₦airaland Forum

Nigerians don't read. We just want fast money. I read this episode to d end and seeing a lot of folks saying its too long. When last did u read a novel? And we complain buhari don't have common primary school certificate.

Just go and look at how Nigerians are washing get their dirty linens on the man's twitter handle
I beg my him no stop to help fight against polio oh

Nigerians loathe reading habit

Guapismo:
Very good Only if our leaders will listen

Who are the Leaders? Nigeria has no Leaders Presently...

$1.6 billion. How come I cant feel the effect down here? I guess 90% of the Aids sent to this country goes to the North

Bill Gates is just wailing because his "brother" Jonathan lost the last election

Andrewgame42:
Tell them oh Mr gates , buh sadly Nigerian leaders know all this things, they just don't care!! So just tell you goVT TO MAKE THE US visa cheap and accessible to poor Nigerians, let's us come and join you, our only fault is bin born as a Nigerian, our lives don't mean shit to those people you sat down with at that wedding, if herdsmen no attack us , boko go kidnap us, even if you escape with injury, no health care, nah chemist go treat u even if nah surgery matter, and if u manage graduate nah appitude test go end you... And if you talk pass like this NL mod go ban you or govt go arrest u for hate speech!! I won't say more than this, God bless Microsoft, God bless bill gates, ... May thunder arrest everybody in that wedding except bill gates

hahahahaha very funny

Bill Gates has been coming to Nigeria since 1999 never has he had this strong words for any Nigerian govt, even in 2011 he praised GEJ, let this govt wake up, in the real world competence matters alot and its only way people will take you serious

pelvicky:
well-done Bill Gates,

like he said, our government should invest in people, on health and education not just on infrastructures alone, they should go hand in hand.

I use this medium to plead with osun and oyo state government to pay workers their unpaid salaries and not forget LAUTECH.

We do not have a Government... The earlier we realize, the better

Interesting read... Please if you did not read it, try to. I'm sure half of the people in the room had no idea what he meant. But, the part where he said they should all spend sometime at the local heath centres got me nodding...

The truth is that we need more educated people in this country not all these "do you know I went to school" people.

NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT PLEASE INVEST IN YOUR PEOPLE AND YOU WON'T BE PAYING AMNESTY ALL THE TIME.

Reportmusic:
https://www.reportnaija.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/5aba63e8536b1.jpg
Last week, Microsoft founder, Bill Gates was in Nigeria where he addressed a special session of the National Economic Council, with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, state governors, and ministers in attendance.



He spoke on why the government needs to change the narrative of development efforts by focusing on human development, by investing on education, health and creating opportunities for the people.



Below is the ful text of the speech:

Your Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Senator Bukola Saraki, Senate President; Honorable Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House; Your Excellencies, executive governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Royal fathers; Distinguished ladies and gentlemen. And as you say in Nigeria, all other protocols observed. Thank you for welcoming me to Nigeria.

I’ve been coming here regularly since 2006, and I’ve always felt welcome. Nigerians usually greet me warmly. The first time I met the Sultan of Sokoto, I was honored that he greeted me with the gift of a white horse.

At some point during every visit, though, some brave person eventually asks me—very politely—”Why are you actually here?” It’s an understandable question. Most American technology guys don’t wander around Nigeria learning about its health system. But I think I have a good answer.

When we started Microsoft 40 years ago, we wanted to build a successful business, but we also wanted to make people’s lives better. We believed computers could revolutionise the way people lived and worked. But back then only big companies could afford them. We wanted to give everybody access.

As I got older, traveled more, and learned more about the world, I realised that billions of people had a problem that computers couldn’t solve. They lacked the basics of a good life: food, shelter, health, education, and opportunity.

And so I started my second career with my wife Melinda. With the money I’d been lucky enough to earn at Microsoft, we started working toward a different goal: a healthy and productive life for everyone.

That’s why I come to Nigeria, and that’s why Melinda and I will continue coming for as long as we are able. Our foundation’s biggest office in Africa is here. We have committed over $1.6 billion in Nigeria so far, and we plan to increase our commitment. We have strong relationships with the federal government, state governments, businesses, NGOs, and civil society organisations. We are eager to support you as you work to make Nigeria a global economic powerhouse that provides opportunity for all its citizens—as you strive to fulfil this country’s immense promise.

?I’m blown away by how much Nigeria has changed in the past decade.

