₦airaland Forum

Nonsense! Punch did not show proof of understanding the issue of waiver. the minister was right to set the record straight.

Amaechi should not be taking seriously. He only plays to the gallery.

Nigeria Has 20 Legitimate Dollar Billionaires – Ventures Africa

Nigeria has the highest number of legitimate dollar-billionaires in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent wealth report by Ventures Africa.

Ventures Africa (www.ventures-africa.com), a leading African business magazine published its inaugural ranking of the richest people in Africa on Monday at richlist.ventures-africa.com. The full magazine is available as an App in the Apple and Google apps store.

Of the 55 Africans who made the entry point of $1 billion, 20 of them are Nigerians. The Nigerians featured on the list include Aliko Dangote, who is listed as Africa’s wealthiest man with a $20.2 billion fortune and Globacom boss Mike Adenuga, who is listed as the 3rd richest man in Africa with an $8 billion fortune. Others include Folorunsho Alakija, the richest woman in Africa who is worth $7.3billion and the CEO of Taleveras Group, Igho Sanomi, who at 38 years old is listed as the youngest billionaire in Africa with a net worth of $1 billion.

Commenting on the rich list, Ventures Africa’s Publisher, Chi-Chi Okonjo, said: “That Nigeria has so many dollar billionaires says something positive about our economy. As the saying goes, if you’re not doing business in Nigeria, then you’re not doing business in Africa.”

The combined fortune of Africa’s 55 billionaires is $143.88 billion. Two other women apart from Folorunsho Alakija make the list. They include Isabel Dos Santos, an Angolan investor who is also the daughter of Angola’s President, Eduardo Dos Santos, and Mama Ngina Kenyatta, the widow of Kenya’s first President.

The average net worth of the members of this exclusive club is $2.6 billion while the median age of the richest people in Africa is 65 years.

After Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt lead the pack with the second and third highest number of billionaires at 9 and 8 respectively. Algeria, Angola, Zimbabwe and Swaziland only have one billionaire each. In all, there are 10 African countries represented on the list.



Ventures Africa is Africa’s leading business magazine and news service. Founded and published by Chi-Chi Okonjo, the bi-monthly magazine is distributed across Africa.

There is need for Nairaland police. Why post something that doesn't make sense?

Amaechi is clearly confused.

THOSE OF YOU ACCUSING NOI OF INSENSITIVITY SHOULD LOOK AT THE ISSUE VERY WELL BEFORE JUST MAKING ACCUSATION. NOI SHOULD NOT BE CRUCIFY

Questioning The Sincerity Of ASUU
Posted: August 26, 2013 - 02:01
By Felix Festus
The threat to academic stability in the nation’s ivory towers because of the current strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has attracted headlines in the dailies. The media has also been awashed by many criticisms, most of which have been directed at the Federal Government in which President Jonathan is the representational character. However, it appears many of the critics have failed to consider the other side of the coin, which is one of the essentials in a debate on such a controversial issue.

Therefore, the focus of this piece is to examine the purpose of the present ASUU’s strike and their sympathizers’ rage against the FG. Firstly, ASUU came up with the issue of autonomy for universities. The FG approved the idea of autonomy so long as the universities would generate internal revenue to offset their expenditure, including salaries and allowances. This government’s position provoked ASUU members. They poured venom on the government for merely supporting the idea of autonomy - existence as an independent body! Having realized the illusion surrounding university autonomy, members of the academic union played down their demand. This raises a question on the sincerity of ASUU’S demands.

On the issue of Federal Government’s assistance to state universities, this writer supports the idea of assisting the state universities. But must the Federal Government be compelled to render support to universities established and owned by state governments? Methink helping state universities should be as necessary as the state governments are required to support the federal institution located in their domain. Needless to say that state governments collect tenement tax from federal institutions sited in their states.

The idea of compelling the federal government to offer help to state-owned universities is borne out of the fact that academic staff from state universities are also part of ASUU. The truth must, however, be told. The Visitors to state universities are the state governors. Academic and non-academic staff of state-owned universities are employees of the state governments. Compelling the FG to assist state universities no doubt negates the principle of federalism. It only brings to fore the overdependence of constituents on the government at the centre.

