The big news after the World Economic Forum in Abuja is the assumption of office by Nigeria’s new Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, after a tumultuous spell that followed the controversial suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, with less than four months until the end of his tenure.
Before his appointment, Emefiele was CEO of Nigeria’s Zenith Bank. Widely described by local media as conservative, Emefiele is expected to depart from Sanusi’s outspoken and hyper-visible stance. While Sanusi never shied away from making his views known on everything from government spending to relations with China, Emefiele is likely to maintain a penchant for anonymity.
He has already announced some policy changes, while also expressing a commitment towards Sanusi’s trademark stance on exchange rate stability. Charges on cash deposits in banks, instituted by Sanusi as part of an aggressive cashless banking policy, have been removed. Emefiele also plans to bring down interest rates, even though it is not yet clear how he plans to do this. An air of uncertainty will continue to dominate as the new Governor gets settled and concrete signs of the direction of his tenure start to emerge.
One of the biggest challenges facing the managers of Nigeria’s economy will be controlling the impact of election campaign expenditure. Election cycles in Nigeria witness a surge in spending on advertising. The country’s fuel subsidy budget notoriously ballooned four-fold in the lead-up to the 2011 general elections. Inflation, brought down to a single-digit figure under Sanusi’s watch last year, will experience significant upward pressure.
The effects of the rebasing of Nigeria’s economy in April have started to manifest. Nigeria’s weighting on the 23-member MSCI Emerging Markets Index recently rose from 12% to 19%. Analysts have suggested that the rebasing will heighten interest in Nigeria’s bond markets. A bigger economy also means that Nigeria’s appetite for debt has increased. Debt-to-GDP ratio has dropped to 12%, from 20% pre-rebasing.
The Petroleum Industry Bill remains unpassed and chances of it getting the green light dim as the elections approach and campaigning overwhelms the legislators. The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is involved in a last-ditch bid to convince Parliament to pass the bill, which will significantly alter the face the of oil industry.
Nigeria’s mounting security challenges are a major cause of concern, but the country’s immense opportunities – Africa’s largest population, a growing middle-class and growing consumer spending – mean that it cannot be ignored by any serious investor.
This much was clear from the enthusiasm on display at the World Economic Forum in Abuja in May. It was Nigeria’s first hosting opportunity in the forum’s 24-year history and was adjudged an overwhelming success – according to the organizers, attendance was at record-high levels – in spite of being overshadowed by security concerns and by the global outrage triggered by the abduction of more than 200 Nigerian girls from a boarding school in the country’s insurgency-hit northeast.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who attended the forum, met with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and signed a series of investment agreements in telecommunications, energy, agriculture and transportation.
Nigeria is currently China’s third largest trading partner in Africa; in 2013 trade between the two countries was in excess of $13 billion, up six-fold from a decade earlier. On the eve of the Abuja meeting, Chinese state media reported the signing of a $12.5-billion contract between China Railway Construction Corporation (CCRC) and the Nigerian Ministry of Transportation for the construction of a high-speed 1,385 kilometer railway line in Nigeria. It is not the first multi-billion dollar railway deal between Nigeria and China. Chinese companies are involved in the rehabilitation of the century-old line linking Lagos and the northern city of Kano, and a new light rail system in Abuja.
Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina has said he’s expecting as much as $4 billion in private investments in the sector on the back of the most important meeting in African business. The World Economic Forum announced that the gathering resulted in $68 billion-worth of commitments to investments in Africa.
Against a backdrop of the forum’s themes of jobs and inclusive growth, there will be many be watching to see how the commitments translate into action. Only this will result in concrete benefits for Nigeria’s 170 million people.

the New Man  OF Many Promises

It takes weeks to secure an appointment with Nigeria’s high-profile Director-General of the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission (SEC). And when we do, it’s on a public holiday.
Walking into Arunma Oteh’s office in the country’s capital Abuja is like walking into a trophy store: shiny medals, mementoes, plaques and trophies take up an entire wall.
