Abdullahi M. Gulloma
The Vice President Yemi Osinabjo, this week, launched a refocused National Council on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at the State House in Abuja.
Osinbajo, who is also the chairman of the council, reduced the council’s membership from 43 to 21 to make it effective and efficient in its service delivery.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Osinbajo said that the council is expected to effectively coordinate the enterprise development efforts made by the various tiers of governments, International Development Partners (IDP) and the private sector towards job creation, wealth creation and poverty alleviation.
He said that it was important to inaugurate the council in the absence of some members because the government wants the council to move with speed due to the “much work to be done.”
He described MSMEs as bedrock of a country’s industrialisation,sential ingredients for inclusive economic development and the most important component of the industrialisation drive in the recently launched country’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
“It is important to re-emphasise the point that this council will have the same success delivery platform as the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Committee (PEBEC),” he said. “The membership of the council has been streamlined for the purpose of achieving results without undue bureaucracy. For instance, the existing membership has been reduced from 43 to 21 for effectiveness and purposefulness.”
And Osinbajo could not have said better inefficiency and ineffectiveness, majorly born by undue bureaucracy, are the bane of country’s previous several attempts to make MSMEs functional.
Still, as good as the intention of the Vice President may seem to make the SME sub-sector fulfill its mission, any attempt or policy that is aimed at promoting and sustaining MSMEs must occupy a prominent place in industrial development agenda of both the federal and state governments. Of course, it’s essential for the two tiers of government to also coordinate their activities in this regard.
Doing otherwise, which appears to be the case in Nigeria today, can only serve to undermine the government’s attempt to make MSMEs serve as the fulcrum of industrial development of the nation. But the present administration must not allow that situation to persist for SMEs are fashioned in a way that makes them flexible and willing to explore and exploit new opportunities that are abundant in the country and, eventually, provide jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and develop the rural areas and reduce the depressing rate of rural-urban migration.
Yet, these objectives, important as they seem, can only be met if the Osinbajo-led council put the right things – electricity, infrastructure, incentives and policies, in place for the operators of SMEs to benefit from.
