Making Africa Rising a Reality was published on BloombergView, on a day President Buhari also unfolded the investor-friendly agenda of his administration to the US- Africa Business Forum in New York. NAN reproduces President Buhari’s article entitled: Making ‘Africa Rising’ a Reality in Nigeria. Until a few years ago, Africa Rising was a
dominant theme in conversations about the
global economy. That enthusiasm has since
cooled, so that in newsrooms and think tanks and
conference panels, “Africa Rising!” has given way
to a more questioning “Africa Rising?”
While some of that pessimism may be justified,
we do not have the luxury of distracting ourselves
with lamentations about our current
circumstances. Instead of hoping for commodity
prices to rise, African countries should seize the
opportunities that these times present — not
least here at today’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum
— to lay a foundation for the kind of economic
growth that transforms the lives of our people.
One of our biggest challenges during the boom
years was that we failed to convert the benefits of
high commodity prices into more jobs and
significant improvements in standards of living.
Hence the great debate, during those years,
about how to ensure that the growth became
“inclusive.”
Now that we are face to face with the
vulnerabilities somehow hidden during the years
of plenty, we should turn away from the unhelpful
habits of the past and chart a new course. Since I
signed the 2016 budget into law in May, Nigeria’s
Ministry of Finance has released more than 400
billion naira for infrastructure spending — more
than the total amount spent in 2015.
In the face of dwindling oil revenues, we are
turning to debt. We have begun raising a $1
billion Eurobond, our first in three years. We are
also raising debt from the World Bank, the African
Development Bank, the Chinese Ex-Im Bank and
other development finance partners.
Unlike in the past, when borrowed funds were
frittered away on unproductive ventures, we will
ensure their investment in the revival of stalled
road, rail, power and port projects, and in
agricultural initiatives that will significantly boost
domestic production of food. For far too long we
have under-invested in infrastructure — the most
critical element for creating sustainable economic
growth. The net effect: an avoidably high cost of
doing business in Nigeria.
But even more important than what the
government is able to spend is the limitless
investment potential of the private sector. This is
why one of our main priorities is creating an
environment in which private-sector capital can
thrive. We are in particular using Public-Private
Partnership models to support game-changing
private-sector projects in power, refining, gas
transportation and fertilizer production.
We are also putting in place measures to ensure
that monies intended to revamp our
infrastructure do not end up in the pockets of
corrupt officials and their collaborators. Already
we are investigating the theft of several billion
dollars in public funds by the previous
administration. We are not only bringing these
corrupt officials to justice, we are also setting up
systems to make it impossible for such a grievous
abuse of public trust to happen again. And of
course, we are as committed to playing by the
rule of law as we are to accounting for every naira
and recovering them for our treasury. These were
funds meant to build roads and railway lines and
hospitals and schools, and to equip our military —
which has for the last seven years been fighting
one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world.
In that regard, we are already seeing the positive
results of our anti-corruption efforts. Long starved
of both materiel and morale by the corruption in
the military’s upper echelons, our reinvigorated
troops have now put Boko Haram permanently on
the back foot. Some of the more than 2 million
persons displaced by Boko Haram have started
returning to their homes. Just last week, the
people of Nigeria’s northeast celebrated their first
incident-free Eid in years.
Our troops have rescued thousands of men,
women and children trapped in areas held by
Boko Haram. To meet their urgent humanitarian
needs, we are working with the United Nations
and other partners to provide food, medical help
and shelter. We will strive to ensure that no
victim is left behind, including the 219 Chibok
girls who have, since their abduction in April
2014, served as a global symbol of the war
against Boko Haram and a reminder of the horrors
that it has inflicted on innocent Nigerians.
Even though the times are still dire, our economic
recovery plan is already showing positive results.
Investment’s share in gross domestic product is
at its highest since 2010. Inflation is slowing;
manufacturing confidence is rising. People are
seeing and seizing opportunities to make money
catering to the needs of Africa’s most populous
country. Finally, our Social Investment Program —
the most ambitious in Nigeria’s history — will kick
off this month. In its first year it will provide cash
transfers to 1 million of our poorest people, hot
meals to 5 million primary-school children, cheap
loans to more than 1 million artisans and traders,
and job opportunities in health care, agriculture
and software and hardware development for half
a million young people.
The journey ahead remains long and difficult. Our
double-digit inflation, currency turmoil and
downgraded ratings will not vanish overnight. We
also know that the current recession is partly
driven by the production outages in Nigeria’s
Delta region, and we are confident that growth
will accelerate as problems in that region are
resolved.
But the real story here is not the challenges,
which are all too visible, but the opportunities. We
have learned the necessary lessons. We will
ensure that Nigeria does not slip back into a lazy
and dangerous dependence on the price of crude
oil. We will continue to insist on transparency and
accountability in the use of government funds.
And we will build an economy that prioritizes the
ease of doing business and investing, and that
thrives on the entrepreneurial energy and
ingenuity of our people.
To achieve these objectives, Nigeria needs robust
and reliable partnerships such as we have with
the United States. This is why I value the
Commercial and Investment Policy Dialogue that
we have just launched, and which we shall
announce at today’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum.
The months ahead will show not only that Nigeria
is on the rise, but that this “Rising” is real and
lasting — one that touches not just the statistical
databases, but the lives of the people who elected
us to deliver positive change.
http://punchng.com/making-africa-rising-reality-nigeria-president-buhari/ |
Mr President you're a true DULLARD. After you told the whole world that we are a nation of thieves, con artists, liars, saboteurs, drug dealers and never do-wells, you now want to change the narrative, because of FDI. Well sorry, it is too late for a reboot. When you are out of Aso Rock, our rise and TRANSFORMATION will begin once more
As for my fellow wailers, please read every word on this article, and find out where he plagiarised and who he plagiarised from. Food don don O! |