The progressive increase of education budget to 26% between 2009 and 2020 is another contentious issue in the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement. The agitation for increase to 26% in budgetary allocation, as recommended by UNESCO for developing nations, is a legitimate one. So tere is need to improve the current 8% total budget to education by the FG.

However, while the FG should be chastised for its current 8% budget to education, one needs to remind discerning readers that in nations where huge budgetary allocations are committed to education, members of the academia engage in scholarly research that help to solve societal needs. Only a few of our academics engage in fruitful research capable of solving the needs of our society. Most of the university teachers set their target in journal publication that would help them gain promotion in their academic career even when such is far from rendering solution to our societal needs.

Akin to increase in budgetary allocation is the issue of earned academic allowances for university teachers. Allowances are stimulants that reinforce positive inclination towards work. While government is working out modalities to pay earned academic allowances to deserving university teachers, the Dr. Fagie led ASUU is kicking against such, insisting that allowances should be paid across board, even when not all lecturers merit such allowances.

My experience as an undergraduate and post-graduate student in one of the first generation universities showed that not all university lecturers deserve mention in the earned allowance, particularly the absentees. It is an open secret that some of the lecturers who are fulltime employees in the federal universities abandon their duty posts to shuttle between federal and private universities. They stagger their responsibilities in multiple roles as lecturers–in-charge in both public and private universities sacrificing quality of delivery in the process, at the expense of unsuspecting students in public universities.

These ‘abroad’ lecturers hardly attend classes to teach in the public universities. When they return, mostly towards the end of the semester, they engage the students in lengthy, patchy lecture hours in a bid to cover a course work that ought to have been concluded before the time of exams. Any student who dare challenges lecturer’s absenteeism in public universities are often victimized with a threat of carry-over of the course handled by the lecturer or delay in graduation.

At the post-graduate level, the situation is even more unpalatable. Many post-graduate students fail to complete their programmes in line with the academic calendar due to lecturers’ negligence. They hardly spend quality time to guide and mentor their students in their long essays. With this domineering posture, a percentage of the students either incur extra year(s) or abandon their programmes out of frustration. If you would not grow grey hair while undertaking a Ph.D degree as a student, you have to not only be hard working in your research pursuit, but also be willing to worship the deified characters in lecturer’s garb! Let me add here that a considerable number of the lecturers have passion for their calling. Those ones always act right by performing their duties without compromising standard; they deserve their earned allowances and should be rightly rewarded.

The influx of private universities became more pronounced during the regime of ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo. Yet, thousands of university applicants seeking admission could not either gain admission into the universities or afford the luxury of high fee demands of the private universities. In fulfilling his campaign promises in 2011, President Jonathan established nine federal universities and further established three to make it twelve. The establishment of federal universities provided succour to admission seeking candidates. Besides providing admission to deserving applicants, it also signaled a massive employment into the education sector. Jonathan will go into the history books as one whose regime established most federal universities in a single tenure.

The prolonged quagmire and the sit tight approach of ASUU members are having devastating effects on Nigerian students, undergraduates and post-graduates. The rot in the education sector as claimed by ASUU should not be further fertilized by ASUU’s hard-line posture. The standstill caused by ASUU/FG impasse could have been resolved if only ASUU and FG would shift ground and make concession, at least for the sake of the students who bear the brunt of the face-off.

Already, the Federal Government has made a spirited effort to get the striking lecturers back to work. The government recently released a whopping 130billion naira in response to ASUU’s demand for infrastructural development in public universities. According to the Secretary to the Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim, 100billion naira is for infrastructural development, while the remaining 30billion naira has also been disbursed as part of FG’s attempt to defray the backlog of the earned allowances.

That means the federal government has shifted ground in this regard, so what is ASUU waiting for?



*Felix Festus is a PhD student in one of Nigerian federal universities.

http://saharareporters.com/article/questioning-sincerity-ASUU

Thanks!

samilo88: OP pls change the "does" in your topic to "do". A plural verb should go with a plural noun. Concord of agreement.
Back to topic, I think we nigerians want a a country we can be proud of any day anywhere. A country where a man is paid a wage he can live on,a country where 100km isnt a walking distance,a country where food isnt purchase on a truck and eaten in another truck,a country where everyone flushes and above all a country where everyone can live comfortably with boundless oppurtunities.

