Prominent businessman and founder of Coscharis Group, Cosmas Maduka, has expressed the view that Peter Obi would not have pursued policies significantly different from those of the current administration had he won the presidential election.
In an interview on the Mic On Podcast with Okinbaloye, which aired on YouTube Saturday, Maduka stated that Nigeria is progressing despite its challenges, highlighting that essential economic measures, such as subsidy removal, would have been unavoidable under any leadership.
“People have asked me whether Peter Obi would have done anything different if he had won the election, and I said no. He would have also removed the subsidy from day one,” Maduka remarked.
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Regarding the concerns about the naira’s devaluation and economic hardship, Maduka acknowledged the difficulty of speaking on such issues as a wealthy individual but emphasized that the government’s focus should be on reinvesting the savings from subsidy removal into infrastructure.
“The government must be disciplined in redirecting the savings from subsidy removal into infrastructure. If you take money from those who profited from the subsidy, including those who flew private jets, and invest it in ventures benefiting the public, there will be progress,” he explained.
He warned, however, that if the government fails to invest the funds wisely, the country will remain stagnant.
“If you move from one tomb to another, you’re still in the same graveyard. You haven’t moved forward,” he added.
Maduka also discussed Nigeria’s debt situation, pointing out that borrowing itself is not the issue, but rather the purpose for which funds are borrowed.
“A country’s borrowing is not the problem. The real issue is what the money is borrowed for. If it’s for capital or infrastructure development, it will pay for itself. But if it’s borrowed for things like taking a second wife or distributing money for poverty alleviation, it deepens our problems,” he noted.
He stressed the need for fiscal discipline in governance, urging the government to curb excessive spending and focus on initiatives that will benefit the country’s citizens.
“There needs to be discipline to control government excesses. Are we heading in the right direction? Yes,” Maduka concluded.