Consider the technology sector. That energy I talked about during the early days of Microsoft, our passion and our eagerness to take risks…. That’s the same energy that powers technology hubs across Nigeria like Co-Creation and Enspire.

The novelist Chimamanda Adichie, who my wife especially admires, captured the country’s spirit when she said her fellow Nigerians have “big dreams and big ambitions.”

This line graph of Nigeria’s per capita GDP shows where those dreams and ambitions can lead. With the exception of the recent recession, the slope goes straight up. As a result of this growth, Nigeria is now the biggest economy on the continent. You are rapidly approaching upper middle income status, like Brazil, China, and Mexico.

?But growth is not inevitable. Nigeria has unmatched economic potential, but what becomes of that potential depends on the choices you make as Nigeria’s leaders.

The most important choice you can make is to maximise your greatest resource, the Nigerian people. Nigeria will thrive when every Nigerian is able to thrive.

If you invest in their health, education, and opportunities—the “human capital” we are talking about today—then they will lay the foundation for sustained prosperity. If you don’t, however, then it is very important to recognise that there will be a sharp limit on how much the country can grow.

You see this risk in the data. From the point of view of the quality of life, much of Nigeria still looks like a low-income country.

Let me give a few examples.

In upper middle income countries, the average life expectancy is 75 years. In lower middle income countries, it’s 68. In low income countries, it’s 62. In Nigeria, it is lower still: just 53 years.Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth, with the fourth worst maternal mortality rate in the world, ahead of only Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, and Chad.One in three Nigerian children is chronically malnourished.

I do not enjoy speaking to you this bluntly when you have been gracious enough to invite me here. But I am applying an important lesson I learned from Alhaji Aliko Dangote. Recently, Aliko and I were having a conversation with several governors about their states’ official immunisation rates. Aliko’s way of stressing the importance of accurate data was to tell us, “I didn’t get rich by pretending to sell bags of cement I didn’t have.” I took from that that while it may be easier to be polite, it’s more important to face facts so that you can make progress.

On immunisation, you are already living that lesson: last year Nigeria revised its immunisation coverage numbers downward to reflect more accurate sources, and I applaud you for those lower numbers. They may look worse, but they are more real, which is the first step toward saving and improving more lives.

I urge you to apply this thinking to all your investments in your people. The Nigerian government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan identifies “investing in our people” as one of three “strategic objectives.” But the “execution priorities” don’t fully reflect people’s needs, prioritising physical capital over human capital.

To anchor the economy over the long term, investments in infrastructure and competitiveness must go hand in hand with investments in people. People without roads, ports, and factories can’t flourish. And roads, ports, and factories without skilled workers to build and manage them can’t sustain an economy.

In preparation for my visit, I asked a research institute at the University of Washington to model Nigeria’s economic growth under three scenarios related to health and education, the core of how economists define human capital.

Here you can see Nigeria’s per capita GDP growth from 2000 until today. If current education and health trends continue—if you spend the same amount in these areas and get the same results—per capita GDP flatlines, with economic growth just barely keeping up with population growth.

?If things get worse, it will decline. Unfortunately, this scenario is a very real possibility unless you intervene at both the federal and state levels. Because even in the worst-case scenario, your national income level is about to make you ineligible for certain kinds of development assistance and loans that you’ve been relying on to fund your health system and other priorities. Without more and better spent domestic money, investment in your people will decline by default as donor money shrinks—a lose-lose scenario for everyone.

?What do I mean by investing in your people? I mean prioritising health and education, the factors included in the model I just showed you. I also mean continuing to open up opportunities in the agriculture and micro-enterprise sectors, as the government has proposed in the ERGP. I mean creating the conditions where Nigerians can reach their goals while adding value to the economy—the win-win scenario.

However, if you commit to getting better results in health and education—if you spend more and more effectively—per capita GDP will stay on its remarkable pre-recession trajectory.

?This is the scenario we all want: Nigeria thrives because every Nigerian is able to thrive.

And the data makes it clear that this scenario is entirely within your reach.

?What do I mean by investing in your people? I mean prioritising health and education, the factors included in the model I just showed you. I also mean continuing to open up opportunities in the agriculture and micro-enterprise sectors, as the government has proposed in the ERGP. I mean creating the conditions where Nigerians can reach their goals while adding value to the economy—the win-win scenario.

