By: Yetunde Aiyedogbon
The Federal Government wants more investment in young people, small businesses and technology, backed by stronger partnerships with the private sector, to move Nigeria from a trading economy to one built on value chains.
Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, made the call on a panel titled “From Trade to Value Chains: Building Regional Industries to Compete Globally”. The session was part of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit, which is running under the sub-theme “Invest Nigeria”. His Special Assistant on Digital Media and Public Diplomacy, Raphael Oni, signed a statement on the remarks, issued on Tuesday.
Enikanolaiye said the government can’t raise the resources needed for economic growth by itself. He asked for more investment from Nigerian businesses and from abroad to build industries, create jobs and lift living standards. In his view, closer cooperation between the public and private sectors is needed to build local industries that turn raw materials into finished goods for regional and international markets.
He said Nigerians don’t talk to one another enough in constructive dialogue, and that better engagement between government and business is essential to shared prosperity. He also said the country needs to mobilise capital from domestic businesses as well as from foreign sources.
The minister described Nigeria’s large youth population as a major asset for industrialisation. Investing in people, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), technology, innovation and creativity, he said, could widen employment and raise incomes. He added that such investment would create jobs for young Nigerians.
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