FG urges Nigerians to make sacrifices

The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, on Thursday said Nigerians must make sacrifices to enable the country to become one of the leading 20 economies in the world in 2020.Maku said at a retreat organised by the Federal Ministry of Information in conjunction with the National Planning Commission in Calabar, Cross River State, that to be great in the comity of nations, Nigeria must plan for the future.He said the policy on deregulation was one of the sacrifices the nation might pass through at the initial stage.According to the minister, the deregulation of the telecommunications and aviation sectors has not only generated employment but has also made the sector more effective and reliable.Maku said there had been about $20bn direct investment from 2001 to 2011 in the telecommunications industry.He said the theme of the retreat, Nigerias Vision 20-2020 and Governments Transformation Agenda: Share in the vision, was selected with the involvement of the media to enlighten the public on the need for mass participation in the realisation of the vision.Maku stressed the need for a proper national planning, noting that right from the 60s till the tenure of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, there was a serious planning in the country, imparting positively on the economy.He lamented however that everything crumbled when the military took over the helm of affairs.He said military incursion in the country took Nigeria to the dark ages where national planning took the back seat.The minister however said the situation had changed since 2007 when the late President Musa YarAdua emerged till the time Dr. Goodluck Jonathan mounted the saddle.Maku called for a collaborative effort in the realisation of Vision 2020, which he described as a road map towards a particular destination to ensure an increase in the Gross Domestic Product for people to live a good life.He said, The President cannot do it alone without the contributions of the people. The vision means we must ask Nigerians to do it in different ways as it is contained in the article.To realise this communication information dissemination must be a primary objective.
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