Nice one! Let's keep the conversation rolling!

Let's have your views of Nigerians on Nigerians and what they really want. This should be interesting, funny and rich.

Let's roll

Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala predictably incurred the wrath of the National Assembly when she stated recently that government would not be able to pay salaries by September if the furore generated by the proposal for the amendment of 2013 Appropriation Act is not resolved. The recriminations, verbal salvos and the high voltage tension that has trailed the minister’s comments underscores the frosty relationship between the Executive and the National Assembly, a situation which threatens to imperil the 2013 Appropriation Act and hold in abeyance, the developmental objectives of the present administration.

Given the grave implications of this lingering crisis, it is in the overriding national interest for all the contending forces to move quickly to diffuse tensions thus generated by taking concrete steps to resolve the issues surrounding the identified grey areas. No nation can afford to waste a full calendar year of its life quarrelling over issues that can be best settled with maturity, commonsense and understanding in the overriding national interest. Paradoxically, in the annals of the nation’s budget years, the 2013 fiscal year set the pace in budget Appropriation. In December 20, 2012, the National Assembly passed N4.987 trillion appropriation bill presented by the president in September of the previous year. President Jonathan had proposed N4.92 trillion but the National Assembly jacked up the figure to N4.987 trillion. This feat gave room for cautious optimism among Nigerians who hailed the early passage as a departure from an inglorious past of intractable late budget presentations. Giving the festering crisis that has engulfed the budget, pessimism now rules the land.

Agreed that disagreements and robust engagements are some of the hallmarks of democratic practice, the time has come for all the warring parties to sheath their swords and move quickly to redeem the budget. The minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala spoke from an informed position when she issued the dire warning regarding the ability of government to function and fulfil its obligations. A lot these of political, manoeuvres and ego trips have so far impinged on a balanced, fair and expeditious consideration of the 2013 budget amendment, proposal submitted by the president to the National Assembly on March 14. In the amendment bill, the president replaced the earlier N4, 987,220,425,601 contained in 2013 Appropriation Act with N4, 987,382,196,690 in the (Amendment) Bill 2013. According to the details, the president also sought to appropriate a total sum of N2.4 trillion as recurrent expenditure, as against N2.3 trillion on December 20, 2012. Also, Jonathan sought approval for N1, 588 trillion as capital expenditure as against the N1.6 trillion approved by the National Assembly last year. Whereas N388 billion was earmarked for statutory transfers, N591.7 billion was meant for debt servicing. The president also raised concerns over certain clauses inserted into the budget by the National Assembly which it believes amounted to the appropriation of executive powers by the parliament and therefore sought to correct them. These include the zero appropriation for Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as a clause in the Act that prohibits the Commission from spending any revenue it generates.

Beyond all these observed discrepancies, the most worrying and unacceptable is the perchance of the National Assembly to tamper with projects designed for execution in the 2013 budget by the presidency. The National Assembly had diverted original appropriations to places of their own interest, an act which according to the presidency made the budget non implementable.

Okonjo – Iweala should be praised and not vilified over her principled stand on the festering crisis. As an internationally recognised economist, with vast experience in economic matters as it pertains to developing world, she understands the consequences and impact of an orderly budget presentation and implementation. As one of the ideologies of Jonathan’s transformation agenda, the coordinating minister of the ideologies is an insider with grasp and deep knowledge of the priorities and blueprint of the present administration for national development.

The changes, reductions and alterations by the National Assembly of capital projects estimates as submitted by the president in favour of areas of their own personal interest is nothing but distortions with negative consequences on our fledgling economy. In the spirit of cooperation between these two important arms of governments, projects which were not accommodated in the 2013 Appropriation Act can still be considered in subsequent appropriations. This should form part of a dynamic and progressive process based on the fact that government is a continuum.

