How Nigeria can benefit from coronavirus pandemic – Emefiele

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, says Nigeria must look inward to survive the aftermath impact of the coronavirus pandemic which is ravaging global economy.

In a document issued by CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele and made available to National Daily, titled ‘Turning The COVID-19 Tragedy into an Opportunity for a New Nigeria’, he stated that no one knows what the world will look like after the pandemic, which is the reason it is quite important for Nigeria to look inwards for solutions.

Emefiele said for a country of over 200 million people, and projected to be about 450 million in a few decades, Nigeria can no longer ignore repeated warnings about the dangers that lie ahead if Nigerians do not begin to depend largely on what produce locally.

According to him, Nigeria cannot afford to continue to rely on the world for food, education and healthcare, as the time has come to fully transform the nation into a modern, sophisticated and inclusive economy that is self-sufficient.

He said for Nigeria to compete globally across a range of strategic sectors, all stakeholders must support the Federal Government in eight key areas.

Emefiele listed the areas to include quality infrastructure, support for farmers, ecosystem of factories, robust educational system, developed Healthcare system, Affordable credit for SME, pro-poor policies and an enhanced global competition.

As far as he is concerned, building a base of high-quality infrastructure is of the essence of any economy that desires to grow and be independent. According to him, such qualitative infrastructure is not complete without reliable power, as that is the only way to engender industrial activity.

Emefiele added that if operators in the agriculture sector lack adequate support, the nation would still be far from its inclusive goal. He said, “We need to make adequate support for both smallholder and large scale agriculture production in select staple and cash crops.”

Importance of an ecosystem of factories and supply chains is also key to the plans of the CBN governor. According to him, it would be strategic for the nation to create an ecosystem of factories, storages and logistics companies that move raw materials to factories and finished goods to markets.

He said, “We need to Use our fiscal priorities to create a robust educational system that enables critical thinking and creativity, which would better prepare our children for the world of tomorrow.”

To expedite favourable global competition for Nigerian businesses, the CBN governor called for the development of venture capitalists for nurturing new ideas and engendering local businesses.