Our foundation doesn’t invest directly in education here, but the World Bank World Development Report that just came out makes it clear that education leads to improvements in employment, productivity, and wages.

Today, though, more than half of rural Nigerian children can’t read and write.

The conclusion is inescapable: Nigeria’s economy tomorrow depends on improving its schools today.

The same is true of health, our foundation’s primary focus area.

In 1978, Dr. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, who later became the Nigerian minister of health, helped establish primary health care as the global standard. We now know that a strong primary care system takes care of 90 percent of people’s health needs.

Tragically, 40 years after Dr. Ransome-Kuti helped other countries set a course for the future, the Nigerian primary health care system is broken.

The evidence for this can be found in the epidemic of chronic malnutrition, or stunting. As the name suggests, chronic malnutrition is not a disease children catch. It is a condition that develops over time because they are deprived of a diverse diet and the services a strong primary health care system provides.

The consequences of stunting are devastating. Though stunted children are defined as shorter than average, we’re not particularly concerned about their height. What we’re concerned about is their brains, or what Akin Adesina calls “gray matter infrastructure.”

This is a picture of the brain of a single normally developing infant. And next to it is a picture of the brain of a single chronically malnourished infant. Every brain and every child are different, but you can clearly see the difference in the number of neural connections in these two brains. And once this kind of damage is done, it’s very hard to repair.

In Nigeria, one in three children is chronically malnourished and could therefore be at risk. This is a tragedy for each one of these children; it is also a huge blow to the economy. According to the World Bank, addressing the stunting crisis in Nigeria would add almost $30 billion to the GDP.

So what will it take to solve stunting? It will take a focus on agricultural development, nutrition, and primary health care.

?In Nigeria, one in three children is chronically malnourished and could therefore be at risk. This is a tragedy for each one of these children; it is also a huge blow to the economy. According to the World Bank, addressing the stunting crisis in Nigeria would add almost $30 billion to the GDP.

So what will it take to solve stunting? It will take a focus on agricultural development, nutrition, and primary health care.

A functioning primary health system has six features.

Adequate funding.Good facilities located in the right places.Skilled and dedicated health workers.Ample stocks of essential equipment and medicines.Patients who know about the system and want to use it.And a mechanism for collecting the data needed to improve quality.

I believe the Nigerian primary health care system is not adequately funded. But it also doesn’t get the most out of its current funding. I want to re-emphasize that last point about data. More transparency would lead to more accountability, which would strengthen governance, leadership, and management, which would improve quality across the board.

I visited a health clinic in Bodinga LGA in Sokoto yesterday, and it reminded me why I do this work. I’d like to ask all of you to spend one hour at a health center in the next month. I think you’ll see how the system can be improved—and how much good it will do when it is.

I know Nigeria can build up its primary care system, because I’ve seen what you accomplish when you meet health challenges head on.

As many of you know, we’ve been very close partners in your fight against polio.

As you can see on this graph, the hard work of hundreds of thousands of local leaders and health workers since the turn of the millennium has paid off. Nigeria has not had a case of wild polio virus in more than a year.

?But the graph also shows that you’ve reported zero cases before, only to learn that the disease was still circulating in tiny pockets hidden by insecurity. It would be catastrophic to let your guard down when you’re on the verge of eliminating the disease once and for all.

I believe—because I have seen your work in the field as recently as yesterday—that you will do what it takes to end polio in Nigeria. We will be here, working side by side with you, until you do.

?Though health is our foundation’s primary area of expertise, it’s not the only thing we do, and it’s not the only thing I mean when I say Nigeria should invest in its people. Healthy people need opportunities to thrive.

One of the most important of these opportunities is agriculture, the sector that nourishes most Nigerians and supports half the population, especially the poorest.

The agricultural sector is a pillar of the Nigerian economy. It accounts for a large proportion of your GDP, and during the oil price collapse and recession, it helped cushion the economy. But it still has a lot of potential to grow.

?The majority of Nigerian smallholder farmers lack access to the seeds, fertilizer, and training they need to be more productive, and they lack access to the markets they need to profit from their labor.

The government has taken important steps to fill these gaps, with both more investment and a series of smart policies to encourage private sector investment.

These reforms lay the foundation for a booming agricultural sector that feeds the country, helps end chronic malnutrition, and lifts up tens of millions of smallholder farmers. I urge you to build on this good work.

