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| President Muhammadu Buhari addressing World Leaders at the 71st General Assembly of United Nations in New York 7000/21/9/2016/ICE/HB/BJO/NAN |
President Muhammadu
Buhari was a guest writer on Tuesday for Bloomberg, the US business and
financial information company.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report continues:
The
article titled, Making Africa Rising a Reality was published on Bloomberg,
on a day Mr. Buhari also unfolded the investor-friendly agenda of his
administration to the US-Africa Business Forum in New York.
HERE
IS PRESIDENT BUHARI’S ARTICLE:
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 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 US$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.
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