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Address by His Excellency
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo President, Commander-in-Cheif
of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria |
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I have great pleasure in accepting the invitation to
give this opening address, and to welcome all participants
at this ground-breaking event, aptly titled “Best
of Nigeria Expo 2004.” I regret the fact that
I cannot be with you in person, and I have asked the
Nigeria High Commissioner, who is no stranger to you,
to deliver these remarks at the opening ceremony.
On behalf of my Government and the entire people of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I strongly endorse
the admirable initiative taken by the Nigerian Trade
and Investment Centre, under the leadership of its chief
executive officer, Mr. Afolabi Andu, to organise this
event. I do this for a number of very important reasons:
First, this Expo is designed to showcase and highlight
the reality of Nigeria’s productivity –
the capacity of our people to express their talent and
strength through the production of those things that
are basic to life and living, as well as items that
they can offer to the rest of the world as Nigeria’s
own contribution to global economic activity. It is
becoming increasingly clear that the economy of the
entire world needs productive inputs from all countries,
and that the global performance of mankind is truly
enriched by the variety resulting from the fact that
each of us has something unique to offer to our international
collaboration.
Second, I consider it significant that this particular
event is taking place in the United Kingdom, a country
with which Nigeria has had a long and active history
of economic, social and cultural relations. Almost from
the very beginning of that relationship, the exploratory
visits of the first British adventurers to Nigeria was
quickly followed by the activities of enterprising traders
who recognised the richness of our resources and their
potential for promoting industrial development in their
home country. The underlying principle, even in those
early times, was that the peoples of both nations exploited
God-given opportunities for exchanging goods and services.
It is a principle that has survived, although we should
acknowledge the truth that the balance of the exchange
has not always been to Nigeria’s advantage. We
have all learnt the lesson, however, that a true balance
will be achieved only when we all ensure that the contribution
of each trading partner receives appropriate recognition,
and is awarded its real value. This is one of the objectives
that I expect an event like the Best of Nigeria Expo
to address.
Clearly, for all of us to realise the benefits of economic
opportunity, the financially rich parts of the world
need to invest meaningfully in making the rich natural
resources of the whole world more productive. The entire
world community does itself an enormous favour by ensuring
that this cross-flow of intelligent economic activity
is maintained in a constant and steady stream. It is
for this reason that my Government continues to advocate
and encourage direct investment, both local and foreign,
into the Nigerian economy. Again, this Expo offers us
a prominent opportunity for attracting the interest
of genuine and serious investors.
In this regard, it is important to remember that foreign
direct investment does not refer only to investment
by foreigners. When my Government sets out to attract
direct investment from offshore, we are keenly aware
of the fact that Nigerians in the Diaspora have become
owners and stewards of impressive financial resources,
much of which they have acquired by dint of their entrepreneurial
initiative and hard work. My Government considers it
not only desirable but also imperative that such resources
should be applied to exert a positive influence on the
development of our country. It was for this reason,
among others, that I travelled to the United Kingdom
and the United States of America in the year 2000, to
establish NIDO – the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation
– through which our citizens who are resident
abroad can play their proper role in our national development
effort. This Best of Nigeria Expo provides another eminent
platform from which Nigerians based in the UK can launch
positive and productive economic efforts as a direct
contribution to the progress of their homeland.
The Essence of Partnership
All of this activity reinforces the significant lesson
that we have all learnt, that we will achieve our best
results if we cooperate in a spirit of true partnership:
partnership between countries that have mutual interests,
and partnership between governments and their citizens.
The partnership message has now been powerfully received
by many international institutions, and thus, for example,
NEPAD, the New Economic Partnership for African Development,
has been embraced worldwide as the preferred strategy
for coordinating international effort for the development
of the African continent. NEPAD has now secured the
active collaboration of parties outside Africa, not
only for economic purposes, but also for seeking peace,
resolving conflict and promoting good governance. It
is important for us to acknowledge the dynamic role
that Nigeria has chosen to play in NEPAD because the
philosophy of that initiative is essential to the ultimate
success of our own national economic strategy. It also
underpins our determination to promote a more active
partnership between the public and private sectors of
our economy.
For a long time, the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians
has been noticed and acknowledged all around the world.
There is hardly any business location on the globe where
the Nigerian spirit of enterprise has not made its mark.
For this reason, and because it makes eminent sense,
we in Nigeria have, for many decades, expressed the
desire to see the private sector assume its rightful
position as the engine of growth within our national
economy. However, even as we employed the right rhetoric
in expressing this ambition, we continued to indulge
in practices that encouraged people to rely on subsidies
and patronage instead of cultivating the dynamism that
comes from the strong expression of productive talent.
