Famous Quotations
This is for me personally a memorable day; it is for Nigeria a historic day, since this is the first occasion on which the budget of the federation has been presented by a Nigerian Minister.
Too often do we find that people who are most careful in the use of their own money are only too willing to see public money frittered away.
Let us develop a community where it is a matter of shame for anyone not to pull his full weight to the benefit of the country as a whole.
I present to you a budget where we hope to get value for the money which belongs to the people we are here to represent.
Our wealth as a nation, depends upon labours of our farmers and the common man.
Our strength as a government stems from the fact that we know that the common man has faith in our intention to ensure that everything which can be done to improve the conditions of our people will be done, with God’s help and within the limitations of our resources.
We must ensure that the men we recruit to our public service are of the highest calibre and are prepared to put the good of their country before all things.
Academic knowledge by itself is not enough. Too often, our young men seem to think that the obtaining of a paper qualification is an end in itself.
Education does not cease with the obtaining of a degree. Education continues throughout a Man’s life and no Man is ever too old to learn.
A paper qualification demonstrates that the holder has reached a certain level of attainment, it does not automatically mean that there is nothing more which he can't be taught.
It is the way in which knowledge is applied which is all important and not the mere possession of knowledge as an end in itself.
We desire an efficient and capable public service, not a service filled with Men and Women with paper qualifications and no experience in applying the knowledge they have gained.
The price of freedom is the readiness to make sacrifices.
Freedom requires to be paid for as well as enjoyed.
The potentialities of Nigeria are great.
For in Nigeria, all Men are equal before the law; whatever their creed, colour or race.
We seek equal partners, not masters, and the only vested interest which we acknowledge is the interest of the people of this Country.
We are a peace loving nation and have no territorial ambitions.
We are not interested in atomic and hydrogen bombs except in so far as science can be developed for peaceful purposes to serve humanity.
We are opposed to any development which would only serve to destroy civilisation.
We are on the threshold of great and far-reaching changes and we must seize our opportunities as they are offered.
That immortal moment when the secretary of state for the colonies announced the 1st of October, 1960 to be the day when Nigeria, by the grace of God, shall become independent and shall remain forever free. Eternity was in that moment.
Political freedom is indeed the inalienable right of every nation, but of itself it is worth little unless accompanied by economic freedom and a respect for inspanidual liberties.
The liberty to which I aspire is a liberty inextricably bound by respect for law and order.
Our fundamental objective is to achieve and maintain the maximum possible rate of increase in the standard of living of all our peoples.
We cannot be indifferent to the poverty and want we see all around us.
Old habits and ideas must be put aside; we can no longer tolerate corruption, that spring of all extravagance and disorder which takes away vigour from our bodies and wisdom from our councils.
We can no longer tolerate sloth and indolence in any field of activity.
Economic freedom and prosperity can only be won the currency of hard work and integrity.
The greater the export earnings of an underdeveloped country, the higher the standard of living of its people with all the possibilities for a further mutual expansion of trade opened up thereby.
And let us not forget that if development does not go on at a level which our people hold to be reasonable, then the very existence of our democratic institutions and our free way of life will be in danger.
My colleagues and I have been concerned not merely with plans for the celebration of independence, important though that may be, but also with laying far-sighted plans to ensure that our independence will prove to be real, vital and prosperous.
Finance is as it should be, the handmaiden and not the master of our policies. Handmaidens, however can be troublesome if not properly treated.
Finance, as you know, if abused can destroy as well as create.
The practise of putting aside regularly a part of one’s income for the rainy day, besides being of help to the saver, is of benefit to the nation.
To make the available resources go further, we must all adopt the right attitudes to taxation, expenditure, thrift and work; and with the help of God and our friends overseas, we shall make of our nation, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Freedom gives to us all the opportunity resolutely to face up to our responsibilities, to decide for ourselves the course which we wish to follow and the right to meet that cost.
I pray that when we have passed from the active scene and our children recall the early years of our independence, they will say with the poet - “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven!"
