Lagos — Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has said one of the reasons the Nigerian economy is in a state of disrepair is because of the colossal failure of the nation's industrial sector and Nigerians' insatiable appetite for anything that is foreign.

The ambassador, who spoke as a guest lecturer at an event put together by the Dean of Students' Affairs, University of Lagos (UNILAG) in conjunction with the Student Political Consensus, delivered a paper titled: "The Role of Students in Nation Building."

According to him, "it is essential to note that we may fail persistently in the Nigerian project if our education stops where moral rectitude and creative questioning begin. I believe strongly that if we re-invent our education sector, we would be able to reduce the army of beggars on our street; create wealth and reduce the burden of the extended family we all are daily confronted with."

He said despite over 47 years of democratic independence, the Nigerian system is still "bugged down by substandard infrastructure. This is the only oil rich nation with the highest number of bad roads, clogged drainages, uncoordinated physical planning and the most deadly environmental conditions.

"Our nation has been described as a country in perpetual darkness, because of regular power failure. The resultant impact of this on industrial development is horrendous. Our hospitals and health centres are in bad shape. They were once described by a former presidential aspirant, John Nwodo as 'a veritable harbinger for the multiplication of bacteria. Our educational sector is under serious threat of under-funding and absence of adequate facilities," he said.

But these notwithstanding, Obanikoro said the country still holds lots of promises and that everyone, including government must play its role well if a genuine and viral nation must be built and sustained.

Obanikoro pointed out that the present administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua under which he is serving means well and has begun to reinvent strategies with a view to providing great leadership.

Particularly, he said the seven point agenda of the President are steps in this direction.

He urged the private sector to remain upbeat in its social and corporate responsibility while appealing to the Civil Society Organisations to remain vibrant and active in articulating issues that would move the nation along the line of progress.

While pleading religious organisations to help fine-tune the nation's morals and lead in the path of righteousness, Obanikoro said "every Nigerian should play his or her role conscientiously and most of all, students must remain vibrant and articulate in ensuring that they contribute meaningfully towards building a new Nigeria . Our focus today, however, is not on the roles of the first five segments comprising government, organisations and individuals; it is predominantly on the role of students".

He therefore urged students to reposition themselves to the new form of education because it allows for positive thinking. He said though the picture ahead may appear bleak, the long-dark nights would be over, and that "we all must look forward to a new day; a new dawn.

"Our thoughts regarding life and our goals should always be positive. Failure actually begins in our thoughts. To counteract failure, we need to develop the belief that we are able to do anything, so long as we set our hearts to it", he stated.