?One of the barriers that continues to prevent smallholders from thriving is their lack of access to finance. Like good roads, finance connects farmers to opportunity, yet only 4 percent of Nigerian farmers currently have a loan to grow their business.

In a country where three quarters of people have mobile phones, digital financial services provide a solution to this problem. In fact, digital finance offers the potential to boost the economy from top to bottom.

Right now, more than 50 million Nigerian adults are at the whim of chance and the informal economy. With access to digital financial tools, they can cope better with disasters that threaten to wipe them out, build assets and a credit history, and gradually lift themselves out of poverty.

Consider the impact this would have on businesses. Of the 37 million micro, small, and medium enterprises in Nigeria, more than 99 percent are micro. Their lack of access to finance is a leading reason why these businesses can’t grow. With digital payments, savings, and credit, they will finally have the resources to plan for the future.

?According to the best estimates, digital financial services will create a 12.4 percent increase in Nigeria’s GDP by 2025. Meanwhile, oil accounts for about 10 percent of Nigeria’s GDP. Imagine adding another oil sector and then some to the economy, but one whose benefits spread far and wide and reach almost every single Nigerian.

?There is another benefit to digital financial services that will make everything I’m urging you to do much easier: it will vastly improve the government’s ability to tax and spend efficiently.

Let me pause for a moment to say, I am confident that one thing you’ve been thinking as I’ve been talking is that, while you would like to spend more on health and nutrition and education and agriculture, you don’t have the money to do everything. I appreciate the fact that what you can spend is a function of what you raise.

Nigeria’s government revenue as a percentage of its GDP is by far the lowest in the world, at 6 percent. That makes investing in your people difficult. The next lowest country, Bangladesh, collects 10 percent of its GDP. If you got yourself up to second-to-last in the world, you would have an extra $18 billion to budget. Obviously, you’re aiming higher than that, but it gives you some idea about the scale we’re talking about.

?We want to support you in your work to mobilise more resources to invest in your country. That’s why our foundation is working with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to help states track internally generated revenue.

Ultimately, raising revenue to invest in growth will require delivering on the government’s commitments to the Nigerian people, and convincing them that they will get a return on their taxes.

Right now, Nigeria’s fiscal situation is at what you might call a low equilibrium. In return for low levels of service, people pay low levels of tax. We hope to help you reach a higher equilibrium rooted in effective and transparent investments in people. This equilibrium would trigger a virtuous cycle.

More government revenue would lead to more money to spend on health and education. Better health and education, and investment in sectors like agriculture, would lead to more productive farms and factories. More productive farms would lead to more prosperous farmers who could expand their farms or invest in other businesses, especially if they had access to credit and other financial tools. These thriving farms, factories, and new businesses would lead to more government revenue. And the cycle would start again.

Triggering that cycle will require bolder action—action you have the power to take as leaders, governors, and ministers focused on Nigeria’s future.

CONCLUSION

Nigerians are known around the world for their big dreams and big ambitions.

Together with the Dangote Foundation, we will be here to help you achieve your dreams and ambitions. You have the support of the international community. The Nigerian private sector will continue to invest. We are eager to help, but we know we can’t lead. You must lead.

I believe in the grand vision of Nigeria’s future. I believe in it because I’ve seen it. It’s represented by this line—the line that depends on healthy, educated people and the surge of economic activity they will unleash.

?And that means that the future depends on all of you—and your leadership in the years to come.

source
https://www.reportnaija.ng/2018/03/27/read-transcript-of-bill-gates-to-president-buhari-everyone-is-talking-about/

smh.someon

Britishcoins:
In summary, all he is saying is that Buhari should allow competent hand to rule this country

smh,see them.see all of the comments above....an outsider is so concern about our development,growth,life and that of our children unborn to conduct research and give us practical advice concerning our nation but the people the message was meant for cant do something as basic as to read read o.bill gate is actually right,government must invest on the people esp education sector,if not for the sake of this generation but for the next

obaataaokpaewu:
$1.6 billion. How come I cant feel the effect down here? I guess 90% of the Aids sent to this country goes to the North

Of course majority of bill gates funds goes to the north, let's not forget he was also crucial in helping us defeat polio, this man has tried a lot and he is obviously pained with way things are going, hopefully it won't deter him from continuing his philanthropy to this nation.

Britishcoins:
In summary, all he is saying is that Buhari should allow competent hand to rule this country

Absolutely

Oxalic:
Actually, I read it on FB in the afternoon. It is worth reading.

