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Economic Development, Antidote To Crime Reduction And BetterSecurity -Amaech

Published

4 years ago

October 23, 2020

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has hinted that infrastructure and economic development is key to reducing crime and aiding better functionality of security agencies in Nigeria.

Amaechi stated this when he delivered a lecture to participants of National Defence College Course 29 in Abuja, Friday.

Referencing his time as Governor of Rivers State, the Minister gave instances where there were chaos and unrest among the people and how he tackled the issue by addressing the deficits in infrastructure development, getting the youth engaged, thereby curbing restlessness.

“To create jobs we had to construct roads and other infrastructure projects. This process saw a lot of people been engaged and insecurity dropped drastically. In education, we employed, 13,200 teachers. We set up a Banana Farm with the capacity to employ over 500 persons everyday. This saw a lot of jobless youths been engaged.

In Rivers state, we built over 350 Model Primary Schools, which was not just to improve the standard of education and enlightenment but create employment also. We built standard Primary Health Care Centres that were acknowledged by news agencies like CNN and Al Jazeera.

From 2000, we had a major security crisis in the State and the reason given was that they were fighting for their right and the even distribution of national resources. They began to bomb pipelines, take oil, and engage in kidnapping.

When I came in (as governor), the first thing I did was to meet with security chiefs and the then Commander, Brig Bello. I told them that the reason why there was insecurity in Rivers state was because of the state of the economy, which gave rise to youth unrest in the region”, Amaechi said.

As Minister of Transportation, Amaechi said a lot is being done to improve the economy, create jobs for Nigerians, and build more infrastructure to push the overall growth of the country in different sectors.

“We have done a lot in Infrastructure development and employment. The massive infrastructural development in the Railway sector has employed so many Nigerians. Also don’t forget that in 2011/2012, the out-of-school children In Nigeria were 10 million which has now been reduced to about 3 million.

“In 2013, the cost of Tomato was extremely high, and the then Minister of Agriculture invited me for a meeting and he said to me, ‘can you provide railway transportation from Kano to Lagos?’ I called the MD of Railway to make the trip from Kano to Lagos more regular, and in one week the price of tomato crashed”, he said.

The Minister for Transportation further gave insight on the connection between economic development and defence, in the light of security challenges.

“The only way the army can rest and the police can do their job effectively is when the economy begins to grow. When people are properly engaged with different activities, they won’t think of engaging in criminal activities.

“The Army is not supposed to give internal security but the Police is overwhelmed by the level of crime rate, hence the Army has consistently been rescuing Nigerians.

Economic growth reduces crime and when there is no crime, the Military and police can rest”, Amaechi added.

Responding, the Commandant, National Defence College, Abuja, Real Admiral M.M Kadiri, thanked the Minster for gracing the lecture with his presence and also for the enlightenment on the role of economic and infrastructure development in curbing crime.

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RMRDC: Making Giant Strides Under Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso

Published

12 hours ago

September 19, 2024

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

As we embark on a journey, we always pray for an able, experienced, and courageous driver, pilot, or sailor depending on the means of transportation.

This is because the captain will have enough experience and boldness to navigate out of turbulence and to bring all the passengers and crew to the intended destination.

Interestingly, these fine qualities of ability, experience, boldness, and many more, abound in the man, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso, who we all are pleased was appointed the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, the Director General/CEO by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a few months ago. This is because he has brought his knowledge, ability, experience, and doggedness to bear in carrying out his assignment in charge of the Council.

The RMRDC, operating under the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, is pivotal in driving Nigeria’s industrial growth by optimizing local raw materials exploitation, development, and utilization. RMRDC, ab initio, was conceived as a child of necessity when Nigeria was reeling from the throes of global recession and plummeting crude oil prices.

Without an iota of doubt, today, the council is experiencing a transformation with massive innovation in raw material exploitation, development, and utilization, supporting business and industrial growth, and contributing to Nigeria’s economic prosperity.

Speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday, in Abuja to commemorate his 100 days in office, he said the council is laying a solid foundation through numerous innovations that will further enhance growth in the country.

According to him, “In the past 100 days, my strategic pursuits have been to lay solid foundations for enduring success in these goals.

“Upon assuming this position, I set five crucial deliverables which include, refocusing the Council as a premier research institution; Strengthening the Council’s productivity and operational efficiency; and Significantly improving the staff welfare to be the best in the class of similar organizations.

“Others include, Boosting the Council’s visibility and instituting remarkable culture change that encourages ownership and productivity as well as Strengthening and deepening the Council’s place in the international arena.”While speaking on his Achievements so far, the DG revealed further: “My first task, therefore, was to implement a strategic goal-setting for the Council’s staff to define and set out clear objectives and targets to be achieved by the Council within a specified period towards refocusing on this historical mandate. We unleashed five significant initiatives in that regard.

“The nationwide raw material data collection exercise that focused on technical and investment information to drive our mission forward.

“The restructuring and renaming of the former Technology Innovation Complex (TIC), at the Obasanjo Space Center at Airport Road, Abuja, to a Research and Demonstration Plants Complex (RDPC). This complex will be Africa’s first center of excellence in raw material research, featuring state-of-the-art laboratories, technology development workshops, and proof of concept demonstrations.

“We have reactivated the Council’s Journal and repositioned it internationally. The repositioned Journal of Raw Material Research (JORMAR) will host RMRDC’s researchers’ publications, which are crucial in promoting awareness, facilitating knowledge sharing, and informing stakeholders about the opportunities and challenges in Nigeria’s raw materials sector. “The collaboration with universities and academies will strengthen our capacity for conducting market-guided research, ensuring sustained workforce training while deepening our orientation in science.

“The council has reformulated a new template for all our research proposals to ensure and sustain a clear departure from the old culture of blue-sky and deliberately endless research.”Speaking further, Prof Nwanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso stated that Staff welfare remains a top priority as an issue of unpaid salaries is settled as well as set up a comprehensive welfare program. “Similarly, we established the RMRDC Training School to sustainably build our staff and stakeholders’ capacity to further the staff welfare improvement goal.

“We are committed to openness, inclusiveness, and performance management and have initiated steps to continuously improve staff ownership, orchestrate transformative culture change, boost our corporate visibility, and enhance.

“To further strengthen our visibility and communication strategies, we are upgrading our media infrastructure, which includes the launch of the RMRDC online media platform, The RMRDC TV Online.

“Additionally, we are working hard to effectively enhance the intellectual property and patent portfolio of RMRDC from its current 40 to approximately 200 new patents within the next 24 months. This proactive approach secures valuable IP assets and positions the Council as a leader in innovation within the raw materials sector, contributing to Nigeria’s overall economic growth.“As well as launching an e-registration and certification portal to enhance transparency in the raw materials sector,” DG revealed.

He however reaffirmed his commitment to reshape the future of research, technology, and innovation, driving Nigeria towards an industrially vibrant and technologically resilient economy.

“As I mark 100 days in office, I boldly say that the Council is on the verge of rewriting its history.

“I believe that in no distant future, RMRDC will play a leading role in enhancing raw materials’ development to boost raw materials’ industrial trial processing and attain sustainable industrial growth in Nigeria.

The DG, however, applauded the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, for his unwavering support and mentorship, saying the Minister’s leadership has been instrumental in the progress made so far.

In his opening remarks, the Directorate of Corporate Affairs, Mr Chucks Ngaha commended the hard-working DG who has weathered the storm further to put the Council on the ladder of more prosperity.

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