Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, will increase from its present N514 billion to $2 trillion by 2030, if the country reduced corruption to the level of Ghana and Malaysia. The Vanguard reported that the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, quoted a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC, report while making this assertion.
The minister, who briefed members of the Advertising Association of Nigeria, ADVAN; the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON, and an Association of Marketing Directors of corporate organisations, said government is planning what he described as father of all campaigns, a national orientation campaign tagged: ‘Change begins with me’ to be spearheaded by the President himself.
He said: “It is true we campaigned on the change mantra, but this change mantra is largely misunderstood by Nigerians which they (Nigerians) misinterpreted to mean that as soon as Buhari is sworn in, immediately things will change in Nigeria.
“It does not happen that way. Nigerians cannot continue to do things the same way and expect different results. Indiscipline and corruption are not restricted to people at the top. Each Nigerian has a role to play and that is why we are launching the campaign.”
He said everyone was guilty of the malaise that was crippling the society today, adding that “average Nigerian with opportunity will likely cheat. The malaise cuts across gender, age and professions.
“Here, we are trying to rebuild Nigeria and lay a new foundation where companies will be able to operate. If we can cut corruption, even if oil price is $10 per barrel, we will still be able to achieve targets.”