It is not easy to make a big splash in the world’s most visited city. An estimated 20 million people visit Paris every year. But that was just what Nigeria did on Wednesday last week, November 10, when it hosted the Nigeria International Partnership Forum: Beyond the Pandemic at the elegant Shangri Lai Hotel in Paris, one of the 2,000 hotels in the French capital.
The event took place on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum. It was one of the largest gathering of Nigerian business and government leaders outside Nigeria in a long time, mingling with a bevy of French businessmen, government leaders and many international African operators.
President Muhammadu Buhari, nine ministers, National Security Adviser, Governor of the Central Bank, Group Managing Director of NNPC and President’s Special Representative to Chad and Chad Basin all spoke at the event. Top Nigerian businessmen Abdulsamad Rabi’u, Jim Ovia, MD of First Bank Adesola Adeduntan and CEO of Oando Group Wale Tinubu also spoke.
International heavies such as African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye, President of the Brussels-based Institut Panafricain de Strategies Cheikh Tidiane Gadio and President of the African Export-Import Bank Benedict Oramah also addressed the forum. Moderating the sessions were Ambassador Eloho Otobo of Global Governance Institute, Brussels; Dr. Kamdeh Yumkella, former Director General of UN Industrial Development Organisation [UNIDO] and Dr. Mohammed Salisu Adaya, SSA to the President on Economy. Malam Garba Shehu was master of ceremony.
French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester welcomed the Nigerians on behalf of French President Emmanuel Macron. He described Nigeria as a land of promise and opportunity, with Africa’s largest population and largest economy.
Macron, Riester said, wants to build a new partnership with Nigeria and Africa. Nigeria, he said, is France’s largest trading partner in Africa while France is Nigeria’s largest trading partner after China.
Over 100 top French firms are in Nigeria, he said, in everything from energy to digital to agriculture and environment. He listed conditions that would propel further French investment in Nigeria to include a stable business environment, good infrastructure, foreign exchange access, clear Customs rules and direct dialogue.
National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno spoke at length about combatting persistent and emerging threats to national security, a matter of utmost concern to foreign investors. He said African security challenges morphed into more complex problems, compounded by population explosion, cyber threats, climate change and ideological and other extremism. Africa, NSA said, suffers from many insecurity factors of foreign origin, including terrorism and cyberattacks, compounded by pandemic, porous borders, fake news, proliferation of small arms and illicit financial flows.
He paid glowing tributes to the late Chadian President Idris Deby, whose commitment to the fight against terrorism he described as “absolute.” Monguno said the Gulf of Guinea, which was once described as very dangerous due to piracy and sea robbery, is now much improved and it experienced only a few minor incidents last quarter due to Nigerian Navy’s active patrols.
President Buhari’s Special Representative to Chad and Chad Basin Babagana Kingibe said the 21st century brought with it many new security threats with external origins such as terrorism and cyber threats. Solving them, he said, requires robust international cooperation.
The coming of mobile telecoms, he said, was a great boost to democracy and economic opportunities but it also gave a boost to disruptive forces.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ali Pantami spoke at length about cybercrime and Nigeria’s efforts at fighting it. Cyberspace, Pantami said, is a new, $3.5 trillion business environment where cybercriminals do not need travel documents, visas or background checks.
A new malware is released in the world every 4 seconds, he said, and cybercrime could even cause wars by attacking other countries’ health and water systems.
Youths, he said, are natives of cyberspace, and with a median age of 18.1 years, Nigeria is teeming with cyber natives. That is why Nigeria made NIN compulsory, so that whoever goes online is instantly known. 67million Nigerians are already enrolled in NIN, Pantami said, including 92% of those active in the economy. The whole idea is to give investors peace of mind, he said.
African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Ambassador Bankole Adeoye spoke about what he called “globalisation of violence and the violence of globalisation.” Lamenting Africa’s security problems, Adeoye said Libya, for example, is home to the world’s largest concentration of mercenaries and military contractors. He said Africa’s security environment is changing very fast, including three unconstitutional changes of government that took place in recent times. African leaders must rise to the challenge, he said.
Cheikh Tidjani Gaido said while Nigeria is now the undisputed leader of Africa, this is a status that brings not only joy and pride but serious responsibility. Nigeria should have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, Gaido said. He called for a revival of Kwame Nkrumah’s 1961 call for a Pan African Army with bases all across the continent to combat criminals and insurgents. African countries, he said, have been granting military bases to foreign armies, so why not to the Pan African Army?
At that point President Muhammadu Buhari strode into the hall. He spoke for about 15 minutes, saying France-Nigeria bilateral relations are currently at their best. The COVID pandemic, he said, tested international cooperation and multilateralism due to the absence of a viable global plan to tackle it. Nigeria, he said, redoubled its efforts with lessons learnt, mitigated the pandemic’s impact and launched on a road to steady recovery.
The country, he said, also updated its National Security Strategy, implementation of which has resulted in much progress fighting insurgents and terrorists. He spoke about his administration’s Public-Private Partnership Model to attract private sector partners into financing and operating critical infrastructure. The measure, he said, mitigated COVID 19-triggered capital flight and decline in grants. Buhari also spoke about his administration’s cumulative $1.5 trillion in investments, Ease of Doing Business, introduction of 5G technology, eNaira, Petroleum Industry Act, incentives for investors, increased LNG exports, Anchor Borrowers Program and removal of obstacles to Foreign Direct Investment.
Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] Governor Godwin Emefiele, who spoke during the second session, described Nigeria as the best investment destination in Africa, with the continent’s largest economy and largest population. Nigeria is projected to be the world’s third most populous country by 2050, after China and India.
Emefiele said yield from investment in Nigeria is the highest in Africa. He said Nigeria’s economy is projected to grow by 2.9 percent this year due to high oil price, implementation of economic sustainability plan and a rebound in manufacturing and economic activities. CBN, he said, has made granting of credit easy for some distressed industries such as textiles. Manufacturers can now access credit at single digit interest rate in Nigeria, he said.
Minister of State for Transportation Gbemisola Saraki said government is unbundling and commercialising the Nigeria Railway Corporation [NRC] and opening it to private sector participation in order to drive competition, enhance service delivery and improve infrastructure. She invited French investors to jump in on the railway action.
Saraki described Nigeria as the dominant maritime player in West and Central Africa and Gulf of Guinea [GoG], controlling 70 per cent of the region’s shipping traffic. She invited investors to cash in on the maritime action as well as in Nigeria’s long inland waterways, Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles, 150 nautical miles of continental shelf, in the plan to establish Nigeria’s national carrier through a public/private partnership, as well as the planned concessioning of four international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva, keenly aware of growing hostility to oil by environmentalists, said oil will continue to be an international energy factor for another 50 years, so it is necessary to maintain investment in it. Sylva also joked that his work of attracting French investment into Nigeria’s energy sector was already done because France’s biggest investor, Total Energie, is already deeply rooted in Nigeria. His colleagues, Minister of Power Abubakar Aliyu and Agriculture Minister Mohammed Abubakar also made persuasive cases about the attractiveness of their respective sectors to French and other investors.
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Godswill Akpabio described the Niger Delta region as the safest part of Nigeria these days, with no kidnap, no militancy or sabotage of oil facilities due to the amnesty and NDDC investment. Apart from oil, he said the region is open to investment in real estate, palm oil, infrastructure and agriculture.
Heavyweight government officials and Nigerian private sector captains also spoke during the Third Session. GMD of NNPC Mele Kolo Kyari spoke at length about the newly signed PIA and the greater opportunities it offers to investors. PIA will greatly expand NNPC and other investor’s businesses and profits, he said, even while Nigeria moves steadily towards gas.
Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, who spoke virtually, also spoke about the healthy management of Nigeria’s economy and finances and the ample incentives rolled out to encourage investors. GMD of First Bank Adeola Adeduntan made a forceful case for Nigerian investment, saying its banking sector is fit and able to support investors.
Chairman of BUA Group Abdulsamad Rabi’u spoke about the huge potentials of Nigeria’s agriculture, saying Africa has 60% of the world’s arable land. Africa must however increase its value addition, he said, because whereas Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon together produce 75% of the world’s cocoa, USA, UK, Holland and Switzerland together produce 75% of the world’s chocolate! It is cheaper, Rabi’u said, to transport a container from China to Lagos than from Lagos to Kano, due to paucity of infrastructure.
Former Chairman of Zenith Bank Jim Ovia spoke passionately about ICT, saying the speed of 5G can propel Nigeria into a new industrial revolution. He said Nigeria’s GDP ballooned with the coming of mobile telecoms in 2001 and he predicted that 5G would give an even bigger boost to our GDP. Swinging back to his known terrain of banking, Ovia said Nigeria’s banking sector is strong because of strong CBN regulation. He however said 50% of Nigerians are still unbanked and they must be brought into the banking realm.
CEO of Oando Group Wale Tinubu spoke about huge investment opportunities in Nigeria, saying for example that Nigeria transitioned to a net cement exporter within seven years. The same could be done in many other sectors, he said.
President of the Africa Export Import Bank Oramah Benedict lamented that Africa’s share of world trade fell from 6% in the 1960s to 2.3% at present. Share of commodities in world trade has fallen, he said, so Africa finds itself marooned in a declining sector.
Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed spoke about the tremendous progress recorded by Nigeria’s creative sector, including its film industry. Participants noticeably sat up and showed a lot of interest when the minister broached this topic; some participants even asked him how Nigeria manages to produce thousands of quality films every year.
A matter of much interest to the Forum’s participants was the matter of Twitter, which a participant asked Lai Mohammed. The minister said Twitter was only suspended, not banned in Nigeria and that the suspension has not been lifted because the company is yet to meet 2 of the 12 conditions given it.
The matter should soon be resolved when Twitter responds to the remaining two issues, he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, who delivered the opening as well as closing remarks, described Nigeria as Africa’s investment-destination of choice. He urged the French to help African countries increase their drawing rights from International Monetary Fund [IMF] and World Bank.
On the whole, the Forum was a robust and it succeeded in making a forceful case for investment in Nigeria’s many business sectors. French businessmen representing multinational firms and agencies turned out in force, took copious notes and showed much interest in many of the submissions. Alhaji Lai Mohammed however said in conclusion that it will take weeks, months and years of continuous effort and planning to reap benefits from the forum, since international investment does not occur overnight.
