Crusoe Osagie writes that growing investors’ interest in the Nigerian economy is a fallout of favourable policies by the current administration

President Olusegun Obasanjo during his first term as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was hugely criticised for his extremely frequent trips abroad in search of foreign investors.

At a point, it appeared as if Obasanjo was going cap in hand to the West as well as other regions of the world, literately begging them to move their investible funds to Nigeria.

At that time, ministers and even lower officials were said to be the ones sent by these nations to receive Nigeria’s then president on arrival in these countries, much to the dismay and chagrin of many Nigerians.

Without casting aspersions on the efforts of president Obasanjo, who many believe made those journeys abroad with a clear conscience in actual search for investment for the Nigeria, it is clear that the government at that time did not take into full cognisance, the fact that investors do not bring funds to any country just because they like its president or because he knelt down and pleaded with them.

The recent United States-Africa summit convened by President Barrack Obama is an eloquent statement to the effect that when a nation or group of nation’s have harnessed their economic endowments and created a discernible pathway for business opportunity for investors to obtain profit through value creation in their economy, it is only a matter of time before they flock around.

Legal practitioner and Vice-President of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Dele Oye, told THISDAY that the United States does not abhor Nigeria any less than it did before including it among its guests at the just-concluded summit.

“The only difference between then when Nigeria hardly got a second look from the west and now is that the indices are now right for Nigeria and some other African nations to lead global economic growth and development, and unless they are part of it they will be losing a lot to major competitors in global trade,” he said.

So instead of wasting resources junketing around the globe to woo organisations to come to Nigeria to invest, what the country’s leaders should devote more time to is intelligent policy formulation, business environment fine tuning as well as tackling insecurity and corruption in order to place the country among those whose profile is consistent with the ones in which world class investors want to inject their valued funds.

Investment climate reform

Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has repeatedly assured international investors that the federal government will continue to provide a conducive environment for investment in Nigeria.

One step taken to match Aganga’s claim of commitment to an improved business environment in the country was the inauguration of the ‘One Stop Investment Centre’ (OSIC), a department of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).

With the introduction of the One Stop Investment initiative, it was expected that the challenges of investing in the Nigerian economy had been reduced and the recent increase in the interest of foreign investors in Nigeria indicates that these federal government efforts may be yielding some modest results.

According to Aganga, the initiative has succeeded in fast tracking processes and procedures of business incorporation and registration, adding that OSIC had reduced the ambiguity, bureaucracy and unnecessary delays in documentation processes for businesses.

The minister said that OSIC had inculcated the culture of transparency in government agencies in dealing with investors in other parastatal agencies.

He added that through such initiatives as OSIC Nigeria had made tremendous progress in its economic reforms, therefore calling on the World Bank and other international economic ranking organisations to reflect these reforms and appropriately rank Nigerian in their index.

Targeting US’ $14 billion

As one of the fall outs of Nigeria’s current improvement and eligibility for foreign investment inflow, Nigeria and the United States have commenced plans to leverage US President Barack Obama’s $14bn investment pledge in Africa, for an effective financing structure for infrastructure in Nigeria.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, and the US Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker, agreed during a bilateral meeting at the just-concluded US-Africa Summit that increased investment in the area of infrastructure would further improve the Nigerian business environment, noting that Obama’s focus on power was particularly encouraging.

While the two countries agreed to work on the financial structure for infrastructure within the next few weeks, Pritzer noted that US companies were eager to do business in Nigeria due to the ongoing reforms in critical sectors, adding that they could also leverage on the US export assistance facilities scattered around the country.

Aganga said apart from the investment commitments and MOUs that were signed during the summit, most investors agreed that Nigeria had the most robust, clear and friendly policies on power, which other African countries should try to emulate.

He said: “This means we already have an enabling environment that will encourage more investors to come and invest in the sector. In fact, what these investors were saying was that most of our sectoral policies, which we have put in place already have, encouraged them to come and invest in Nigeria.

“That was why when we met with the American automotive manufacturing giant, Ford, during the summit, they said that they wanted to come to Nigeria as quickly as possible because of our new automotive policy. If the new auto policy was not in place, Ford would not be talking about coming to invest in Nigeria. That is the value you get as a country when you have a proper industrial plan and well-articulated sectoral policy in place.”

The minister added, “Also, the World Bank made a pledge of $5 billion for risk capital, preparation of projects and to invest in Nigeria overall. Most of these investments will be going to the power sector. This is coming into Nigeria because the country is ready to receive investors.

“On our plans going forward, we are looking forward to the re-formulation and re-modernisation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). We are working on a National AGOA strategy in addition to raising the awareness of Nigerians to fully understand the benefits and opportunities that exist therein for them. Also, we will continue to engage with the United States under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in order to build and sustain the present momentum.”

Aganga said that the United States was keen on boosting trade with Africa and Nigeria in particular, noting that the interests cut across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.

“If you look at the people that participated in the summit, they cut across the different strata of the economy. The United States, especially President Obama, is focusing on power. So, overall, I see the major sectors of the Nigerian economy benefiting from Obama’s initiative. In the real sector, for example, we expect more investments coming into the agro-industrial sectors, textile and garment, palm oil, sugar and food processing generally,” he said.

Calling the EU’s bluff

Keen observers of the nation’s international trade activities can tell that two decades ago Nigeria would certainly cower once the European Union sneezes. But not so anymore. Nigeria is gradually coming of age. Africa’s largest economy is slowly finding its own voice to speak up against international trade proposals it considers exploitative.

On one of such global trade protocols, the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), Aganga insisted that Nigeria had not shifted its position, saying the EPA must meet the country’s expectations and must be “in our overall best economic interest as a nation.”

“Nigeria will not, and cannot sign, any agreement that will lead to loss of jobs, income and investments. These are our major priorities and concerns as a country and until EPA addresses these priorities and concerns, we will not sign any agreement with the European Union,” he reiterated.

Perhaps if Nigeria had not tried to puts its acts together to attract investors from all over the globe, it would not be able to would not be able to look the european in the eyes and say back off.