“The business of making our country truly great
is not just the business of government.
Government is transient, it passes away but it is
the business of every one of us.’’
“I can assure you that whatever it takes to make
our country truly where it should be in the comity
of nations in Africa and anywhere in the world,
we will give it.’’

REMARKS BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT FEDERAL
REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF.
YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, AT THE LAUNCH
OF THE MSMEs CLINICS IN THE FCT HELD AT
THE EAGLE SQUARE, ABUJA ON THURSDAY
JULY 20, 2017

PROTOCOLS

This has been a very exciting afternoon for me
because I have seen the future of the economy of
our country and that future lies in the small and
medium scale enterprises, many of who are here
today advertising their products.
For well over an hour, Acting President Yemi
Osinbajo, Governors & Ministers walked through
booths where hundreds of MSMEs showcased
and advertised their products. 20th July 2017.
Just today I have come across BIMKAF Palace
who produces coconut oil, flour, ginger powder,
carrot oil and so on, Cura Foods and Disposables,
Euphrates Renewable Enterprises, Bob-ella Décor
& Event Management, Nwamaka Ventures and
several other MSMEs. The list is far too long to go
on mentioning them.

I want to say that all of the businesses we have
seen here today, many of them are young men
and women who believe in this country and who
are using Nigerian products, Nigerian crafted
machines in many cases, fabricated and who are
producing incredible things with what they have.
A lot of the capital they have is from several of
the micro finance businesses that are working
with them.

I want to say that the future of our country is in
small businesses, medium size businesses doing
great things, and that is what we are seeing here
today.
But it is not enough for these businesses to
produce and manufacture and to work hard as
they are doing, it is our business as government
to do our part.
That is exactly why we have this MSME Clinics,
the reason why we decided to have this clinics in
the different states where we have held them so
far and now in Abuja, is because we believe that
government has a key role to play in creating an
environment for businesses to prosper and for
businesses to make good.

This is exactly why we are here, the idea came
out of conversations I had with Mr. President
about how we could develop small businesses
quickly.
We recognise that one of the chief problems that
small businesses have is with regulatory
agencies; being able to access regulatory
agencies and get quick and efficient service from
regulatory agencies.


Secondly, funding is also an important constraint
for many of these small businesses.
So we thought that it would be wise to actually
take these regulatory agencies to the small
businesses rather than wait for the small
businesses to come to the regulatory agencies.
This interaction can sensitize the regulatory
agencies themselves to the problems of small
and medium scale enterprises.
What we have seen so far is that there has been
tremendous improvement in the way that the
regulatory agencies respond to small and medium
enterprises.

So what we have done for example, is that we
have brought NAFDAC which of course as you
know is an important agency in the process of
approvals for products.
We brought NAFDAC, SON and even the CAC, that
is the Corporate Affairs Commission. We brought
the Bank of Industry here as well.
These are important agencies for funding and
regulation that need to interact with small and
medium scale businesses, and we believe that
interaction has been very fruitful indeed.
We have done this in Aba, Ilorin, Sokoto, Jos,
Kastina and in Calabar, and this in Abuja is the
latest one. We are still going round the states and
the different geo-political zones with the
regulatory agencies and we are bringing about
this interaction.

I recently signed two Executive Orders which are
closely related to improving the business
environment for MSMEs. These Executive Orders
are also important in the work we are trying to
achieve.
The first makes it easier for MSMEs to get
approvals without delays and bureaucratic
hassles; the other one is on local content. The
first one which makes it easier for MSMEs to get
approval, is one where we are seeking to reduce
the time that it takes to register companies,
reduce the time it takes to get approvals for
different types of things that are required in a
business.

So, for your NAFDAC approval, we are trying to
shorten that process, your SON approval, we are
trying to shorten the process and the registration
of companies as well.
The other is local content which is absolutely
important for us because we believe that just as
the President said in his budget speech in
December, we must make what we use and we
must grow what we eat.
It is our responsibility as a nation and as
individuals that we patronise what it is that we
need.

Here today, I have seen all manners of products
from coconut oil to plantain chips, all sorts of
products, yams, agricultural produce, rice,
practically everything and it is the desire of our
government to ensure that we patronise these
local products.

By 2018, we expect to be completely self-
sufficient in rice production, we are going to do
the same for tomatoes; we are going to do the
same for several others of our products. In this
Executive Order which was signed barely six
weeks ago, we are saying that the Federal
Government of Nigeria and state governments
must patronize locally produced goods.
So, the first point of call is to patronize locally
produced goods. Already the Armed Forces are
patronizing those who are making boots and
some people who are making fatigues and
different kinds of fabrics for the Army. We are
going to insist that this should be so in our
purchases especially where we have events such
as this and where we have state dinners and so
on. And it is also our desire that we patronize
locally produced clothing as much as we can.

I am extremely proud of the achievements of the
Abuja Enterprise Agency. I think that they have
done a wonderful thing indeed by organizing this
particular MSMEs Clinics and the various other
things that we have seen that they are doing. It is
great to hear that they are funding some other
MSMEs as well, and that they intend to increase
this funding which is extremely important and we
hope to be able to support what the enterprise
agency is doing. I will like to commend the FCT
Minister for the excellent work that is going on
and to say that we are fully behind you and we
will support you in any possible way.
As you know the Honourable Minister of State for
Industry, Trade and Investment is the former MD
of the Abuja Enterprise Agency, so don’t be
surprised to find that there would be more
Ministers coming out from the Abuja Enterprise
Agency. (Applause)
I would also like to acknowledge your
Excellencies, the governors who are here, and I
want to thank you very much for taking the time
to attend these MSMEs Clinics. We had a long day
at NEC meeting but you also chose to come along
and see for yourselves what Nigerians are doing
and how well these enterprises are doing; I like to
thank you very much for joining me in looking
round the stands.

