By Innocent Oweh
ABUJA – Minister of Interior and former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, has said Nigerians were very industrious but lacked the ability to generate enough output that would boost the nation’s economic fortunes.
The Interior Minister said this on Monday while making a special remark at a lecture series with the theme, “Building the Future of Nigeria through Enterprise and Innovation,” organised by a group, Building The Future Forum (BTFF).
According to the Minister, Nigerians were not in any way lazy; they go about their jobs with diligence and dedication, but their level of productivity is too low to salvage the country from the grips of poverty.
He made a comparison between a farmer in Nigeria who cultivates a hectare of land and another in China who cultivates the same hectare of land, saying while that of Nigeria gets less yields despite all factors being in his favour, the Chinese farmer may end up getting better yields at the end of the exercise.
“Do not get me wrong, Nigerians are very hard working and industrious but when you look at the output compared to the efforts they put into their work, it is very very low, such things cannot navigate the country out of poverty,” he stated.
This article originally appeared in Independent