So far, the ongoing stalemate has impacted negatively on the economy and held in abeyance, the president’s calculations pursuant to his transformation agenda. Already, earlier projections of government regarding the realisation of 10,000 megawatts of power in December this year has become unrealistic due, in part, to this stalemate and reduction of allocations to this critical sector of the national economy. It is unpatriotic for the National Assembly to delay consideration and passage of the amendment bill in order to get back at the executive over non release of the N100billion constituency projects funds to members. The primacy of collective interest is supreme and should guide the conduct of our leaders at all times.

Ume wrote in from Abuja

http://www.nigerianpilot.com/real-issues-on-the-budget-impasse/

Ada Nri1: This is quite long. Jonathan and his ministers only care about their pockets. What saddens me most is that he had to even make life more miserable for the masses just to satisfy an un satsfiable quest for money. God will judge him and them

I think you need to read the post before you start casting aspersion on Jonathan and his ministers. This issue in the post dates back to the OBJ era. Read before you comment and let's have a robust debate.

Go Ngo, go! Great woman that is carrying the banner of integrity.

emk4lif: I believe NOI is from Delta State so why are they famzing her

yes, but married to an Abian!

No doubt, you are confused and frustrated.

Garri the 1st: Ngozi remains a thief and a LIAR!!

Are you capable of reasoning at all?

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo–Iweala, Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Hon. Minister of Finance avoids pedagogy and erudition whenever she makes presentations on her sector. Here is a woman who despite her aplomb and enviable career records chooses not to fog up her subject, but bring it down to practical levels using analogies and graphs to great effect, in order for her to be clearly understood.

The simplicity she emits in her personal life style, her gentle talk tone and her easy engagement with people proved massively advantageous when she took her turn at the 2013 Ministerial Platform.
Along with her colleague, Dr. Yerima Ngama, the Hon. Minister of State, she assured Nigerians that with debt management efficient systems and applications, they have saved significant funds for the Country, dispelled shocks to the economy and stabilised it.

They illustrated the progress of the national economy by showing that whereas the sub Saharan economy were growing at 5.6%, Nigeria was posting 6.7percent, which was a better result than that of the so – called emerging economies. At the end of the day a quick survey conducted on three groups of invited participants showed that 65% of the lower class now understood better what is called GDP, 80% appreciated the enormity of work that goes into fashioning and running the economy, 85% believe the economy will be turned around for the better, and 94% agreed that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is handling the economy well.

However, 61% blamed her for being tight handed in the area of fund allocation and release. In simple terms therefore, the Hon. Ministers of Finance said that one of their early efforts which paid off well was the cutting off of fraud and plugging leakages.

This was achieved through greater monitoring and stricter application of rules. The reforms in the Banking Sector addressed the pre- 2011 stress levels in the banks and capital market challenges, resulting in the restructuring of distressed banks, and the posting of discernible progress and return of profitability. However, the cost of borrowing is still high but receiving official and/or professional knocks such that at the end, customer satisfaction will not be compromised.

One of the biggest wins in the banking sector in the last two years is its support to the real sector. This entails mobilizing resources for the other sectors of the economy at zero percent concessional borrowing terms, with a 40 year moratorium, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said a 12 billion dollar portfolio for Agriculture, Environment, Transport, Health, Power etc had been sourced and which the Federal Government was going to guarantee.

It is gratifying to note that the economy is now favourably disposed to multi-lateral engagements which, with the numerous fall outs, will encourage support or empowerment for women and for continued job creation. The differential and relative growth, from a revenue base of 200 billion naira to 400 billion naira in two years, smacks of better income management from oil and gas, agriculture, customs and Inland Revenue collections, other taxes, etc.
A reduction of import level to 68%, from 74% and the downward trend in the nation’s borrowing profile comparatively from 2011 to 2013 underscore the progress being made in the management of the nation’s finances and economy.
Maintaining the new orientation and employing the Debt management Approach will forestall Nigeria falling back into debt, she said.

While sectoral waivers particularly in Agriculture, Aviation, and Mines and Steel will be exceedingly
beneficial to the economy, the adoption of international finance management techniques and, internal management such as the Treasury Single Account will enable the financial managers to have an overview of all resources anytime and interface with the MDA’s for better result. The electronic pay platform (IPPIS) which eliminates Ghost workers phantom wages, the improvement of tax collection, modernisation of Nigeria’s Custom Service and limiting to only essential borrowing, are cogent economic stability measures.