One glance is enough to convey the success of Nigeria’s tough-talking chief capital market regulator. A career she couldn’t have imagined.
As a child, Oteh wanted to be an inventor. A proud workaholic, she puts her discipline down to her sound upbringing.
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“My parents were really stern but also loving, and for my two sisters and I, the constant quest for knowledge and excellence was firmly rooted in this background. They had such a great sense of character and the courage to be different and standing up for what was right regardless of the cost. I believe they instilled this in me. My childhood is really what has made me who I am today,” says Oteh.
It was tough being the daughter of a father who had exalted expectations. Once, she ran home elated, report card in hand. She had big news.
“Dad, I did it, I came first in class!”
One look at her report, and her father said: “Great, but next time, you have to be first plus plus.”
Such was Oteh’s family. They looked down on mediocrity and believed in brilliance. Hailing from the southeastern part of Nigeria, Oteh grew up in Kano, northern Nigeria.
Oteh’s mother, a nurse, wanted her to become a medical doctor, her father, an engineer, wanted her to take on his profession. But Oteh had other interests. She recalls fondly her obsession to become an inventor. Computer science was in its infancy in the 1980s; she loved the sciences and believed she could become a pioneer. So she studied computer science.
In 1984, Oteh graduated top of her class and faculty from the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, after which she taught computer science to first year university students as part of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a compulsory government program for Nigerian graduates.
After NYSC, she went to Lagos and was interviewed for jobs. The offers came thick and fast, and she decided to work for Centre Point, a stockbroking firm, because she admired Dennis Odife, the owner of the company and a highly respected businessman.
“I was impressed with what he had done with the company and what he had become. It was an amazing decision and defined what I ended up doing later in life. I was hired at the time to start the management information systems department but few months into that role, he thought it would be good for me to work in corporate finance. That’s how I got into finance and got really excited about it too,” says Oteh.
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Oteh’s fascination for her new found career grew and she explored the next step for growth. Her mentor, Odife, had been to the prestigious Columbia Business School in the United States. And she saw this as a must.
She started reading up about business schools and applying in her first year at Centre Point. The acceptance letters poured in. And she made it through the selection process at Harvard Business School.
“My father had always said, if you do well, you can always get what you want,” says Oteh.
Oteh worked in the United Kingdom for some time and flew to Harvard in September 1988. Here, she found herself surrounded by intelligent people and erudition.
“Business school was amazing. The case study methodology employed at Harvard also helped hone my skills in decision-making and problem-solving. This is an environment that prepares you to take on the world. I was very interested in finance. As the first Nigerian woman in the Harvard Business School MBA program, my class mates were quite wowed and thought I was a princess.”
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It all led to a career as Director-General of the SEC, a post she has held since January 2010.
This is merely one of the many hats she wears. She was also elected Chairperson of the Africa Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in June 2010. She is a member of the Nigerian Economic Management team and serves on the board of a number of organizations including the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Today, Oteh is charged with transforming the Nigerian capital markets and unlocking the country’s economic potential.
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Her appointment four years ago came at a crucial time, on the heels of the global financial crisis. Nigeria’s stock market had fallen 70% from its peak in March 2008. Investor confidence was low. There was need for change and a tough regulator.
By the time she started, Oteh already had a wealth of experience and believed she had the panacea.
Her message to the people was to save and invest wisely. To the policy makers, she preached against depending on short-term bank finance, and in favor of medium and long-term finance to fund infrastructure.
“Having that crisis helped, because people had seen what could go wrong. The environment to support a tough reform agenda was present as they could see the importance of a regulator that would do its job. When I joined, the vision was for the SEC to be the best regulator in Africa and I said, ‘best regulator in Africa?’ That’s not ambitious enough. Our aim should be to be the best regulator in the world. Nobody invests in a particular market because they love it. They are more interested in the safety and security of their funds. In that case, it is important to build a market that can stand globally acclaimed. This isn’t possible without integrity,” says Oteh.
