The deputy national organizing secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Nze Chidi Duru, has urged wealthy Nigerians to invest in a developmental agenda that will boost the economy and empower the populace.
He cited billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s commitment of $600 million to historically black medical schools in the US as an example of philanthropy that can impact society.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Duru called on Nigerian billionaires to replicate such feats, noting that while they exist, their philanthropic efforts have been limited.
He specifically challenged bankers to commit to best practices, strengthen the Naira, and facilitate access to credit without exploitative conditions, according to TheNation.
Duru emphasized that this is not a call for handouts but rather a plea for wealthy Nigerians to stand up as developmental champions for the people, energize the economic space, and create wealth and better livelihoods for millions of Nigerians struggling to succeed or survive.
According to him “Now, this, to my mind is one other way to profoundly impact life and lift society and I wished we had individuals that can replicate this philanthropic feats in Nigeria. In truth, it’s not as if we do not have such individuals except that the quantum of their philanthropies has been of the constricted type.
“In this regard, I recall pleading with Nigeria’s banking stalwarts in an earlier article, to commit to a developmental agenda for both country and people so as to have an economically enabled populace that will not only engender a buoyant economy but impact the banking system for the banking chiefs’ benefits too.
“I am not asking bankers to dish out money as Bloomberg had done, essentially, I reason that if bankers commit to best practices to actively engage to make the Naira stronger and facilitate access to credit without the usual exploitative encumbrances that are associated with credits granted customers by Nigerian banks, the economic space will be energised and able to create wealth and better livelihood for the millions of Nigerians that are struggling to make a success of their respective businesses or those that are struggling to survive from one day to the other.
“Seriously speaking, this time requires the type of wealthy Nigerians, that can stand up to be counted as developmental champions on the side of the Nigerian people,” Duru maintained.
