The European Union ambassador to Nigeria and West Africa (ECOWAS), Michael Arion, storms Port Harcourt, Rivers State and south-south capital, today Monday, October 12, 2015, leading other ambassadors and top investors to help the local entrepreneurs fashion a new economic blueprint capable of pulling the oil state out of economic decline. Port Harcourt is still regarded as the hub of the hydrocarbon industry in Nigeria.
Excitement seems very high in the oil region as the EU has so far splashes over N100Bn in Nigeria to support four major projects especially in water and electricity. The seminar is billed to serve as a stepping stone to a new partnership that would unlock the economy of the oil state.
Arion would serve this purpose as guest speaker probably to draw forceful attention to diversification of the economy and the need for a shift to non-oil investments as well as helping the local entrepreneurs take the initiative in the new search. The event is tagged: “Rivers Investors Forum 2015: Beyond Oil and Gas”, taking place at the Hotel Presidential.
According to the president of the Rivers State Entrepreneurs and Investors Forum (REIF), Ibifiri Bobmanuel, preparations had reached top gear and the presence of Arion and other ambassadors had been confirmed. The state governor, Nyesom Wike, leading the public sector, would surely be on hand not only to play executive host but to lend effort towards providing the muscle to the fashioning of a new economic runway.
Bobmanuel told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview in Port Harcourt that Arion was looking forward to coming back to Port Harcourt. “He believes in the potentials in Port Harcourt just as we in REIF (entrepreneurs and investors) do believe in the economy of Rivers State. We believe strongly that if we work very collaboratively with the international, multinational, the national corporations and the state government, we should be able to turn the economic tide in the state and give direction to the business community in Rivers State. So, we have all the dignitaries that should make the seminar successful”.
Entrepreneurs in Rivers State seem fully aware that the EU was supporting many states in Nigeria and Rivers State should now be able to tap into this window. In Anambra State, for instance, the EU is said to be doing a whole lot to change the face of that state.
Bobmanuel said: “So, even if for nothing, we should have shown that Rivers State is focused now with clear-cut direction on how to turn around the economy of this state.
So, the EU ambassador, the governor, and the various captains of industry, will be around. There are some other ambassadors that would be present. Rivers State has always been a business and investment hub in Nigeria, but things have gone down drastically. We are now righting the wrongs to bring us where we should be. That is why this seminar is very important to us as a state and to the economy of this region”.
He said the theme of the seminar; Beyond Oil and Gas, was strategically chosen to reflect the objective of the gathering, and the event is 100 per cent private sector driven initiative. “The state government is not sponsoring it, but just partnering. Every kobo is from the members of the body and its affiliates. This is the difference between this very forum and the others which were usually hosted by the state government. The private sector is the right sector to determine the path the economy should take. So, it is one seminar that will produce a lot of fruits”.
On whether the EU would not demand for fundamental commitments from the Rivers State government as a condition for closer business ties in the state, the REIF president noted that economies around the world had gone far beyond the government and what it could do. He said a chat had however been arranged between the governor and Arion, but noted that it would still be the REIF that fashion out what the private sector and the state government should do, and what the EU would have to support. “That will show the EU’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the world and goodwill to the good people of Rivers State. There are a number of businesses with EU interest in Rivers State, so the EU is trying to encourage the economy of this region. We must commend them for this”.
To him, it is how the entrepreneurs in the state would handle the opportunity that would matter. “Going forward, it is how constructive we can be in this engagement. There could not be a better group to engage them than the private sector especially the entrepreneur and investors in this state. We want the Rivers State government to simply key into this. The EU has given an ample chest to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North East, it means that coming to Rivers State is an honour to us as REIF and the good people of the state and the state govt. It could only get better. All hands should be on deck to make this a reality. REIF’s slogan is: Driving the local economy. That is basically what we are doing”.
Arion has since last year when he touched down on the new mission in West Africa demonstrated great faith in the ability of African countries to chart a new economic path. He believes that the region should not rely on foreign aids but to join in building strong national and regional economies that would fight poverty. He has often poured lamentations over poverty in the presence of huge natural resource-availability in Nigeria.
Hopes are high that after the seminar, specific commitments could be sealed and a new blueprint to diversify the economy would spring into view.
Ignatius Chukwu