Oteh was ready to put her money where her mouth was in an arduous revamp of the Nigerian capital markets.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
“That led us to alleging that 260 individuals and entities had carried out different forms of market abuse. The second thing was to focus on the Exchange. Nigeria had one operational exchange and being a visible symbol of our market, it was very important to ensure that we address the challenges of the Exchange because then, we develop the industry of fund and asset managers and develop the fixed income bond market to the point where it became easier for people
to borrow.”
Thanks to her efforts, today, she has the likes of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which launched a successful bond last year. She has also been able to regulate over-the-counter markets.
“We have two platforms, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), which targets unlisted securities so there is more efficient trading in those securities or the platform sponsored by the financial market dealers association which does wholesale trading in Federal Government bonds. Also, introducing new instruments like Islamic finance products, and encouraging real estate investment trusts,” she says.
With all these feats and more under her belt, Oteh believes there is still more to do, and with careful execution, it’s only a matter of time before all her boxes are ticked.
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There have also been some dark days along the way for Oteh, as in 2012, the board of the SEC had directed her to go on compulsory leave, following a probe into the near collapse of the capital markets and allegations of misappropriation of funds and disharmony in the apex capital market regulator.
Oteh fought the system tooth and nail and went to great lengths to expose inadequacies in the structure, accusing the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Nigerian capital market of corruption and unaccountability in a heated exchange at the public inquiry.
Following a two-month suspension, Oteh was cleared of all allegations and went back to her job as Director-General.
“I was angry that a system that is so well-endowed was being managed irresponsibly. I had also built a longstanding career and reputation over 22 years anchored on excellence. I knew there would be risks attached to fighting back and that I would be misunderstood but I also felt that standing up for what was right, far outweighed any costs attached for me. If I didn’t do it, who would?” she told FORBES WOMAN AFRICA.
Prior to her appointment at the SEC, Oteh was Vice President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), and was at the forefront of internal reforms that scaled up the bank’s response to Africa’s development challenges.
She had also served as the bank’s Group Treasurer for five years, managing a portfolio of assets and liabilities worth billions of dollars. In her years at AfDB, she restored its ‘AAA’ rating by Standard &amp; Poor’s.
“Some of my most fascinating experiences were that people were just so excited to hear about Africa – there was such a curiosity about the continent. At the time, AfDB was a ‘AAA’-rated institution and we would go to sell AfDB bonds in Japan. People were relatively familiar with why we were so highly rated. So, most people felt very comfortable with the credit when you sold bonds – they knew there was no risk,” she says.
Oteh had also started the Euro currency programmes while at AfDB.
This great adventure with AfDB began post-Harvard, following a year’s project with the Harvard Institute for International Development assessing the competitiveness of manufacturing in West Africa. She had interviewed at AfDB where she got hired into the West and North Africa portfolios in 1992. She covered Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana and Sudan, traveling in these countries.
After being away from her home country for 22 years, Oteh, a proud patriot, believes there is no place like Nigeria. She is highly optimistic.
“There are no countries that have taken the bold steps we have in the financial sector in the last few years,” she says.
As her current term draws to an end in January 2015 – and that’s also when she will be turning 50 – Oteh and her team, are working tirelessly still, raising the bar and repositioning the face of the Nigerian capital market globally. It is yet to achieve demutualization and this is a direction the institution would like to steer towards.
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Oteh is also passionate about mentoring young girls, and advocacy. She holds a strong view on women’s place in society, drawing attention to the low number of women in key positions and boards.
“Equal opportunities should exist in the work place. A meritocracy where the best suited and qualified individual gets the job is also as vital.”
She also believes in a great support system and that young women should have self-belief.
“Successful leaders should pave the way for younger women to climb the corporate ladder through mentorship and coaching,” she says.
On career and family, Oteh, who acknowledges devoting her life to career, says she wouldn’t do it differently.
They call her the ‘Iron Lady’ for her tough decision-making.
