The President of Bauchi State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BACCIMA), Alhaji Aminu Muhammad Danmaliki, has advised salary workers to take to other means of livelihood to survive.
Muhammad , popularly known by his traditional title of Danmaliki Bauchi, made the remark when he received officials of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Bauchi on a courtesy visit, reports Daily Sun.
The President of the BACCIMA, who is also the Proprietor of Malikiyya College of Health Science and Technology, Bauchi, received the officials in his office in the premises of the college.
He argued that salary cannot sustain workers whether in the private or public sector in Nigeria nowadays owing to the hardship caused by removal of oil subsidy.
“The situation as it is in Nigeria today, salary alone will not work, you have to get other means of survival,” he said
He advised workers to take to farming or business to augment their salary.
According to him, the federal government has provided money to Central Bank of Nigeria branches across the states to give as loans to small scale business and farmers
He however lamented that policy implementation has always been the problem.
Danmaliki said farmers in Bauchi State will benefit immensely, urging members of the Correspondents’ chapel that are interested in farming or other businesses to key into the federal government intervention with a view to diversifying their source of livelihoods.
“Those of you that are interested in farming please go to your bank and ask them about the CBN fund meant for farmers and even other businesses that you are in, the money is there and I think it will last up to two years,” he said.
He disclosed that BACCIMA would enlighten the public about the federal government intervention, urging journalists to help in that regard to enable more people to benefit.
“Tell them that it is readily available for them there and the conditions are not that stiff, the highest condition is associated with the amount of money you want to borrow,” he said.
The BACCIMA President assured that the chamber will follow up to ensure that those who apply for the intervention are considered by their respective banks.
“Even before you apply we will recommend you to the banks that you are serious business people, we trust that if the loan is granted to you you will pay back as at when due and we will follow it up for you”, he further assured.
Danmaliki who said that Nigeria lacks the reason to be poor going by the abundant resources, decried that the funds are being cornered by some people.
“It’s just that the money has been cornered by the civil servants, they will say it’s politicians but it’s a kind of collaboration with the politicians, it’s the civil servants that show the loopholes to the politicians where they can dip their hands and take Public funds,” Danmaliki said.
While urging journalists to take up their responsibility to be exposing corrupt practices, the BACCIMA President called for serious investigative journalism which he said is lacking.
“There is a lot to tell about corruption, it’s still ongoing, I will want to urge you to please endeavour to investigate that which is a cog in the wheels of progress of Nigeria, expose it so that it can be fought”, he further pleaded expressed delight that members of the Correspondents’ chapel visited him to synergise and collaborate in the diverse areas of economic diversification.
To compliment the journalism work, he encouraged his visitors to adopt economic diversification as a second alternative.
“I am delighted to hear that you have taken serious steps to diversify, it is indeed good to diversify. If I had not diversified areas of my work maybe we wouldn’t have been sitting here. So you have made a good decision,” he said.
“I just don’t know what is wrong with us Nigerians, federal government policies irrespective of who was in-charge are good, particularly for agriculture but the bad part of it is the implementation of those policies and that is why you should hammer on why the implementation is poorly made? the President of BACCIMA further pointed out.