The stronger our economy, the stronger our political freedom, the stronger our position in the world.
Each day brings its new problems and these in turn demand new solutions.
To raise the real standard of living of our people, we must achieve monetary stability. For this, we require increased productivity, price restraint and indeed sacrifices all the way round.
For as long as I am minister of finance, I am determined to take all possible action to uphold the value of the nation’s currency.
While we accept the need to look abroad for aid, we are not prepared to take aid from any source, come what may. Aid with unacceptable political strings is not the type of aid which we are seeking.
It seems to me quite unnecessary that all our officers should travel first-class on the international air services.
In government, we must have a care for our shareholders, the tax payers.
A development plan can never be fixed for all time. Needs and conditions change and make rigid planning impossible.
As we draw closer to the glorious 1st October, my thoughts are particularly with our children who will grow up in the sparkling air of independence. It is my earnest hope that by the policies the statesmen of Nigeria pursue today, we shall build for them a happy and brave new Nigeria of which all can be proud.
We in Nigeria look forward to enjoying a friendly association with our neighbours in the herculean task which confronts our continent as we endeavour to raise the standard of living of our people.
We recognise the imperative need of our times in Africa - Unity and common action for the liberation of our continent from the economic and political thraldom of the past.
Let there be unity, but let it be unity on a basis of equality and of free choice.
We shall not stand aloof from matters affecting the destiny of Africa.
The wind of change blows across Nigeria as much as across any other part of Africa.
We do not however, seek to antagonise any country. We wish to live with the countries of Africa and with the whole world in peace and brotherhood.
Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians. Let us therefore, build a society free from oppression, victimisation, discrimination, free from want and poverty, and free from the fears of disease.
We are the founding Fathers. The destiny of Nigeria is in our hands. Let us hope that future generations will say that we have done our work well.
We are proud to be Nigerians and indeed, we should; for with our considerable human and material resources, we are the veritable giant of Africa. Yet, our influence will count for little unless our economy is strong.
I want to emphasise the need for practical as well as for academic attainment.
We have our doctors of economics who became teachers in the universities immediately they qualified. They may be academically brilliant, but that does not necessarily mean that they make good practical economic advisers.
Academic knowledge tempered by experience, either in the world of commerce or in government, is what we need.
We are a friendly and hospitable people, and I feel sure few countries can match us in the welcome we extend to the strangers in our midst.
Let us not drive away in bitterness our friends who have the interest of Nigeria close to their hearts.
It is a truism that the Nigerian economy cannot be insulated or isolated from the rest of the world. It is by the export of our products to the markets of the world that we earn the foreign exchange so necessary for the growth of our economy.
If we spend with restraint, if we channel our expenditure into productive investment, above all, if we save, the balance of payments should not prove a major headache.
Our resources of man-power and materials are such that I feel sure that, within our lifetime, Nigeria can become the workshop of Africa.
We should all be very proud when it is possible for goods to be sent abroad bearing the inscription ‘Made in Nigeria’. When this happens, it is a means of selling Nigeria as well as selling the commodities themselves.
The need to conserve current revenues for the financing of development is a paramount consideration, and I am always watchful of proposals for increase in the ordinary expenditure of government.
Tax evaders are doing themselves and Nigeria great disservice. More than that, they are cheating the many other companies which prosecute their business honestly and sincerely.
Of course, we welcome investments in Nigeria, but we do not welcome investors who do not play fair with our tax authorities.
Evasion of income tax is just as menacing to our economy as the evil of smuggling.
In the fast-shrinking world of today, it is obviously good sense for us to work for co-operation among the countries of Africa rather than to exaggerate their differences.
I am just as anxious as the next man to see a harmonious relationship created between the countries of West Africa and their neighbours.
Let us work for greater trade among the countries of Africa. Let us develop forms of economic assistance and co-operation.
In this federation, we have fashioned a unique example of ‘Unity and Faith’. It is an example which I feel sure can shape the destiny of Africa.
