The Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, Dr. Mikail Akinde has told the federal government to direct its focus to polytechnic education, in proffering solution to the economic challenges presently ravaging the country.
Akinde, who said this while addressing newsmen on activities lined up for the institution's 21st convocation, said about 10,477 graduates of the Polytechnic will receive their certificates during the convocation.
He posited that if inflation were to be addressed, there is need to solve the problem of unemployment first, adding that Polytechnic education has a major role to play in solving the nation's economic challenges.
He maintained that Polytechnic has a lot to offer in solving the free fall of Naira, pointed out that the country is not just facing inflation, but "stag inflation" whereby there is a high rate of unemployment and high cost of goods and services, stressing that this has negatively affected the country's development.
While lamenting that Nigeria import virtually everything used in the country from China, including clothes and toothpicks, the Polytechnic Rector disclosed that the Mechanical Engineering Department and Electrical & Electronics Department of the Polytechnic recently manufactured machines which included a sand sieving machine, plantain cutting machine, electric tricycle, electric fire alarm, among others.
Akinde noted that all the machines can be manufactured en-mass if manufacturers can partner the Polytechnic for the mass production, emphasizing that such action will add value to local production and reduce the high rate of unemployment among the youths.
He advocated that there should be loan for the technically gifted persons in the country, to enable them to do more, citing China as a case study, commending President Tinubu for his courageous steps in revamping the collapsed nation's economy.
He said, "We need to rethink and refocus our educational sectors. Theories are meaningless when not put into practice and in Polytechnic, we put all theories of universities into practice that is why we are Polytechnics".
"What we have now is called "stag inflation", which is the combination of the high rate of unemployment, and high inflation, because if we have only inflation, it means a high rise in prices of goods and services. If that is the case fine, but that is not the case, prices are rising, and the unemployment rate is also rising and that is the major problem. If you want to solve that, you need to first address the problem of unemployment"
"President Bola Tinubu appears to be courageous to solve the problems of the country, a country where all the real sectors had collapsed".
"Many of you know how Oba Akran Avenue used to be in the past, it used to be an industrial hub of the country. If you walk through Oba Akran Avenue today, it is now Churches and rally centers".
"Michelin and Dunlope tyres, when they leave this country, how many tyres do we export in a day for which vehicle? Where do we get those tyres from? So, when we look at it, the starting point is that the President must find a way to fix the economy".
"When Britain was having this type of problem, the problem of unemployment, what they did was massive investment in the real sector of the economy in terms of rails, roads, industry, so that those industries may not necessarily leave. If they stay, they will employ our youths, and the problem of unemployment will go down".
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