?

..

DelticStephEn:
long tym bro.
you still deyy?

I dey

Okay

Four comments, and mine complaining about numbers says it all.

My Igweocha shall rise again.

The story is the same in all Niger Delta states, it is not peculiar to Rivers State alone.
It is a very sad story. The total collapse of commercial and industrial activity in Rivers State evokes sorrowful emotions. In PH maintown its a total disaster, businesses are closing shop every month. PH maintown is now a shadow its former self.
Bayelsa state is even worse, my friend who owns a business there is complaining every single day. I don't know about Delta and Akwa Ibom states but I know they all share similar experiences.

Sweetguy25:
The story is the same in all Niger Delta states, it is not peculiar to Rivers State alone.
It is a very sad story. The total collapse of commercial and industrial activity in Rivers State evokes sorrowful emotions. In PH maintown its a total disaster, businesses are closing shop every month. PH maintown is now a shadow its former self.
Bayelsa state is even worse, my friend who owns a business there is complaining every single day. I don't know about Delta and Akwa Ibom states but I know they all share similar experiences.

We must keep engaging ourselves, for this situation is like rain that pours on everyone's roof. The effect is allround.