A former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Victor Attah, has described Nigeria as a ‘tough sale’ after the 2023 general elections.
According to him, the elections also ‘badly disabled’ President Bola Tinubu.
Attach was speaking at the 2024 investiture ceremony of the Institute of Certified Sales Professionals, ICSP, in Lagos.
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He noted that the elections damaged Nigeria’s image, which was worsened by insecurity, corruption and lack of basic infrastructure.
“Selling Nigeria in the aftermath of 2023 elections is not an easy job,” Attah said.
‘‘As has been shown, our actions and utterances up to the elections and still continuing, have left us with two major strikes. The first is we have a damaged product and the second is our No. 1 salesman, the President, has been badly disabled. But we must not give up.”
On the country’s economy, the former governor said it started to nosedive because Nigeria disregarded agriculture and excessively depended on crude oil.
He pointed out that Nigeria’s output declined both in quantity and quality, as global demand for basic raw materials grew, and thereby leaving billions of foreign exchange for other countries.
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Furthermore, he said: “The attempt to start exporting yams during Buhari’s first term ended in failure essentially because the quality of the yams was impaired by the time the consignment arrived at its destination.”
Attah also noted that because of inconsistency and lack of effective strategic plan, coupled with absence of the will to provide what the world wants, Nigeria lost its competitive business edge, as the world’s largest producer of cassava, and its place among the top nations exporting cocoa, hides and skin palm produce, and groundnuts.