By Adedayo Akinwale and Udora Orizu
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has lamented that the potentially dire consequences of the country’s current national economic outlook have begun to manifest in troubling ways, especially by the escalating trend of insecurity across the country.
Gbajabiamila said that there was need to articulate a national long-termed Social and Economic Development Framework with a broad acceptance by critical stakeholders to provide a pathway towards fixing the malaise that has too long mitigated attaining the country’s fullest national potentials.
He noted that such a framework would not be a product of politics or a tool for politicking, but a foundation for national rebirth as has been done successfully in other parts of the world.
The speaker stressed that it is now apparent to those paying attention that the era of oil is over while the world is racing away from the extractive economic model towards a knowledge economy model that prizes technological innovation and the marketplace of ideas over heavy industry and trade in natural resources.
He said that presently, the country is entirely at the mercy of fluctuations in the global price of oil and gas at a time when it is increasingly evident that prices are on a downward trend that is no longer sustainable.
Gbajabiamila stated that the country must be resolute in its determination to overcome the challenges.
He added: “We have a limited window of time to act before worsening circumstances force our hands in ways we cannot predict. I urge you to move with due haste, paying attention to all the intervening events without being distracted by them.”