Where on Facebook

Nigerians like making mountain out of molehill. No proper National discussion anymore.

FG prioritizes infrastructure, Bill Gates believes more focus should be on Health and Education. That is really the discussion at hand here.

Nigerians tend to judge their Governments performance on roads and bridges, so it's quite funny to see Nigerians jumping on Bill Gates comment as if they follow the same line of reasoning.

Bill gates just gave buhari all the expo to get Nigeria back on track again.. but bubu will still fail the exam!! So pathetic!!

Imagine Bill Gates talking with so much intense knowledge with proofs about our economy makes me perplexed! It is so sad that we blacks are very stubborn and destructive and pay little or no attention to data!

Kudos to Mr Bill for this masterpiece, I will continue to re read through and hopefully grasp what is really wrong with Nigeria the once giant of Africa!

Bili Gate now even know the history of our country more than those fools that call themselves our leaders.

Not surprised at all with most of the comments here. What’s that old expression? “If you want to hide something from a Black person (especially Africans), put it in a book.” (or some say, "write it down".

Quite a pity that decades after this theory was postulated it's still relevant today.

readwone:
soft...

"NPA Indicts Danjuma’s Company, NAL COMET Of Fraud" Me: NEPA bill Buhari is too predictable. He can't even do small suspense

Bill gate now teaching our leader how to run the economy.

Ship from usa and China at $4.5/kg

haaaaaaaaa:
I'm Out Of Cash. I Need An Instant Online Loan Service. Please Help With A List of them

Download Paylater app on your android and apply for loan,if after they've gone through your bank account details and they find you qualified,they'll give you.

Mr. Gates made lots of valid points here. He asked our leaders to at least spend an hour in Primary Health Care Centers and see how terrible they are. He also advised our leaders to invest properly and adequately in Healthcare and Education sighting examples from the North. He told them the absolute truth and they must live by it. Invest in the people and get better results on your investment. Building roads, airports, seaports etc isn't the solution to boost our country economy. Nigeria is being run by sets of incompetent leaders both at Federal and State levels.



Bottom line Invest more in human development and capacity and watch the country grow better

Ebukamath:
you want me to read all of that.

But it won't take you more than 15mins to finish reading.

Betheluponi:
Abeg hit like of you did NOT read through this long epistle...

Try and read through! It will really help you understand d some concept you weren’t taught in school! No insult intended!!

Can't believe I just finished reading that script!


Gates said the whole truth. I've witnessed where a state Governor commissioned an electricity project where the transformer wasn't functional and they had to hide a generator inside the bush to put the bulbs on.


I wish they heard him well

Clerverly:
I cant see anywhere he attacked Buhari Economic policies as twisted by some useless media houses...

If at anything, he praised the effort of Nigerian leaders in their attempt to leap the country out of poverty and urged them to do more.... By increasing the revenue ratio to GDP i.e increasing Taxation in order to get the required funds to invest in people and infrastructure.

Frank Talk...


Go school PDP and ipob vandals no gree...na to dey internet dey spread anu nchi and onitsha main market gossips while drinking Nnamdi kanu's urine dem sabi!

CNN na PDP?

Festus! How many times I call you? Do well oh?

Clerverly:
I cant see anywhere he attacked Buhari Economic policies as twisted by some useless media houses...

If at anything, he praised the effort of Nigerian leaders in their attempt to leap the country out of poverty and urged them to do more.... By increasing the revenue ratio to GDP i.e increasing Taxation in order to get the required funds to invest in people and infrastructure.

Frank Talk...


Go school PDP and ipob vandals no gree...na to dey internet dey spread anu nchi and onitsha main market gossips while drinking Nnamdi kanu's urine dem sabi!

Abi oh. Plenty people did not read the speech. They were rushing to be first to comment.

It's so unfortunate that Nigerians don't read. How will one day this is too long to read? Maybe I don't blame them. You can't just get up suddenly and begin to read when you haven't develop the interest from the onset.

It's hypocrisy if you can read any romantic or other Bleep related stories but won't read this

We have committed over $1.6 billion in Nigeria so far, and we plan to increase our commitment.
Forget salvation, this guy is making heaven.

Buhari is an illiterate, so he doesnt care for education. As for health, he has the money of Nigeria to treat himself and his family when they fall ill, so why should he bother?