“If leading change, being passionate, resilient and decisive about a great course is what makes me an iron lady, then I proudly raise my hand up high to that tag,” says Oteh.
She has come a long way from Kano. Oteh is not telling us what her plans are post her current assignment, but we are sure to hear more about her in the news.

From College Princess  To Queen  Of The Markets

Its economy, political arena and society are in crisis mode. Abuja, its capital city, and other sections of the country are increasingly making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Meanwhile, representatives of Nigeria’s youth, political, traditional, religious, civil and business society are currently in a national conference (Confab) in Abuja. Their task over their three-month tenure: discuss salient national issues and recommend the way forward.
The most critical issue has been the dearth of safety and security in the land. On this point, a member of the Confab and former inspector general of the Nigerian Police Force, Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta, laments the failure of previous administrations to provide altruistic leadership.
“The country is sick, otherwise how will people organize themselves and kill innocent students, how could people gather together and rob, how will people gather together to vandalize pipelines? It means the central system is sick and that is national security,” he says.
The country’s defense budget ballooned from $625 million in 2010 to $6.25 billion this year.
Military muscle has however failed to curb the increasingly sophisticated insurgent group. Anecdotal evidence even suggests that some of this cash has fueled the crisis. The class of the impoverished community continues to outnumber the elite factions of society. Poverty afflicts more than 60% of Nigerians &#8211; around 100 million Africans. Twenty four percent of Nigeria’s employable population is effectively unemployed; for those between the ages of 15 and 24, it surges close to 40%.
Africa’s most populous nation is currently engulfed by a lack of social values. Homegrown terror gangs and Islamist insurgents ravage parts of northern Nigeria and violent criminals now roam through southern states, mostly outside Lagos, at will.
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has declared that Nigeria is essentially at war. Many who find this statement alarming struggle to disagree with the famous poet, playwright and ex-political prisoner.
In March, suspected members of the militant group Boko Haram executed a commando style operation to rescue their cohorts held in the Abuja cells of the Department of State Security, which is located within view of Aso Villa, the Nigerian president’s residence.
In April, economic analysts and pundits pontificated on the effects of the country’s rebasing exercise when terror struck again. Within one week, more than 200 girls were abducted by faceless rogues from a school in Chibok, in the north-eastern Borno State. In Nyanya, a densely populated district on the outskirts of Abuja, an early morning rush hour blast in the motor park killed more than 100 people and maimed many more.
Interestingly, the horrific situation has not halted progress on the quest to diversify the domestic economy. Apparently positioning for the long term, companies like Huawei, General Electric and IBM continue to ramp up their commitments and workload with Nigeria’s business, public, academic and scientific communities. Jim O’Neill, former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management has invested some of his cash in Paga, a leading mobile payments service provider which has more than 1.3 million individual and 1,350 business clients.
While the nation’s image abroad continues to take a daily bashing, the paradoxical positives also need highlighting. GDP growth for the period between 2013 and 2015 is expected to hover between 6% and 7%. Ongoing reforms in power and agriculture look set to boost productivity. The fortunes of the capital market should be boosted by long term bond financing. Some sectors – telecoms, e-commerce, hotels, retail, real estate and construction – will continue to boom thanks to Nigeria’s head count. With a population of 167 million; consumer spending well in excess of $100 billion each year, and a fast growing middle class, Nigeria is definitely a promising African destination for business. According to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, more than $1.3 billion in fresh investments has come into the formal retail space over the last three years.
No doubt, a state of insecurity will continue to stunt domestic economic growth and attenuate the much needed peace of mind required for deep rooted investments. Poor governance has bred this terror monster. A crazily expensive, parochial and unprogressive political culture will continue to breed a heated and ignoble socio-economic landscape.
Being the 26th largest economy in the world will mean little to the hundreds of families still searching for their daughters in the forests of northern Nigeria.

