Former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has urged Nigerians to be patient with President Muhammadu Buhari, saying the President has four years to turn things around.
Speaking when he played host to Catholic Bishops and the diplomatic community at his Abuja residence, the business mogul said one year was not enough time for the President to deliver on his electoral promises.
Absolving Buhari of wrongdoing that has led to the current recession, Kalu said, ” Let me be honest with you, I cannot judge Buhari. He has a four-year mandate to turn things around. He still has time and I expect that he will do something.
“Young people might be feeling frustrated. Government must not do everything. The only thing is that government is not paying enough attention to the manufacturing sector. If I am government, I will pay attention to manufacturing and agriculture.
“You pay attention through the entrepreneurs by giving them single digit loans and opportunities. All the enterprise done by the government will not work until they see us as partners. When Dangote was starting his cement factory, he was encouraged by the government. Today, he is all over Nigeria.
“The problem is people are envious and jealous; they see Orji Kalu who is rich, but they do not know what I have gone through to get to this level. They want to be like me, and that is not possible.
“Government should grant more incentives to the entrepreneurs. In June 1999, I told President Olusegun Obasanjo how to solve the power sector by doing something differently. We brought people and they promised to fix the power problem up to 75 percent. But Obasanjo refused. The amount needed was N14 billion. If Nigeria can fix power and insecurity, the country will move forward.”
