Leadership is simply about doing the right things
By Peter Obi
Leadership is simply about doing the right things, encouraging and giving citizens hope, especially younger ones who are involved in Micro, Small and Medium enterprises, and MSMEs, which are the greatest engine of growth.
Just yesterday, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, was at the African Small Business Event in Toronto, visiting the various business stands and encouraging them.
Above is his visit to the products display stand of a Nigerian now living in Canada, Jacinta Obinugwu, a qualified attorney who practices law by the day and engages in her small business of candle production in her spare time.
If Jacinta was in Nigeria, the only visit she would get from the government would be from different thuggery groups of revenue agents harassing her to pay one extortionist levy or another. As a small business owner, she would never have the opportunity of seeing the Local Government Chairman, or any high-profile government official.
Today, the MSMEs are groaning under the burden of heavy taxes, lack of access to funding, instability of government policies, high production costs and dwindling sales due to economic hardship. A committed leadership must not only reverse the unnecessary burden on small businesses but also focus on the needs of the people by caring for the poor and investing in the growth of the economy.
This remains our commitment to the New Nigeria. –PO