The Economics Of Painful Politics

Every few minutes, they touched down at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. The roads buzzed and hotel lobbies filled as the world arrived for the most important meeting in African business.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, hosted in Abuja, was one of the largest in many years. The biggest names in world business, among 1,000 leaders, were there. They included Aliko Dangote, Pravin Gordhan, Paul Kagame, Uhuru Kenyatta, Li Keqiang and Bineta Diop.
This was a meet to check progress from the last meeting in Cape Town and work out what needs to be done ahead of the next.
Nigeria hosting the gathering reflected its success and trials. In one way it was a celebration after the country was elevated to Africa’s largest economy after the rebasing of its GDP. On Nigeria’s rebased GDP, a wide cross section of investors and prospective entrants confirm that investing in Nigeria has become a priority.
“There is undoubtedly huge potential in this country and the rest of Africa respectively. The real power will, however, only materialize when we get plans into motion and make things work,” says Julian Roberts, the Group Chief Executive of Old Mutual.
On the other side of the coin, the country is still plagued by poor infrastructure and unrest. In Abuja there have been deadly bomb attacks and further north, the Islamist militant group Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls.
It meant public offices and schools closed from May 7 to May 9. Security was beefed up as police squads threw up checkpoints. But, the world made its way to Abuja to tap into Nigeria’s burgeoning market. Investors contributed $21.3 billion in foreign direct investment last year and $2.5 billion in January and February this year alone.
Expectations were high in spite of the difficulties. The forum was set to discuss innovative structural reforms and sustainable investments for creating jobs and prosperity.
“The need to create jobs is a global problem. All countries around the world are concerned about job creation. In Africa, the unemployment problem is compounded by the youthful population and pending demographic transition. Africa’s population is very young…  making African leaders face special challenges,” says Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan.
So, what has changed since the previous forum in Cape Town?
In spite of impressive growth, many African economies have yet to see broad-based prosperity. There are also issues of security, infrastructure, skills, education and health.
Africa’s alarming youth unemployment story is often told in parallel with growth. The youth account for 60% of all of Africa’s unemployed, according to the World Bank. Sub-Saharan Africa’s unemployment rate is at 6% in comparison with the world average of 5%, according to the African Development Bank. The problem is that youth unemployment in most African countries occurs at more than twice the adult rate.
A defective educational system, lack of vocational guidance and training could be to blame.
Nigeria, West Africa’s leading economy is even plagued by intermittent strikes in the classroom.
So, what will WEF achieve?
“It is not just about growth, it’s about the right kind of growth and participants’ focus will not be limited to growing Africa’s economy, but will also highlight means of doing so in an inclusive manner,” says WEF’s head of Africa, Elsie Kanza.
“This meeting is creating tremendous opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa and the continent at large. These opportunities will help to break down barriers and open up new frontiers for business. The theme of this year’s forum is very apt as this is what we are working tirelessly on presently. The power of these forums should not be underestimated,” says Jim Ovia, the $900-million banking veteran and FORBES AFRICA cover in June last year.
Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to remain the world’s second fastest growing region &#8211; a result of more efficiency in resource utilization, better governance and rising domestic demand. Challenges and opportunities shaping Africa’s growth outlook are often under-estimated. These issues went under the microscope at the forum.
Nigeria’s finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says infrastructural and logistical challenges will continue to hamper the growth of the continent. West African leaders drew up plans to build highways to boost intra-Africa trade, as has been seen in East Africa.
Kenya has signed a $3.6 billion Mombasa-Nairobi railway deal with China. The railway will connect Kenya with the rest of the region and open up trade within East Africa.
Security in Nigeria was also on the agenda with the schoolgirl abduction in the headlines. Jonathan thanked the international community for their support on the issue but questions still hang over what the government will do.
It was announced by Okonjo-Iweala that a sum of $10 million has been approved by the state for a safe school project. A further $10 million will be provided by Nigerian business. This is seen as a move to improve security in Nigerian schools.
Lack of power in Africa poses a major threat to economic growth. Nigeria’s parlous power sector and power privatization process, the biggest on the continent yet, has spurred global interest.
