Nigeria needs a Moral Economic Crimes Commission to curtail activities that are not criminal but do untold damage to our economy 

Ayo Akinfe 

(1) Buying private jets when we do not have an aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in Nigeria is just an act of economic sabotage as all is does is drain foreign exchange and enrich foreign aircraft manufacturers 

(2) Buying generators when you could install solar panels on your roof is not only economically damaging but an environmental crime 

(3) Nigeria spends about 1% of her annual budget on religious pilgrimages. This is a luxury we simply cannot afford 

(4) Nigerians who go and throw lavish parties in Dubai just want to keep us in perpetual poverty. Their actions ensure that our own tourist industry will never develop 

(5) Government departments and corporates who go and purchase fleets of foreign vehicles rather than patronise Innoson Motors simply do not wish Nigeria well 

(6) So-called businessmen who go and import luxury fashion accessories for distribution across Nigeria rather than manufacture them locally are just enemies of the people. Have they ever challenged the likes of Gucci or Luis Vitton to open plants in Nigeria?

(7) All those government officials who go abroad for medical treatment clearly do not wish Nigeria well. What happened to dying for your country? The amounts they spend would make a huge difference if invested in local healthcare facilities 

(8) Our import licence regime needs a massive overhaul. Food items, clothing, automobiles, household goods, communication equipment, etc that can all be easily manufactured in Nigeria should not be imported. At the moment, all the Central Bank of Nigeria has done is place a foreign exchange ban on them. We need to go further by naming and shaming these importers 

(9) Nigeria’s aviation industry will never grow unless it is patronised. Flying by BA, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Emirates, etc when Air Peace plies the same route is perpetuating Nigeria’s under-development 

(10) We need a constitutional amendment that compels state governments to only award contracts to foreign companies that come to Nigeria to invest. If they are not prepared to invest in our people, we should not be giving them our business. I do not understand how Nigeria can be an investment risk to them yet Nigeria’s money is acceptable to such companies