Finally, Okonjo-Iweala’s cake- GDP analogy which involved three cakes with symbolic totems of human beings went down well. A portion of cake that was adequate for a family of five (father, mother and three children) would progressively prove insufficient as the population grows, in-laws on both sides get factored, relations and neighbours too.

The solution will not be to recriminate but to control all necessary factors and involve all significant beneficiaries in one process or the other that will lead.

http://www.championonlinenews.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7968:okonjo-iweala-dispelling-shock-and-stabilising-the-economy&Itemid=208&lang=en

That rep guy sound dumb!

No matter what you say, NOI means well for Nigeria. I still believe that she has the hear for service.

The security of Africa's development is under threat. We cannot afford to exclude young people from economic opportunities.

Africa should focus on how to secure development and drive economic growth with inclusion. We must look beyond the macro fundamentals of growth to how to diversify our economies and create jobs. Africa must not become a breeding ground for insurgents and terrorism that undermines development.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the African Development Bank, people under the age of 25 account for about 60% of total unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa. On average, 72% of the youth population lives below the $2 a day poverty line, according to a World Bank survey. In Nigeria, my own country, about 63% of the population is under 25. Unemployment is at 23.9%, with youth unemployment at about 37%.

How do we solve this problem?

First, to keep pace with population growth, it is necessary that Africa's economic growth continues. To ensure this, we must look beyond reliance on primary commodity exports and natural resources. We must diversify our economies by focusing on alternative sources of growth and job creation. We need to add value to agriculture and other commodities. We need to develop manufacturing, petro-chemicals and other sectors.

It is important that we fill the infrastructure gap, which is costing Africa at least 2% in GDP growth annually. We need to join hands with the private sector and invest proceeds from our natural resources in critical infrastructure like power, roads, rail, ICT, and water and sanitation. We need to develop our financial systems to provide flexible and timely credit. We need to develop capacity for entrepreneurship, especially among the youth, as a major driver of job creation.

In Nigeria, we are focusing on high-value agriculture, where we expect to create 3.5m jobs by 2015. We are developing manufacturing and the housing, ICT, solid minerals and creative industries. We are also closing the gaps in our infrastructure. We have embarked on a comprehensive privatisation programme in our power sector and are investing some of our petroleum subsidy savings in building roads and bridges, and improving our rail transport system.

Second, we must develop our human capital in Africa. We need to improve access to education, especially for girls and women, and ensure the education our young people receive equips them with the skills they need to work. The Nigerian government, led by President Goodluck Jonathan, has made improving both access to education and its quality a national priority.

Third, we need to build safety nets. We need to develop identity platforms and biometric systems that will facilitate this. We need to build a tax system that can efficiently redistribute income to those at the bottom. In Nigeria, we launched a pilot phase of a conditional cash transfer scheme in May, to support maternal and child health.

Fourth, the reality is that Africa needs to pay attention to demographic issues. I believe we have not discussed this enough. China's much-reviled one child policy was crucial to its economic success. I'm not suggesting we follow this, but we Africans must now look for our own homegrown policies that would manage our population growth so whatever economic growth we achieve can be poverty-eradicating and more inclusive. Education for women and girls is key.

Fifth, while our young can present challenges to our economic development, they can also present unique opportunities. In the 1940s, the Asian Tigers such as South Korea found themselves in a similar situation to Africa's today. They had a very young population and built their economies on the backbone of this labour force.

The Koreans developed a programme of "education for economic growth", focused on investing in skills and education for the youth to power industrial revolution and economic growth. They were able to transition from a developing to a developed economy by investing in their young labour force. Africa's youth bulge, if properly harnessed, can also power economic activity over the next 30-40 years, as in Korea's case.

In the short term, however, we need to introduce job-creation programmes. In Nigeria, we have engaged in programmes to create short-term job opportunities, including a community services programme for unskilled youth, and a graduate internship scheme, which will support 50,000 university graduates to acquire work experience in private-sector entities. We also created a special fund to provide grants of up to $70,000 to young entrepreneurs.