“We are getting somewhere and it will not be an overnight transformation. We are excited about the transformation this sector will experience and urge Nigerians to have some belief and patience in the process,” says Okonjo-Iweala.
Trade between Africa and China is also expected to continue to grow.
“This is definitely the world’s largest inclusive growth. Africa needs to develop its infrastructure and industries while China boasts a stronger and spare capability of investment and construction in this area. Thus, the economies of China and Africa are highly complementary and both sides’ development is each other’s opportunity. China and Africa shall complement each other in mutually beneficial co-operation to give a stronger impetus to each other’s development,” says Li Keqiang, the premier of China.
Technology can also drive the continent’s economy.
“A vast number of people have been digitally empowered and are more open to economic participation. Getting this critical mass to act accordingly should be a stronger focus. Therein lies an opportunity,” says Hendrik du Toit, the CEO of Investec Asset Management.
WEF also announced so-called Global Growth Companies (GGCs) in Africa. These are 16 high growth companies on the continent with innovative revenue growth and sound corporate governance. The selected companies are: Seplat Petroleum Development Company (Nigeria), Computer Warehouse Group (Nigeria), Interswitch Limited (Nigeria), Nagode Group (Nigeria), UAC of Nigeria (Nigeria), Notore Chemical Industries (Nigeria), Nation Media Group (Kenya), Bidco Oil Refineries (Kenya), GML (Mauritius), Growthpoint Properties (South Africa), KZN Oils (South Africa), Net1 UEPS Technologies (South Africa), Tekkie Town (South Africa), Capitec Bank (South Africa) Webber Wentzel (South Africa) and Simba Group (Uganda).
WEF and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development set a joint task force to redesign financing for Africa and developing economies. According to Development Initiatives, an independent organization working on poverty alleviation, approximately $1.7 trillion flows from the developed to the developing world. The task force will redeploy the finance to key sectors of the economies that will benefit the most.
For now, Africa waits in anticipation to see whether the proof is in the pudding.

Time For Action

Just how well Africa is rejuvenating its geopolitical space, including its trade and scientific ties with its sovereign states and the rest of the world, will be the crux of discussions at this year’s meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, in Abuja, Nigeria’s administrative and diplomatic capital, in May.
For Africa’s most populous nation, the benefits of hosting the prestigious event will go beyond the superficial. For starters, Nigeria is a land of speeches, conferences and seminars. If grandiose eloquence from politicians, community, business and religious leaders was all it took to transform a nation, then the country would be the most developed nation south of the Sahara. The presence of the world’s most influential people in Abuja will be an unprecedented opportunity for Nigeria to showcase its vast economic opportunities and deepen the dialogue on economic reform between the international and Nigerian private sectors.
Nigeria’s reputation is constantly in flux. Its quest for global leadership and respect is reflected in its diplomatic forays around the world, its contributions to global culture and the arts, its youthful and entrepreneurial populace, its consumer base and its emerging status as a leading South-South economy. Its recently concluded the sale of several state-owned assets in its power sector, and government should earn well over $10 billion when this phase of its privatization program ends in 2016.
In November, Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan appointed his top economic adviser, Nwanze Okidegbe and finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as co-chairs of the 2014 WEF in Africa steering committee to prepare the country for the meeting of heads of government and chief executive officers of global firms.
The steering committee is supported by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and led by Frank Nweke, a former minister of information. The group also includes Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and president of Dangote Industries; Tony Elumelu, the chairman of Heirs Holdings; Bisi Onasanya, the group managing director of First Bank of Nigeria, the country’s oldest and largest bank by assets; Nduka Obaigbena, the publisher of ThisDay newspaper and Wale Tinubu, the group managing director of Oando, Nigeria’s leading home-grown energy company.
Nigeria is arguably one of the fastest growing economies on the African continent, posting an average 7% GDP growth each year for the past decade, and poised to achieve increased revenues from the non-oil sectors in 2014, according to the IMF. West Africa’s leading economy is also plagued by industrial spats and strikes in its hospitals and schools, widespread graft and internal terrorism, mostly from the militant Boko Haram group.
