- Chairperson, Women in Logistics and Transport (WiLAT), Khadijat Ifelola Sheidu-Shabi (left), Principal Partner, Justicia Legal Practitioners and former Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello, and Group Chief Investment Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group, (NGX), Tony Idugboe, at the CityBusinessNews 2023 Summit in Lagos…Wednesday
By Anthony Nwachukwu
Stakeholders at the 2023 edition of the CityBusiness Summit have tasked the Federal Government on actionable plans to increase Nigeria’s export and reduce import of goods as a veritable means of repositioning the economy.
Speaking Wednesday in Lagos on the theme, “Repositioning Nigerian Economy: 2023 and Beyond,” Chairman of the summit and Principal Partner, Justicia Legal Practitioners, Mr. Hassan Bello, said a major problem hampering the nation is lack of proper planning.
According to the former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), the nation’s seaports were not configured to boost export, and the Apapa ports were built in the 80s when no one thought that the country’s population would rise.
“And so, we began in a way that we don’t even have good roads for transportation; the railway was abandoned,” he noted. “I have never seen a country that abandoned its rail system like Nigeria.
“Everything was moved by road. So we fancied that road until it came to the climax where the ports became congested and Nigeria losing trillions of naira.
“Why is it that there is no rail connection to the ports? We have the same thing happening in Lekki now, so planning is part of our major problems.”
He emphasised that export is a major way to get the needed foreign exchange and jobs to grow the economy, even as he lamented that though Nigerian agro-produce are rich in quality, packaging has remained a major setback to their export.
On his part, the keynote speaker and Group Managing Director, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX), Oscar Onyema, said the nation’s economic situation raises the need to explore other options of generating funding for business and attracting investors, both local and foreign.
Onyema, who was represented by the Group Chief Investment Officer, NGX, Mr. Tony Idugboe, described the capital market as a key area that could “boost the economy and create enormous opportunities for investors.”
According to him, “investing in the capital market gives the nation an opportunity to unlock new avenues for economic growth and development.
“Capital market serves as a platform for government and businesses to access funds from a broad range of investors, enabling then to expand, innovate and create new job opportunities.”
On her part, the Chairperson, Women in Logistic and Transport (WiLAT), Khadijat Ifelola Sheidu-Shabi, urged Nigeria to look inwards and shift from import-dependent to export-oriented economy.
According to her, Nigeria has the potential to generate the needed foreign exchange through export but a lack of adequate packaging is a serious threat to shipping Nigerian commodities overseas.
Expressing confidence that Nigeria would rise again, she urged the nation, and the women particularly, to take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to maximise opportunities and improve the nation’s economy.
“I know that we have export terminals coming up and these export terminals are growing. We need to increase our export and stop dependence on importation,” Sheidu-Shabi said.
“Somebody said if we are denied everything imported, Nigeria will be the greatest country in the world, because he knows that Nigerians can do a lot but our weakness is importation. We even import tissue paper!
“We need to reposition. What can’t we do? In spite of all our challenges, I want us to look at the positive side of us. We are survivors, we can build this country again.”
Similarly, she noted that if well utilised, the accruals from fuel subsidy removal would bring about positive economic development, adding: “I know that the subsidy removal, forex liberalisation and insecurity have been our major challenges in recent times.
“We Nigerians are not lazy people, we live up to challenges. If what has happened in our country happened in other countries, they would have gone to war, but we have been able to come out of it and kept moving forward.”
To truly move forward, however, she urged the Federal Government to tackle insecurity and ensure a safe atmosphere for citizens to farm and trade agricultural produce.