We have often preferred to wait for government or some
external agency to lead production in agriculture and
manufacturing. As a result, on the domestic scene, we
have not only under-performed in many ways, we have
also run the risk of losing faith in our own ability
to make the best of our resources for our own benefit.
This has not been a credible way of bringing the private
sector into real partnership with government. Today,
the Best of Nigeria Expo opens a fresh page and offers
us a vivid illustration of what genuine partnership
could actually achieve.
The Nigerian Trade and Investment Centre
This Expo is the brain child of the Nigerian Trade and
Investment Centre (NTIC), and the organisation of it,
from start to finish, has been directed by the Management
of that Centre. NTIC has not only thought up this idea,
it has also carefully and deliberately steered clear
of depending on government subsidy. Whatever support
NTIC has received from government sources has been sought
and obtained as part of a businesslike partnership.
Mr Afolabi Andu and his team have gone about their business
in a well planned and well executed manner, and they
have shown an example that is truly worthy of emulation
by all other non-government individuals and organisations.
I offer hearty congratulations to the Nigerian Trade
and Investment Centre, and urge its executives to maintain
their entrepreneurial spirit in all their future endeavours.
I have no doubt that our High Commission in the United
Kingdom will continue to partner with NTIC for more
productive activities in the years to come.
Nigeria’s Economic Reform Programme
The fact that I have emphasised the need for private
sector dynamism does not, in any way, imply a diminution
of government’s responsibility to direct the philosophy
and strategies of national economic performance. Indeed,
you have all observed the painstaking manner in which
my Government has constructed its current programme
of economic reform. Early in the first term of this
Administration, it became clear to us that there was
a need for the kind of radical reform that would encourage
people to commit themselves to real changes in their
way of life and their attitude to the nation’s
economy. We quickly established policies that would
liberalise the economy through privatisation and deregulation
where appropriate. Some of the outcomes have been most
gratifying. For example, with the massive upward surge
in the use of mobile phones, Nigeria has become the
fastest growing telecommunications market in the world
in recent years. Our agriculture now registers dynamic
growth, contrary to its unimpressive performance only
a few years ago. Similarly, the recent restructuring
of the capital base of banks has been designed to strengthen
the ability of the financial sector to support the growth
of the national economy.
This same philosophy forms the basis for the current
deregulation of the downstream sector of our petroleum
industry, where the emphasis is not so much on the removal
of subsidies, but on the strengthening of performance
such that the whole industry can provide a truly effective
market for the mutual benefit of producers and users
alike. Our national economy will attract serious, business-minded
investors only as such investors believe that there
are no artificial constraints to their ability to derive
due reward from their honest initiatives in the market
place.
The Economy and Good Governance
Government acknowledges the inescapable link between
good governance and successful economic performance.
Since the early days of this Administration, we have
made it clear that we will fight corruption and sanitise
the environment for doing business in our country. Here
again, we have seen that we need the cooperation of
our international partners, some of whom continue to
offer their collaboration to those who engage in fraudulent
practices that sap the energy from our performance.
Some recent publications in this respect would seem
to indicate that there are organisations that continue
to live in the past, giving neither attention nor credit
to the efforts of my Government to construct a level
playing field for all economic players. We now have
clear legal provisions for dealing with all forms of
corruption and economic crime, and we have strengthened
other existing instruments that had been weakened through
years of neglect. As a leading oil producer, we were
one of the first to sign on to the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (EITI), and we continue to sponsor
and support international activities designed to promote
and strengthen probity in the management of public affairs.
To ensure that our policies will be sustainable into
the distant future, we have made the application of
“due process” a condition precedent in the
award of contracts and the spending of public funds.
Government is also maintaining a continuous programme
of capacity development in the public service where
we have engaged experts to provide training in service
delivery to managers in all arms of the public service.
In these and many other ways, my Government is demonstrating
its determination to be a true catalyst of productive
activity, and a facilitator of the effective and successful
expression of ability by individuals and businesses
alike. In return, we expect everyone to take full advantage
of the improved business environment, and to join hands
with us in developing the national economy as rapidly
as possible, giving due attention to the sustainability
of our combined initiatives and efforts. The modest
successes that we have recorded so far, should give
us the assurance that things will truly change for the
better if we persevere. Your participation in this Best
of Nigeria Expo encourages me to believe that you are
ready to work with us with the commitment of true stakeholders
and faithful partners.
Once again, I would like to congratulate the Nigerian
Trade and Investment Centre for their initiative, and
to welcome all participants to this eminently worthwhile
event. I ask you all to participate with a determination
that the Best of Nigeria Expo 2004 will truly bring
the best for Nigeria in 2004 and all the years that
will come thereafter.
12 November 2004
Information Section
Nigeria High Commission
London
16 /11/04 |
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