The security of Africa's development is under threat if we do not address the rising phenomenon of jobless growth and high youth unemployment. We cannot afford to exclude our young ones from economic opportunities. I remain optimistic, however, that with the right policies African countries can harness the potential of their youth, tackle violence and restiveness among their citizens, and ultimately build more inclusive and prosperous societies.

• Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is finance minister of Nigeria. This is an edited version of the Oppenheimer lecture that she gave at the International Institute for Strategic Studies

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jul/08/jobs-young-people-africa-nigeria?CMP=twt_gu

WHY ARE WE IN THE HABIT OF PULLING PEOPLE DOWN. SHE HAS EXPRESSED HER RESERVATION AT THE LEVEL OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE COUNTRY, WHY SHOULD WE ABUSE HER FOR THAT? I THINK WE SHOULD TRY TO PROFFER SOLUTIONS AND NOT ABUSES.

Some lawmakers are bunch of jokers!

SAHAREPORTERS IS IN ALLIANCE WITH APC TO SPREAD FALSEHOOD. GET THAT RIGHT!

JUNE 30, 2013 BY CHRISEDWARDJACKSON
The Nigerian plan for “Securing Development” – Analysing Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s plans for Nigeria’s future.
For those of you who have never had the pleasure of hearing the Nigerian Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speak, you have certainly missed a treat. As the former head of the World Bank and with a raft of accolades from Time and Forbes as well as a highly regarded series of books and publications on global economics, she is truly an inspirational story for Africa’s potential, but it is her vision for Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa which I wish to discuss in this article.

On the 19th of June 2013, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala gave a speech at the IISS in London where she expanded on the phrase by the current Head of the World Bank, namely “Securing Development”. I have attached the link to the text from that speech here if you would like to read, but for this article I want to look at the issues and solutions for Nigeria that were highlighted in her speech and my further reading to see if I can boldly suggest any further ideas for consideration.

The Challenges:

First and foremost it is important to highlight the incredible range of challenges facing Nigeria and to avoid creating a vast list I will draw attention to those that should be seen as core issues:

Unemployment (and underemployment),
Poor infrastructure (particularly in respect of Energy),
Poor Governance (specifically corruption),
Demographics (namely young with a high birth rate) and,
Education (or rather appropriate linkages between skills taught and skills required).
In respect of unemployment, as Dr Okonjo-Iweala highlighted in her talk, unemployment in Nigeria currently stands at 23.9% as a national average, with that figure even higher in certain states and almost certainly higher during the non-agricultural months of the year. Almost inherently linked to this however are the issues of demographics and education, with poor governance and infrastructure providing a further inhibitor to improvements in this space.

Furthermore, according to Dr Okonjo-Iweala, the African continent has the lowest average age of anywhere in the world, with over 70% being below 25, though the figure in Nigeria is marginally higher at 63% under 25. Combine this with a high fertility rate and it is very clear to see that the educational institutions and the employment market have to work extraordinarily hard even to maintain the current status quo, let alone achieve improvements.

Of course linked to all these challenges is the “Resource Curse” and in Nigeria this has been of particular significance due to its status as the largest producer of oil in Africa and 6th largest worldwide producer (According to NNPC). The problem here was aptly termed and summarised by Dr Okonjo-Iweala as the story of “Jobless Growth”, where the state may derive significant wealth from resources, but it does not lead to significant employment and more specifically because it has little effect on employment, the wealth is concentrated to a smaller band of people.

In fact the story of growing inequality in Nigeria is closely linked the story of poor historic governance, where the reliance on kinship and networking has been the key to accessing the patronage which the Nigerian state can offer. This in turn has made foreign investment more difficult and less attractive which in turn has harmed the development of the Nigerian economy, particularly in respect of developing the nation’s infrastructure.



The Solutions and the Opportunities:

Now of course many of these current weaknesses are in fact potential opportunities for Nigeria’s development. A large, young population who are not highly skilled provides an environment to develop lower skilled manufacturing and textiles which underpinned the growth and development of Asia’s “Tiger Economies” and would play a key role in helping to develop the infrastructure and manufacturing base in Nigeria to “Secure Development”.

