Economic Recession: Worst in The Country, We Need Special Economic Summit - Gowon

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has de­clared that Nigerian needs a special summit to evolve ways for the country to exit the cur­rent economic challenges.
Although he described the current recession as the worst in the country, Gowon said that President Muhammadu Buha­ri was doing his best to address the situation.
The elder statesman spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the 2016 Democratic Governance Lecture organised by the Centre for Democratic Governance in Africa (CDGA) on the theme: “Global Recession as it Affects Good Governance- Need for Proactive Action– Nigeria as Case Study.”
Gowon, who was the chair­man of the event and represent­ed by his younger brother, Dr. Dawuda Gowon, averred that the current situation requires the “gathering of knowledgea­ble men and women” to evolve well-thought-out strategies to pull the economy out of what he termed “the current perilous recession.

“The challenge as we know is multifarious, caused in part by the fact that the flow of oil money into the Nigerian econ­omy had triggered an avalanche of imported consumer goods that have virtually killed do­mestic production.
“This, in turn, has caused employment opportunities to shrink. Thus, there is an esca­lation of crime and other social conflicts. The government has shown a deep understanding of these problems and exhibit­ed a strong resolve to tackling them,” he said.
Ghana’s High Commission­er to Nigeria, Mr. William Azu­mah Awinador Kanyirige, who gave the first lecture, drew the historical connection between Ghana and Nigeria and pointed out that the similarities which both countries have had with regards to their governance and economic developments, should be instructive on the way forward.
According to him, how Ni­geria governs and manages her space is critical to tackling the current economic recession.
Human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who delivered the second lecture on the “Role of the Judiciary in Promoting and Sustaining Good Governance: Nigeria as a Case Study”, said Nigeria lost a golden opportunity of prevent­ing the civil war and by exten­sion, avoiding the current prob­lems facing the nation when the then leaders did not adhere to the resolutions of the Aburi Ac­cord they signed in Ghana.
He said that the three “Rs” of “Rehabilitation, Reconstruc­tion and Reintegration”, which the Gen. Gowon promised to implement after the civil war had not been carried out, say­ing that is why the country is still underdeveloped.