Presidential aide: We can’t be fixated on those who stole without growing economy

Tope Fasua, special adviser to Vice-President Kashim Shettima on economic matters, says the country cannot afford to be fixated on those who have looted without thinking of growing the economy.

Fasua spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a colloquium and presentation of five of his books to commemorate his 52nd birthday.

Speaking on one of the books entitled “CRUSHED”, the presidential aide said citizens should look at the fight against corruption differently.

He said China should be looked at as a case study on how it emerged as a world economic power.

“I try to cut through what will work and what will not work. CRUSHED is an acronym. C stands for – I said we should look at this anti-corruption thing differently,” he said.

“Of course we should ban corruption but we cannot be fixated on who stole what without growing the economy.

“C also stands for China, so we should look at the Chinese strategy. How were they able to emerge [as a world power]? C also stands for courage. They say without courage, other virtues lose their meaning.

“R stands for that we have to be realistic and reasonable. U stands for unity. S stands for strategy. Without unity when some people are pushing and some are pulling, we might not go so far. H stands for humility, it stands for history and hard work.

“E stands for education, to look at it (economy) in a different way. With education that is productive, not just having certificates and D stands for democracy.”

Fasua said though democracy is expensive, it could be tweaked to work effectively for Nigeria.

Some of the other books authored by him are “What They Won’t Teach You About the Nigerian Economy”, “You Better Tell Your Own Side of The Story” and “A World War By Another Means: COVID-19” among others.