Large natural resources also provide the opportunity to develop much of the country’s infrastructure and reduce inequality, such as the Bolsa Famille projects in Brazil or the Social Security system in Norway. They can also help to even improve governance if they lead to higher basic wages which may dis-incentivise corrupt activities, a model practised in Singapore.

So what is Nigeria doing to address these problems as well as maximise on these opportunities and furthermore are their methods the correct ones?

At the core of Dr Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s speech was the lack of access to finance which all of Sub-Saharan Africa struggles from, even in her country of reference, Nigeria. To address this she outlined that Nigeria is currently following the following strategies:

The creation of a Nigerian Development bank (assisted by Brazil and others),
The Privatisation of the Nigerian Power Market,
De-regulating the structures around creating private oil refineries,
Publishing in the papers where state revenues from oil are being spent,
A large housing campaign to boost home ownership and stimulate new jobs,
Developing raw material exports further, such as milling rice and refining Oil so that they can “Add Value” to the products and maximise their returns,
Creating linked apprenticeships and training programmes to get people working in industry and learning the skills they need and,
The creation of a significant entrepreneur fund for anyone with a business idea, where candidates are trained in business and if successful will receive large state grants to start their business.
Now while this list of ideas are very impressive and (to coin a questioner from the IISS) appear to come from “The World Bank playbook”, they appear to be glossing over the most fundamental areas of concern to accessing finance: Transparency and the Rule of Law.

In China today we are already seeing the damage that a lack of transparency can have on market confidence and frankly it’s not hard to understand why investors don’t like not knowing the reasons why decisions are made and why a lack of confidence in the validity of economic data, reduces the incentive to invest.

Furthermore, Africa as well as Latin America has a long historic legacy of amending the rule of law when the need for populist policies has arisen which has in turn led to frequent nationalisations of foreign assets, discriminatory policies against foreigners and currency controls which make it harder for investors to realize the returns on projects to their shareholders.

All of this therefore would lead me to make the following suggestions to help Nigeria succeed in its current strategies and to “Secure its Development”.

Use a combination of performance related pay increases within the Public Sector, with a review of government expenditure to be audited by an external 3rd party (or group of 3rd parties) and made publicly available.
Improve the security of foreign investor’s assets by reducing the degree of protectionism involved in purchasing Insurance in Nigeria, and by agreeing to allow International Arbitration on any major project whose life spans over a period of 10 years.
In the first instance, a greater domestic and international confidence in State institutions is critical to the future development of Nigeria. Thus, by combining a “Carrot & Stick” methodology to the Public Sector, which simultaneously generates confidence from the general public (due to 3rd party presence) and undermines criticisms of the audit by Trade Unions (by increasing pay), Nigeria will be able to further enhance its Public Sector image and create a better partner for International Organisations and Businesses to work with.

In the second argument, the current Insurance framework in sub-Saharan Africa (and Nigeria is no different), sees the remittances of Insurance Premium out of the respective country as lost investment, thus the country tries to arbitrarily force a proportion of each risk (and therefore Insurance Premium) to be retained locally.

Excluding the fact that most Insurance companies in Nigeria cannot afford to pay the higher end of claims in full even when they happen, this is a disaster for Foreign Investment because not only does it add an additional cost burden to investing in projects, but it also complicates the process of actually having a claim paid. In short if financial products which are designed to help facilitate Risk Mitigation cannot be effectively utilised in Nigeria, then many investors (Particularly low-risk funds such as pensions) will be unable to invest.

So those are my humble suggestions to Dr Okonjo-Iweala and even if, as I strongly suspect, my idea’s do not become government policy (one can only try right?) then I still wish Nigeria the best of luck with its latest reforms. As a country with aspirations to take on a leadership role for Africa and the wider International community, we could all do with a strong successful Nigeria at the heart of Africa.

http://theviewfromlawrencestreet./2013/06/30/the-nigerian-plan-for-securing-development-analysing-ngozi-okonjo-iwealas-plans-for-nigerias-future/