The Nigerian government grabbed the opportunity to host the 2014 edition of the WEF on Africa summit with relish, eager to showcase its hospitality and status as a developing nation, while further cementing Abuja’s reputation as West Africa’s conference capital.
More than 800 delegates from around 70 countries are expected to review the progress the continent has made since the previous meetings and to do justice to the theme for this year’s event: ‘Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs’.
The WEF Africa team in Geneva are clearly seeking to advance the debates and consensus for action reached during previous meetings which focused on the need for sustained economic growth, improvements in governance, improving agricultural output, accelerating investments, competitiveness and collaboration with other reemerging economies, and scaling innovation.
“The theme aligns perfectly with the medium- and long-term aspirations and commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria,” says Okonjo-Iweala.
“With the whole economic and political world focused on Nigeria during the meeting, it places enormous responsibilities on the country.”
Focusing on issues particular to the region—whether in the Middle East, Africa, East Asia, or Latin America—the regional WEFs are different from the annual retreat in Davos, Switzerland which has a much wider scope of examining global political, economic and social issues.
“Africa’s remarkable growth trajectory is projected to remain above 5 percent in 2014 with West Africa the fastest growing sub-region, representing the continent’s largest business opportunity. Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest economy and most populous nation—with over 160 million inhabitants—already plays a crucial role in advancing the continent’s growth; yet it is also emblematic of the challenges of converting natural wealth into solutions that address persistent social challenges, says the WEF.
“Nigeria currently receives a very significant share of Africa’s foreign direct investments (FDI), and I reckon that discussions at the 2014 WEF on Africa summit would reveal the need for even more FDI for important economies like Nigeria, and attract broad-based investments that will lead to the creation of millions of new jobs,” Ogho Okiti, the special adviser to President Jonathan’s chief economic adviser, tells FORBES AFRICA.
Unlike debates and resolutions at the United Nations (UN) which are usually confrontational and perceived as quixotic by critics of the global body, the WEF has maintained a collegial culture over the decades. Three days of thematic talk comprising of workshops, interactive sessions, working breakfasts and lunches, and cultural events in Abuja are expected to facilitate pragmatic responses to insightful queries such as why nations continue to experience jobless growth and, in Africa’s case, growth bereft of sustainable development; why African nations trade more with the rest of the world than they do with themselves; and which regional blocs score top marks for infrastructure improvements, economic integration and HIV/AIDS reduction in its communities.
The WEF’s rich database and extensive use of research methodologies helps it produce reports such as the ‘Global Risks Report’, the ‘Global Gender Gap Report’ and the ‘Global Competitiveness Report’—there is also an ‘African Competitiveness Report’.
Dangote has described the WEF’s non reflection of Nigeria’s involvement and impact in Africa’s development over the years as unfortunate. On a broader scope, Africa’s numerous challenges, such as poor governance; diseases; widespread access to affordable shelter, education and clean water; poverty and poor electricity supply have been at the core of many of the forum’s initiatives. WEF gatherings encourage partnerships and the commitment of its corporate members towards solving some of these problems. Perhaps this event in Abuja might offer a solution to the Boko Haram scourge.
One candid moment that has etched the WEF permanently in the annals of Africa’s global experience was the 1992 Davos meeting where former South African president FW de Klerk shared a podium with the late Nelson Mandela. This was where Mandela reportedly made his very first speech on South Africa’s economic future under the ANC government. That speech laid the foundation for social harmony and global support for South Africa.
Founded by a University of Geneva professor of business policy, Klaus Schwab in 1971, the WEF is positive evidence that discerning conversation will never go out of fashion.
Two remarks made during the 2013 WEF in Davos illustrate why the meetings will continue to inspire the world’s business and political elite to create positive change. The first is an excerpt from United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon’s speech.
“As a boy, I studied in the dirt. There was no classroom. Education made me what I am; it made my dream come true… I shared my message with refugee children: Don’t lose hope, study hard. I did it, you can do it too,” he says.
