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| Nigerian Economy Can Be Turned Around in a Few Months – Dangote |
Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, has expressed confidence that the Nigerian economy can be revitalized within a few months.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after the inauguration of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) by President Bola Tinubu, Dangote emphasized the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors to rejuvenate the economy.
He assured that the private sector would provide the government with policy recommendations necessary for economic revival.
“This is where the public and private sectors will collaborate. We will advise the government on the policies needed to revamp the economy.
“Our economy can be turned around in a few months. Changes are coming. We will work to ensure positive transformation,” Dangote stated.
Dangote’s comments followed his criticism of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for raising the interest rate to nearly 30 percent.
During a three-day summit organized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Dangote called for new policies to protect domestic industries.
He urged the federal government to support existing businesses, particularly manufacturers, by creating an enabling environment for them to thrive.
“Nobody can create jobs with an interest rate of 30%. No growth will happen. We must look to leading countries in the West and the East who are actively protecting their domestic industries.
“Import dependence is equivalent to importing poverty and exporting jobs. No power, no growth, no prosperity. Similarly, no affordable financing, no growth, no prosperity. There is no industrialization without protection. Ignoring these facts leads to insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, and abject poverty,” he emphasized.
Dangote highlighted industrialization as an “inescapable route” to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and human development.
He pointed out that manufacturing is a key driver in a nation’s quest for economic development and self-sufficiency.
“It is evident that the strength of a country’s manufacturing sector determines its capacity to compete in global trade, of which 70% is in manufactured goods.
“I am aware that the Bretton Woods Institutions have confused some of our economists about the word ‘protection’ to the extent that some of them think it is a blasphemy – a word that should not be uttered in good company. But how did China, Korea, India, and several other Asian countries emerge as strong economies and a threat to the existing world economic order?
“We are often told that protecting your industries makes your country uncompetitive! This is pure fiction. It is quite the reverse. I say you cannot be competitive until you protect and support your own industry.
“Let me therefore conclude by reiterating that Nigeria has all it takes to develop and sustain a globally competitive manufacturing sector. But to do so, we must rethink our industrialization policy. We must look to leading countries in the West and the East who are actively protecting their domestic industries.
We must similarly enact policies to protect our domestic industries and nurture them into homegrown champions that will create the jobs and prosperity we desperately need,” he concluded.
