As the foreign exchange crisis worsens, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (United Kingdom) urges the Federal Government to diversify into critical sectors like agriculture, mining, power, and others.
Speaking with the Tribune Online on Tuesday morning, the district chairman, Ily Maisanda, said there are so many mineral resources all over the country, but Nigeria focuses only on oil.
Ily also advised the Federal Government to get the fundamentals right and plan properly with correct information, as this could affect the development plan if not done correctly.
He cited the instance of Canada and China, which have proficiently benefited from the diversification approach, considering Nigeria’s inability to refine its oil as a big challenge.
“The reason we have a foreign exchange issue is because we are not earning from exports, but we are overspending on imports.
“So, the federal government should invest in all the resources we already have on ground just like one of my teachers used to say ‘Start with the feasible before you go into the infeasible’.
“What is feasible? Our low-hanging fruits These are our low-hanging fruits. My parents sent me to school because I was farming. I helped him on the farm; hence, I knew the value of farming right from day one.
“If you do farming, you feed yourself and make extra naira from any excess you sell.
“So, my advice is that we should get the fundamentals right and plan properly, but we should use the correct information to plan.
“This is because if you use the wrong information to plan, you will end up on the wrong side of the development scale.
“Agriculture should be looked at for the creation of big employment. Mining is one of them. We have so many mineral resources all over the country, but we focus our minds only on oil. If you ask anybody on the street what his number one challenge is, he will tell you there is no fuel in his car. Whereas, if you had diversified into mining, for example, it would have been a different case.
“Canada does not have much oil. Okay, it has in Alberta. But every state you go to has big mines. China, which I have been to, does not have many huge mines. Even if they have, it is never sufficient for what they do. On our own, we have the resources. Even with the oil, we cannot refine it, which is a big challenge for us.
“There is agriculture. There is mining. Another critical thing we need in Nigeria is power. This is because, without power, there is no serious manufacturing that will take place in Nigeria. If not, someone who wants to manufacture in Nigeria will spend so much on diesel and electricity that it will not be viable.
“We have the sunshine. So, let us invest in solar or renewable energy. It is not only solar; there is also wind.” He said.
Maisanda, however, asked President Bola Tinubu to put those who are ready to work with the requisite professional skills in power.
Speaking on the activities of the body in the United Kingdom, he said they help members to be the best accountants they can and also help them deal with any issue they may be having.
Ily also said it could be welfare, social, or employment, noting that he was the first to set up a group called Accountants in Practise for ICAN UK, having realised that some people may be working as employees now but might want to go into their own practise in the future.
“We are here foremost to help our members be the best accountants they can be. We also help them deal with any issue they may be having, and it does not necessarily have to be professional.
“It could be welfare. It could be social. It could be employment. So, we have to support one another, and we do that in many ways.
“I was the first to set up a group called Accountants in Practise for ICAN UK because we realised that some people may be working as employees now but might want to go into their own practise, like I am in practise now, later in the future, and they would need some kind of coaching for them to get to that point,” He said.
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