FORMER Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, has described government and the private sector as inseparable as the existence of one depends on the other.
Daniel, who stated this in Lagos at the Institute of Directors Nigeria (IoD) annual directors’/ special awards dinner, said his position was derived from personal experience as a businessman and a politician as well as from empirical studies.
He said the popular saying that government has no business with business might be true to some extent but not totally correct.
Daniel stated that a particular level of synergy was required between government and the organised private sector to ensure positive economic development. According to him, the government’s duty is to provide the enabling environment for businesses to prosper.
“There can be no business without government and there can be no government without business. Government requires businesses, not only as sources of revenue, but also as tools for executing state’s policies and plans. Businesses require government, not solely for control and monitoring, but also for advancement of strategic corporate intents and objectives.
“The bottom line is that the decisions of government affect businesses as much as the well-being or otherwise of businesses affect government,” he said.
The former governor, who was the keynote speaker at the event, wondered why Nigerians should keep complaining of unemployment when the potential, the need, capacity and the solution were staring them in the face.
“There is need for paradigm shift in allocation of resources to finance projects. Let us consider investing 50 per cent of our resources in the construction industry, 30 per cent in agriculture and 20 per cent in the oil, gas and solid mineral industry. I predict that we will experience the kind of boom that will be beyond our collective imagination,” he advised.
The IoD President/Chairman of Council, Mr. Samuel Yemi Akeju, said the institute has come a long way in its existence and transformation, not only as a pioneer and leading voice of the private sector but as a symbol of integrity and advocate for corporate governance in Nigeria. He pointed out that IoD’s strategic positioning in the Nigerian business environment and the increasing national and continental visibility has placed enormous challenges on its shoulders.
His words: “One of these challenges is to rise to the occasion of recognising and rewarding the uncommon feat of excellence by Nigerians and corporate organisations in corporate governance practices while excelling in their fields of endeavours. The genuine contributions of these Nigerians and organisations in their own individual ways towards creating a positive paradigm shift in Nigeria have not gone unnoticed by the IoD.”
He commended the awardees for their laudable achievements, contributions and national and continental impacts on lives and businesses, saying that IoD had no better option than to bestow on them the prestigious awards.
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