SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, HIS EXCELLENCY (DR.) ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, CON, AT THE INAUGURAL NIGERIA DIASPORA INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2018, ORGANISED BY THE OFFICE OF THE SENIOR SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND DIASPORA, AND DIASPORA EVENTS INTERNATIONAL (DEI), HELD AT THE STATE HOUSE BANQUET HALL, ABUJA ON NOVEMBER 27TH – 29TH, 2018.
PROTOCOL.
1. I am very pleased to be in this auspicious gathering organised to invite the participation of the Diaspora in addressing issues pertinent to the development of our country. I am impressed with the array of stakeholders from the international community, including our international partners here present. This spread affirms a growing interest in home affairs, as it underscores a real need to get our economy working for all.
2. The economy is one sector that is multi-pronged, with deep-rooted impact on the lives and activities of everyone in the polity. This means that economic matters will still affect you and your family, even when you decide not to be vested or interested in it.
3. There are several factors we all should be mindful of, which are capable of shaping and reshaping economic world order, chief of which is foreign policy. A country’s outlook to the rest of the world determines the way the world receives or interacts with her; this also means that a weak economic outlook will inevitably lead to disinterest from serious-minded economies.
4. We have attracted unwanted attention in recent years, and from which we cannot deny all responsibility. Nigeria is now labeled the poverty capital of the world, with dire statistics that go some way to prove the point. We have a high number of citizens leaving the country in search of economic prosperity, in an irregular migration flow involving largely the youth. We are struggling with infrastructural deficit, which compromises efforts to address receding foreign direct investment in our economy.
5. That being said, ladies and gentlemen, if China and India can each have populations in excess of one billion people and still thrive economically, then, what excuse do we have, at less than 20% of the populations of India and China? The National Assembly, which I have had the privilege of presiding over its affairs in this 8th incarnation, has enacted laws to redirect the course, including the Ease of Doing Business, which has given more confidence to the business community. In essence, this Senate has been at the vanguard of attracting meaningful presence by way of investments into our fold.
6. However, you will agree with me that, legislative efforts notwithstanding, there has to be a narrative change with regard to the viability of the Nigerian state as a destination for investors, and this change must start with us all. We stand at a juncture where the onus of rebuilding our country toward economic sustenance does not rest on government alone, and more importantly, government on its own cannot do it.
7. This, therefore, means that our collective resolve has to go beyond primary remittals from a social perspective towards a more concerted effort on real investments. For example, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Agribusiness sector on the continent is predicted to reach 1 trillion US dollars by 2030, inevitably competing with oil on returns.
8. On the entertainment front, Nollywood – which is producing more movies in the global movie industry than any other country apart from India’s Bollywood – contributes over 5% of Nigeria’s GDP. Our music industry has set a regional standard for quality, content and value that is attracting the attention of the world. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Nigeria’s entertainment and media sector is projected to be the fastest growing in the world in the period between 2017 and 2020.
9. Our real estate sector is booming, with more players in the industry creating a lot of value, thereby driving down costs. For our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, real estate investment remains one of the safest investments one can make along the various lines of the sector’s value chain. The good news is that the sector is still ripe investment and intellectual input, especially from our people in the diaspora – in areas not limited to financing, development and international market access. With our major cities of Lagos and Abuja predicted to be amongst the fastest growing in the world, it is safe to say that the time is now.
10. In the health sector, we are faced with a peculiar challenge, and this is hinged on the fact that a rescue mission must elicit the attention of all stakeholders. The National Assembly, under my leadership, resolved to dedicate 1% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) towards reviving basic healthcare, and this we have emplaced in the national Budget. However, it is a fact that the country has an abysmal ratio of doctor to patient or doctor to citizen figure, a situation worsened by the massive exodus of health workers that are pursuing economic migration. We must realise that we cannot hope to grow the wealth of this country unless the citizens are strengthened health-wise.
11. We live in a country whose population is projected to surpass the United States and every other country apart from China and India in three decades. Need I say also that 60% of this population will be under the age of 30? However, while some might see danger, I see potential and prosperity on the horizon. This is why we have to put systems and processes in place that will turn the expected demographic bulge into productivity.
12. Our greatest impetus should stem from the fact that each and every one of us is a stakeholder in the Nigerian project. This means that the success or otherwise of our dreams will depend on the real desire to see those dreams come true.
13. It is on that note that I, once again, commend the initiative of this summit. I call on Nigerians in the Diaspora, as well as our international partners, to key into the Nigeria development project on the various levels and sectors, as a sure path to sustainable and inclusive participation.
Thank you.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
