FG has made Nigeria ripe for Business

[Richard Akindele]

Vice President Atiku Abubakar has stressed that the Federal Government has made Nigeria ripe for business, adding that this would get better in years to come.

The Vice President has therefore, in this regard, called on corporate bodies in the country to think of ways of contributing to the nationís development.

Speaking yesterday during the official opening of a free cataract surgery eye centre in Yola, Adamawa state, established by the Tulsi-Chanrai Foundation, Atiku noted that the eye centre was a confirmation of the success of this administrationís developmental initiatives through public-private partnership.

Atiku said that the free cataract surgery eye centre, which is a public ñ-private partnership initiative, was a fruitful collaboration between the Adamawa State Government and the Tulsi-Chanrai foundation. “The public-private partnership approach is based on the realization that government alone cannot develop a nation and provide for the peoples welfare. Health care is one of such vital area.

And the provision of good health care not only ensures a healthy populace but also a productive workforce. It must therefore, be a priority for any people oriented government,� he added.

The Vice President also noted that the provision of the eye centre was a demonstration of Corporate Social Responsibility on the part of the Chanrai Group adding by this initiative the Chanrai group is giving back to a society that has been good to it.

The Vice President stated that the peculiar climatic conditions in Northern Nigeria has contributed immensely to eye problems for residents in the area, adding that it is imperative for governments in the area to take the provision of eye care seriously.

He then commended the Adamawa State Government led by Governor Boni Haruna, and the Chanrai Foundation for their initiatives and fruitful collaboration. He also called on other corporate bodies to emulate the Chanrai family Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Chanrai Foundation, Mr. Jacky Chanrai, expressed his conviction of the need to spread the services of proper and quality eye care to the people of Adamawa and its environs largely because of lack of accessibility and the peculiar nature of the cataract disease in the North.

He also expressed the desire that in no distant future the foundation would open other centers in some other states in the North. He thanked the Vice President and Adamawa state government for their various roles towards the establishment of the centre. In his speech, the Governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna,† said that with the inauguration of the free cataract eye centre the people of Adamawa state have begun to enjoy the dividends of democracy saying that cataract surgery is performed thrice a week and many who were blind have regained their sights, adding that the government of Adamawa state was ready to go into greater ties with the Tulsi-Chanrai foundation to reverse the high trend of blindness prevalence in the state within a short time.

Source: Thisday
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