Do we really need investors in Nigeria? What can investors do for us that we cannot do for ourselves? After all we are Africa’s most populous country and the most youthful. We are a country with a population of 198 million people. It makes no difference that 86 million of our people are extremely poor and that 95 percent of our people live below US$5.5 per day, which means that we can hardly afford anything that is really affordable in many parts of the world. It also does not matter that every minute, at least six more Nigerians fall into extreme poverty.
We have the fastest growing population in the world. In fact, the world has acknowledged that by 2050, we would be the world’s third most populous country with a total population of about 400 million people. We will also be indisputably the most populous country in Africa. With such a huge population, why should we rush after foreign investors? Foreign investors should be the ones rushing us.
It does not really matter that our population is growing at an average rate of 2.5 percent, while the economy grows at less than two percent. It does not really matter that we have the highest number of children below 10 years anywhere in the world who are out of school and that by 2050, these 10 million children who are out of school will be adults in a world where knowledge is the basic tool for survival.
It also does not matter that we have a largely youthful population where more than 40 percent are below the age of 18. It does not really matter that most of these young people are receiving education in a public school system that is largely dilapidated. It also does not matter that most of the teachers in our public school systems are poorly trained, poor paid and poorly motivated.
The youths are our future even if they come out of our school system not fit for the purpose they were trained for. It does not matter that they do not have employable skills. We can deploy them to other uses that are fit for our political interest disguised as national interest. Those that get fed up can trek through the Sahara Desert for all we care.
It also does not matter that the quality of healthcare delivery in the country is well below standard. It does not matter if our hospitals are not hospitals but holding bays for a passage to the world beyond. It does not really matter if all our qualified doctors are now finding greener pastures outside the shores of the country. It also does not matter if we are losing an average of 13 doctors every week to the US and the UK or that we have more doctors and medical personal outside the country than we have inside.
Such high level of migration is a clear evidence that we have some of the best medical training schools in the country. It is the only reason why the US and the UK are rushing our doctors and nurses. It does not really matter if the doctors left behind are overworked and under paid and that they are also just waiting for the first opportunity to leave the country.
Look at the bright side. Our exported doctors send money back home. What also matters is that politicians can get the best medical treatment abroad. They need to be healthy before they can think of how best to ensure that we are healthy. After all, a sick president cannot help a sick nation.
It also does not matter if we do not get enough in foreign direct investment (FDI). If all the FDI we get in a year is less than a billion dollar while Ghana, with an economy the size of Lagos, gets three times more FDI than we do. It does not really matter if Ghana is now the gateway into West Africa while our commercial capital is rated among the worst cities to live in the world.
What matters is to ensure that our most successful foreign investors are slammed with fines that are not payable. It does not matter if the size of the fines makes it look like an attempt at extortion. We are the biggest economy in Africa and they have to behave themselves or get out.
It does not matter if our oil sector has remained largely stagnant for years because we cannot pass a law to guide how players in the sector can operate their businesses. It does not matter that we are losing an average of US$15 billion annually for not being able to put in place some clarity around operations in the petroleum sector.
It does not matter that we have been talking about expanding our gas production for more than 16 years without taking it beyond talk. It does not matter that we are essentially a gas territory with little gas production. It does not matter that as we fiddle with our oil and gas industry, our African neighbours are discovering oil and gas at an alarming rate and technology is developing fast enough to make oil obsolete in the nearest future. It does not matter that we have gas but no power or abundant land without enough food.
What we hold dear and non-negotiable is our politicians without visions and our political parties without ideologies. We hold dear our march into a future we cannot define and look ill-prepared for.
