Caption:
Presentation of “Conversations Volume 1”, an 85 pages compendium of the conversations of Think Tank of Nigeria (TTON) group to the public at Akoka in Lagos.
By Grace Alegba
The Think Tank on Nigeria (TTON), a group of technocrats concerned with policy analysis and advocacy, has suggested ways to industrialise Nigeria and tackle its foreign exchange and other economic challenges
TTON is an online policy advocacy platform with 278 members from various professions drawn from different geo-political zones of Nigeria.
The group’s suggestions are contained in a document titled: “Conversations Volume 1”, an 85 pages compendium of the conversations of TTON, presented in Lagos on Wednesday.
“Conversations” is a compendium of communiques on various pertinent issues meant to contribute to the body of knowledge to resolve issues across sectors in the nation.
TTON convener Dideolu Falobi while presenting the document, said Nigeria had enough human and natural resources to halt economic and other challenges bedeviling the nation.
He said the TTON team was currently working on subsidy towards producing volume 2 of the compendium.
He suggested 18 ways government could comfortably fund the budget and the economy without borrowing.
He said all previous ideas of economic growth indices in the nation were limiting and did not target full industrialisation principles needed to boost manufacturing.
“If we do not industrialise, our growth will continue to be static. When fuel price goes up, we will be making money. When fuel price comes down, we will be broke.
“Industrialisation is the bedrock of development; it is the way we can conserve our forex and earn more,” he said.
He said the informal sector was making huge impact and recommended how it could be brought into the formal sector to tap into the potentials for accelerated growth of the nation’s GDP.
“If we are able to reduce corruption by 50 per cent, we will probably grow our GDP by 100 per cent,” he said.
He said the TTON platform was created to proffer solutions by bringing together all segments and social classes of Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora.
He thanked collaborators who helped in the realisation of its communiques while reeling out resolutions from the communique.
Falobi, a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), fellow of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria (IoD) and fellow of several other professional associations, said TTON was not a political group.
The convener said TTON started circulation in May 2022 and had been able to reach some governors, senators and local government leaders.
“We don’t want to be seen as a political group. We are a professional organisation hence our method of sending the documents out.
“From tomorrow,4 we will start delivering the books to all tiers of government across the federation. The website has opened.
“It is meant to add to the body of knowledge within each of the 10 sectors covered by this volume.
“It is our contribution to the assurance of a better Nigeria. You can download soft copies from our website www.ttonigeria.org,” he said.
He said the solutions by the organisation available on all social media platforms were without any biases but passion for Nigeria’s growth.
He appealed to government to partner with the group as being done globally for growth of all sectors in the nation’s economy.
NAN reports that the compendium discussed industrialisation, means of funding the Nigerian economy, substance abuse and its impact.
Other areas include future elections in Nigeria, development, corruption and mental health.
It also discussed entertainment, sports and youth engagement, the Nigeria informal sector and the way forward.
It also focused on the mining sector, national development, among others.
Communiques 3 and 4 captured industrialisation and means of funding the Nigerian economy, 6 reviewed the mining sector while 7 and others spoke on how to overcome electoral challenges, substance abuse and other issues.
NAN reports that “Conversations” was later unveiled and the website officially launched.