The success of our plans depends ultimately upon the willingness and ability of us all to bear the cost, to make the savings and the sacrifices, to toil unremittingly and to be on our guard against those ills which quickly make all our efforts of no avail.
We are planning now for the future, not for next week or next year, not even for the next five or six years, but for the Nigeria which belongs to our children.
The fundamental wealth of a nation rests not only in its natural resources, but also in the people themselves. With hard work, imagination and the proper training, they can transform the hazards of nature into bounties for their own enjoyment.
Growth is not automatic and cannot be achieved without sacrifice.
Planning for growth means essentially, using our present resources from wherever they may be derived in such a way that in the end, the total resources of our nation will be increased.
Nigeria cannot and will not contemplate any form of agreement or association with the community which in anyway savours of a colonial or neo-colonial relationship.
I look forward to the day when Nigeria will become the industrial heart of an African common market as a result of conscious planning and cooperation by the African states unison.
Economies are also being obtained in a number of different ways. There is also a positive side to this; the encouragement of travel to Nigeria whether on business or on holiday.
There is one way in which each one of us can help. Too often we are inclined to prefer imported goods even when perfectly satisfactory Nigerian equivalents are available.
We must throw off this inferiority complex, this relic of a colonial mentality and take pride in the products of our own country.
‘Made in Nigeria’ should become an overwhelming attraction and not, as is too often the case at present, a positive deterrent.
We offer in our hands the opportunity to create a Happy and Prosperous Nation – surely a worthier cause than any occasioned by war or strife. I offer to you Toil, Sacrifice and Sweat but no Blood. In Unity and Faith, we shall march together towards a greater Nigeria in which our Children will look back with pride upon this our generation, which not only secured their Political Independence but also laid a solid foundation for their Economic Emancipation.
I see a vision of a new and prosperous Nigeria; a Nigeria whose blood is visible and whose aspirations are fired by noble objectives.
Let us not forget that the nations that are the richest are those where the people work the hardest.
The sleeping giant of Africa is awake and determined to take her rightful place marching the rest of humanity.
Saving means quite simply, not consuming. There is no point in saving unless the saving will result in increased benefits in the future. But these increased benefits can only be obtained if the saving is wisely applied.
Rightly we give pride of place to the revolutionary concept of equality; that equality of Men and of Nations which is the very mainspring of political nationalism.
We must all be prepared to make do with less of those things that are not absolutely necessary, in order to make possible a more prosperous future for our children and those who come after us.
We are engaged in building for posterity not for ourselves alone.
I am deeply concerned at the mounting levels of government recurrent expenditure and particularly, the tendency for expenditure on administrative and social services to outstrip the growth of revenues.
Our nation is also engrossed in a great contest, a struggle against the forces of poverty, ignorance and disease to which our main energies continue to be bent.
The word, ‘Made in Nigeria’, stamped on an article should give us a sense of pride rather than arouse vague doubts.
Nigeria is not a beggar country.
The driving force behind all our hopes and aspirations today is our unshakable resolve to create a better Nigeria and a better world for our children and for those who come after us.
We therefore cannot allow our developing country to be a dumping ground for manufactured goods from other places, and the only way to do this is to encourage the people to patronise everything Nigerian in preference to any other.
There must be quality in everything Nigerian so that the products of the Nigerian industry can look their counterpart from anywhere else in the face.
Economic and financial laws do not operate in a vacuum but within the social and political framework of a given community.
Where there is political uncertainty, where the citizens are ever quick to adopt the ‘posture and positions of gladiators’, ready to pounce on each other, there also will be found economic uncertainty.
No Nation that cares only for material well-being can hope to achieve greatness.
No Nation in which the main concern of every citizen is his own immediate advantage will ever prosper.
To achieve unity, we must be able to recognise the forces which are inimical to it.
We need men with practical ability who will preach what they truly believe – and practice what they preach.
A Nation cannot be built on theories but on the effort, the enterprise, the initiative and the peculiar genius of every individual citizen.
