Africa’s biggest music producer, and one man that has spent good part of his youth discovering and nurturing some of the brightest and talented young Nigerian musicians over the years, Michael Collins Ajereh, who is better known as Don Jazzy, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing some of the brightest minds in Nigeria into his Economic Advisory Council team. In his message, he also called on the President and his new Economic Advisory Council to focus on Nigeria’s Human Development Index as they prepare to go to work on the economy.
Don Jazzy who joined other Nigerians to salute the President on his latest appointment, had this to say about the new appointees:
“The Appointees in the new Economic Advisory Council are some of the brightest minds we have in the country and their appointments are well-deserved. Hopefully, the government’s reposed trust in their expertise would have positive effects on the economy” he said.
Don Jazzy’s statement on the Economic Management Team of President Muhmmadu Buhari, seems to have come as a surprise to many of his fans, who questioned whether he has joined politics just like others. But the Dorobucci King, from his message, was merely using the opportunity to advise the President and his new economic team, especially on Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) which is ranked as one of the lowest in the world, with over 69% of Nigerians living below the poverty line.
On the HDI, Don Jazz has this advice for the President and his new team:
“I would advise the govt. to prioritize the development of our HDI in this term. Substantial funds should be earmarked in our fiscal budgets to improve our Education and Health sectors in compliance with WHO and UNESCO. Bill Gates sounded this note of warning in a meeting with the National Economic council one year ago, faulting the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan(ERGP) which doesn’t prioritize human capacity development. I understand people would be wondering how this would affect our economy positively” he said.
He also spoke about Education and good health sector being the solutions to improve the HDI in Nigeria, where he used Civil Servants in Nigeria and how they sponsor their children to schools and the effects of that on their meagre salaries as an example. He tasked the Government for more funding for the Education and Health Sectors in the country. He said:
“Let’s consider this. In the south here where Education is considered to be very important in many families, parents spend a lot of money on educating their children. Many of these parents are civil servants who only rely on their salaries in these times when the minimum wage is a meagre $83.5. These parents are forced to take different loans to educate their offspring and keep them healthy, thereby making their monthly net income to be insufficient. This is one of the reasons why more people keep slipping into extreme poverty every day. Almost half of the population is already in abject penury and all hands must be on deck to avoid the worse. #VoiceOfTheDon”#donjazzy#buhari #economicadvisorycouncil
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Monday16th September 2019 changed the Economic Management Team created by his vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, with the Economic Advisory Council, and appointed Prof Chukwuma Soludo, Prof Doyin Salami, Dr Mohammed Sagagi and other notable personalities into the Economic Advisory Council.
The new change was announced by the President’s special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina. The new team as released by the President, are as follows:
Prof Doyin Salami was named the Chairman of the council, and Dr Mohammed Sagagi, as the Vice-Chairman. Others include; Prof Ode Ojowu; Dr Shehu Yahaya; Dr Iyabo Masha; Prof Chukwuma Soludo; Mr Bismark Rewane; and Dr Mohammed Adaya Salisu (Secretary).
“The Economic Advisory Council (EAC) will advise the President on economic policy matters, including fiscal analysis, economic growth and a range of internal and global economic issues working with the relevant cabinet members and heads of monetary and fiscal agencies.
“The EAC will have monthly technical sessions as well as scheduled quarterly meetings with the President. The Chairman may, however, request for unscheduled meetings if the need arises”, the President’s statement reads