The second is an observation by Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame.
“Africa’s story has been written by others; we need to own our problems and solutions and write our story.”

Africa Must Pen Its Own Story

Since its return to democracy in 1999 with the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, successive administrations, that have led this West African giant, embarked on a series of economic reforms that aim to increase the role of the private sector in the process of economic development. The current administration, headed by the fedora-wearing President Goodluck Jonathan, has made the reform of the country’s power sector the anchor program in its “transformation agenda”. The power sector reform program aims to substitute the hitherto government-controlled model—which is widely agreed to be one of the greatest impediments to its development—with a wholesale competition model that is private sector driven. Power supply in Nigeria is abysmally low, leading most households and businesses to rely on power generators and other alternatives to supplement the shortfall in supply from the public grid. At present, Nigeria generates around 4,000MW for its population of more than 160 million. The ambitious plan for power generation as contained in its Vision 20: 2020 national development blueprint, is a tenfold increase from the current level of power generation to 40,000MW by 2020. Despite the power shortage, the country has recorded an impressive rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, which averaged 6.8% over the past five years. The minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala—who was the former managing director at the World Bank—recently predicted that an improvement in power generation will lead to double digit GDP growth for the country.
Nigeria possesses substantial oil reserves—estimated at more than 37 billion barrels—in the vast mangrove swamps of the Niger Delta. Since the discovery of oil in 1956, at Oloibiri village in present day Bayelsa State, the government has generated more than $600 billion worth of revenue from daily production, which peaked at 2.7 million barrels per day in August. However, much of this revenue had been frittered away over the years by corrupt government officials. The country has also been unable to leverage this abundance of oil to the benefit of its populace as it has often encountered challenges in ensuring the availability of petroleum products despite subsidies on fuel. A recent attempt by the federal government to do away with the subsidies, ostensibly to free up funds for re-investment into critical areas of need, was met by stiff opposition from the citizenry.
One positive factor that contributed significantly to the strong growth that has recently been recorded by the country was the successful deregulation of the telecoms sector in 2001. This led to the shift from government domination of the sector to a market-driven system. The effect of the policy reform was instant as teledensity rose from a mere 0.73% in 2001, to over 68% in 2012. The mobile subscriber base grew at record rates to over 95 million at present. The revolution in telecoms has also unlocked opportunities in mobile banking as the financial sector seeks to leverage mobile technology to further deepen banking among the country’s population. It is reported that an estimated 46% of the population do not have access to formal financial services.
In terms of its macroeconomy, the International Monetary Fund notes that Nigeria’s economy will grow at an estimated 7.1% in 2012. This growth, it says, will be driven by high commodity prices. Regarding sovereign debt, the country has a relatively low debt profile with its debt to GDP ratio estimated at 17.8%, a figure that is below the 30% target set by the government, and well below the global benchmark of 60%. International ratings agencies, Fitch and Standard &amp; Poor’s, rate Nigeria respectively at BB- and B+, with both maintaining a stable outlook for the country. In terms of the country’s sovereign bonds, the annual yield on Nigeria’s 10 year Eurobond which was issued in January of 2011 has been fluctuating around 5% for most of the year. The minister of finance recently announced that the country may consider issuing another Eurobond in 2013 to raise funds for the power sector and gas sector reforms, following indications that J.P. Morgan could include the country in its emerging market index. Nigeria has also recently launched a sovereign wealth fund after concerns by state governors, who had initially opposed the idea of the fund, were allayed. With the constitution of the board and the appointment of the CEO, the fund, which has a start-up capital of $1 billion, is expected to become operational in the coming months.
Consequently, it is apparent that the Nigerian government is taking commendable steps towards developing the country’s economy and effecting a redistribution of income among the country’s citizens. In a country where public officials are known to lack the political will that is required to see policies and programs through, it remains to be seen how the current chapter in this dominant nation’s history will play out.

Tag: Abuja

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