If marathons were anything to go by, Ethiopia is closing in on Nigeria. Any Nigerian who listened to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed must have looked on with envy as the 42-year old, spearheading a raft of investment-friendly reforms in East Africa’s fastest growing economy, sold his nation to an elite gathering of business leaders and politicians at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Ahmed’s speech at Davos is something you would have expected from the leader of Africa’s largest economy, President Muhammadu Buhari, only that the 76-year old, who seeks a second term at next month’s elections, wasn’t even present at the gathering for the second year running.
Critics say Buhari’s distaste for private capital is why he has not seen the need to be a part of the Davos gathering.
Ethiopia has suddenly become an investor’s delight on the back of a rapid reform programme being pursued by the prime minister who is bringing down age long barriers to investment in a market seen as rival to Nigeria because of the size of its population.
LOLADE AKINMURELE