I want to just say that the Federal Government is
committed to MSMEs and to developing MSMEs.
So, we are going to work very hard to ensure that
we don’t just do exhibitions and come round to
places like this and see what you are doing, but
we are going to follow up; we are going to see
that those who require funding, those who have
the talents, those who have the creativity, are
funded.
It is not an easy task funding MSMEs because
sometimes it is difficult to know who is where but
one of the great advantages of what we are doing
especially the Abuja Enterprise Agency is that we
can find you where you are and we know exactly
where you are.

I have been speaking with the Minister of the
Federal Capital Territory and the Minister of
Industry, Trade and Investment that we will do all
we can to ensure that you are well funded, that
those who require funding are funded, those who
require training are trained, that whatever support
you require from the Federal Government, you
will get it.
The state governments are also committed. They
have assisted us as we try to set up one-stop
shops in the states that we have been, where the
regulatory agencies can have their
representatives and ensure that people who need
regulatory approval are granted the regulatory
approvals speedily.
The business of making our country truly great is
not just the business of government. Government
is transient, it passes away but it is the business
of every one of us, and this country has the
talent, this country has the men and women who
have the creative ability to make our country
greater than any country in the world.
I can assure you that whatever it takes to make
our country truly where it should be in the comity
of nations in Africa and anywhere in the world,
we will give it.

Thank you very much. God bless you.

www.vanguardngr.com/2017/07/seen-future-o-nigerias-economy-osinbajo/

Good presidential material

I just keep getting impressed by this man as the days go by.

That executive order if deeply and consciously scrutinized would go a long way in building a stable economy that is less dependent on oil.

The order for easy registration and licensing of business also helps to prevent corruption, delay and several other bottle necks.

Kudos to the leader of our economic team and Acting President.

Only a future without APC can be bright.

na you dey buy sub for me? make I read that history when you rite

Sometimes I forget that this man is a pastor.

As a vice President or coordinating president your hands are tight so do the needful if God permit as majority of well meaning Nigerians agree. Simply put the voice of the people is the voice of God .

We know, legend of the seeker, just how el rufai saw that Kaduna came 1st in WAEC

says the prophet that lies and a known political bigot

I've heard excellent speeches from men for centuries. Guess what? They all turned out to be lies, yes, liars! Osubande is lying!

thesicilian:
Only a future without APC can be bright.

The past with PDP and their supporters like you is a cancer. So, PDP can never be the future.

Splinz:
I've heard excellent speeches from men for centuries. Guess what? They all turned out to be lies, yes, liars! Osubande is lying!

Don't be stupid. How did he lie?

edoboy33:
says the prophet that lies and a known political bigot

Man. Point out the lies and stop making a fool of yourself.

Ehiscotch:
Man. Point out the lies and stop making a fool of yourself.

i spoke with president buhari for 1 hour can u speak with a corpse for 1 hour?

edoboy33:

i spoke with president buhari for 1 hour can u speak with a corpse for 1 hour?

I just did something similar mentioning you.

I'm sorry, but I don't see anything at all inspirational or visionary in this speech. It's all just the same rubbish about "buy Nigerian" and import substitution, when what the economy really needs is a massive increase in foreign direct investment - to lower the cost of capital and to fund new infrastructure - and export-friendly policies such a single fully-convertible exchange rate.

I really don't understand why Nigerian politicians expect the same old failed ideas to turn out any better in the future, when there are so many off-the-shelf examples of how to industrialize to choose from: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, China ... If simply banning imports and relying solely on homemade-goods was the key to prosperity, North Korea would be the richest country in the world, instead of one of the poorest. What makes countries richer is increasing the productivity of the citizens, not protectionism, and that requires either increasing the domestic savings rate, or drawing in lots of foreign investment (ideally both). None of the policies this administration has implemented have done anything to bolster either domestic saving or FDI.

CC LALASTICLALA

To the poster above me you made salient points but I disagree with your referencing of North Korea.

Nigeria does not rely solely on or is it not planning to depend on local production to cater for its need we are simply prohibiting the import of goods which we have comparative advantage and the capability of producing which is a norm in countries all over.
You do not need my pointing out the numerous benefits of local production.

The doors are opened for FDI. As far as I know the FG has rallied round trying to drive in investments through its foreign trips which many of us have ignorantly criticized.

North Korea should not be compared to any country as its policies and leadership is way different the rest.

I concur with your other assessment but patronizing home made goods is the way to go.

This ought to have made FP by now. LALASTICLALA

CC QUEENOFNEPAL

omohayek:
I'm sorry, but I don't see anything at all inspirational or visionary in this speech. It's all just the same rubbish about "buy Nigerian" and import substitution, when what the economy really needs is a massive increase in foreign direct investment - to lower the cost of capital and to fund new infrastructure - and export-friendly policies such a single fully-convertible exchange rate.

I really don't understand why Nigerian politicians expect the same old failed ideas to turn out any better in the future, when there are so many off-the-shelf examples of how to industrialize to choose from: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, China ... If simply banning imports and relying solely on homemade-goods was the key to prosperity, North Korea would be the richest country in the world, instead of one of the poorest. What makes countries richer is increasing the productivity of the citizens, not protectionism, and that requires either increasing the domestic savings rate, or drawing in lots of foreign investment (ideally both). None of the policies this administration has implemented have done anything to bolster either domestic saving or FDI.

MUST we get FDI ?really emotional to owe banksters

Rorachy:
Sometimes I forget that this man is a pastor.

He was ordained as a pastor but it was just a side-hustle in case he did not make it being a professor.
He never pastored any church.