Oyo State governor, Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde has declared that for Nigeria to beat the poverty trap and become a prosperous country, its economy must be built to weather all storms.
He said the country must also raise entrepreneurs and improve the standard of education, stating that in spite of Nigeria’s natural resources, its people might remain poor until its leadership put the right things in place.
Governor Makinde, who was responding to a sermon delivered by Bishop Williams Aladekungbe of Ibadan North Anglican Diocese at the funeral service of his (Makinde’s) elder brother, Sunday Makinde, held at the Bishop Akinyele Memorial Anglican Church, Ibadan, said mineral resources are not enough to liberate a nation from poverty.
According to the governor, the experience of a country like Venezuela, which despite its huge oil reserves cannot hold a candle to Finland, which has based its growth on developing its human capital, is enough to teach Nigerian leaders to, apart from managing the country’s natural resources well, invest more in educating its younger generation and building more entrepreneurs.
He said: “While preaching, the Bishop raised some issues. He said Nigeria does not have any reason to be poor because we do have natural resources. But natural resources alone do not lead to prosperity and that is just the reality.
The country with the highest reserve of oil in this entire world is Venezuela and it is poor. So, to have prosperity, we must raise entrepreneurs and raise the standard of education.
“I was in Finland with my Team and I tried to make enquiries on why the country got so developed. I asked if they had oil, they said no. I asked if they had gold and silver and they said no. I asked of what they have and they said it is education.
“So, in Oyo State, since we came in six years ago, we resolved to meet and exceed the UNESCO recommendation on education by allocating over 20 per cent of our budget to the sector, it is because we know that some people will need to be entrepreneurs to turn the natural resources into something that can take us out of poverty. 
Yes, God has blessed us and we should be thankful to Him for that. The first Industrial Revolution was coal. Nigeria was rich then because we had coal but nobody is using it again because the world has moved to oil. Very soon, they will move away from oil to something else. So, we must be prepared. We must go beyond depending on natural resources to having an economy that can weather all storms.”
The governor, who eulogised his late brother, fondly called Sundo, as a good man, a good brother, a good husband and a good father, recounted how he sacrificed his university education to join the Navy so that his siblings could have a better life.
He announced the donation of a sum of N25 million to the church towards immortalising his brother, saying: “To start the process of immortalization, on behalf of the entire Makinde family, we will donate N25m to the church.
Earlier , Bishop Aladekungbe pointed out the inevitability of death, stating that late Sunday Makinde had done his bit and that it was now left for those alive to do their best to serve God and fulfill their purposes on earth.
He equally tasked the leadership of the country on the need for the effective management of the country’s natural resources, stating that it is the only way the country could get out of the doldrums.
Dignitaries in attendance at the funeral service included the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed; Osun State Governor, Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke; Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang; the Governor of Delta State, who was represented by the deputy governor, Mr Monday Onyeme; former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; wife of Oyo State Governor, Engr. (Mrs) Tamunominini Olufunke Makinde; and Alhaja Mutiat Ladoja, wife of a former Governor of Oyo State.
Others included the Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar IIiya Damagum;and former Deputy Governors of Oyo State, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja.
Also in attendance were Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; Senator Sharafadeen Ali, Senator Yunus Akintunde, Abass Adigun and the Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin.
