Emir of Zazzau: Our economy is terrible — we have to return to drawing board

Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, Emir of Zazzau, says urgent steps need to be taken to improve Nigeria’s economy.

He said this on Wednesday at a conference organised by the Women Models and Mentors Foundation, in Kaduna.

The emir expressed concern over the country’s growing population, adding that there needs to be more focus on agriculture rather than crude oil.

“Oil is nose diving. We are not getting more oil in this country. Nigeria is a gas country, not a petrol country,” he said.

“So, we should try as much as possible to understand that the mainstay of our economy is actually agriculture. But we have abundant agriculture for something that is not sustainable.

“In those days, government was funding education and providing everything. When we entered ABU Zaria, it was N100 — N90 for accommodation and N10 for tuition fees.

“How much is it today? You can see how terrible the economy is and how our population is growing. So, we have to go back to the drawing board.”

The emir’s comment comes days after the federal government flagged off the Kolmani Integrated Development Project (KIPRO), the first crude oil drilling project in the north-east.

Speaking further on Wednesday, Bamalli also said there is a need to promote more entrepreneurship skills, and scrap “irrelevant courses” in universities.

“What we lack today is mentorship. You don’t have to be a professor to mentor people. We should try as much as possible to impart knowledge to those behind us, especially, those that require some tutelage and technical know-how,” he said.

“Entrepreneurship is very key. I am passionate about it, especially, when it is an issue that relates to women.

“I am one of those blessed people that have girls as my children. I have four girls and a boy, so I can say I am a father of girls. We are encouraging young girls to go into entrepreneurship, especially those graduating from Islamic schools.

“We always tell them to combine the two — western and Islamic education. It is not about getting a degree. A degree is just a sheet of paper. With the education that you have acquired, how have you applied what you studied? What can you do with your hands?

“That is what matters today, not to be doing things that will not even help you in your own home. We should always try and encourage the young ones, especially women.

“Yesterday and the day before yesterday, I mentioned that certain courses in the universities should be phased out. I am an advocate of that. There is no point going to the university to study something that will not be useful to the society.”