UGWUANYI@1: RELENTLESS QUEST FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS, DIVERSIFICATION & PROPOSED DIASPORA FUND.
The result takes time necessitating a need to think out of
the box. It requires doing things
differently. It calls for us to look within and search for how we can help
ourselves drive investments. The call by
Gov. Ugwuanyi for all hands to be on the deck extends to the Enugu Diaspora with
the attending benefits of those who reside in more economically stable clime…….Dr.
Udeh
Time flies as it changes from good to worse
driving uncertainties and unsettling known economic path of comfort and total
dependence on fossil fuel. A little more
than 20 months ago, Nigeria was basking in what appears today as oil boom of
$115 per barrel. The governments of
recent past were on spending binge, corruption festering jamboree; neither
thinking nor worried about the future.
Future to many was far into the distance, something not to pay attention
to, as the oil wells were flowing and never to dry up and global demand never
to slump. It was, indeed, a time of
blossoming relationship between Nigerian leaders and the led as money was
thrown at any and all problems in temporary measures to assuage the masses
while postponing the evil day necessitating this piece which focuses on search
for foreign investments, diversification and the possibility of Diaspora Fund
to the rescue.
As the evil days of crashing oil prices
approach, many were still engulfed in the political campaign promising change
in poison chalice bragging how they intend to zoom Nigeria to prosperity of El
Dorado proportion. However, one
governorship candidate, at the time, saw it differently. This candidate saw the bleak future and put
on a strategic thinking cap as he prosecuted his campaign. The good news is
that this candidate who eventually became the new man at the helm who vowed to
tow a path of seamless continuity to economic prosperity, pledged to demystify
leadership and governance, and above all, won with an overwhelming majority enabling him
to build up monumental political capital used for the peace and tranquility
prevalent in Enugu State today. In his
wisdom and his leadership sagacity, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi,
the Governor of Enugu State, decided to pursue relentlessly the quest for
foreign investment and diversification of Enugu State economy away from oil
dependence.
His Excellency wasted no time to fire his first
salvo as he laid out his plan. He
reiterated his quest in his inaugural address where he invited all and sundry
to help shape the new economic path for Enugu State reminding all that, ‘Aku ruo uno Amara Onye Kpataraya’. He appointed the Economic Advisory Committee
which upped the ante by engaging in detailed study to map out new economic
strategic direction for the state, highlighting the attractiveness of Enugu
State, the competitive advantage cum core competencies and why Enugu State should
and ought to be the investments destination in Nigeria.
Contrary to expectation, His Excellency yielded
not to pressure but appointed members of Diaspora community as commissioners of
two key ministries – Ministry of Health and Ministry of Trade, Commerce &
Industries. He appointed a cabinet-level
Special Adviser for the Office of Diaspora with directives to improve on the
benefits, relevance and relationship of Diaspora community and the people of
Enugu State. Looking closely, it is
observable that the alignment of Office of Diaspora and Ministry of Trade,
Commerce and Industry is not by accident, rather a work of a strategic thinking
administration poised for bigger things.
Furthermore, the disposition of the Chief
Executive of Enugu State prodded an opportunity last December to bring the
entire Enugu Diaspora communities together with Enugu State stakeholders to
exchange and cross-fertilize ideas for the mutual benefit and interest on both
sides in a well-attended event dubbed Diaspora Week. This event which was well planned and
organized by the Diaspora Office created a gateway for genuine Diaspora
participation in the state development.
And the effect of such intellectual gathering and its possible bi-annual
repeats go a long way to create synergy and boost the economic development of
Enugu State.
Also, the Diaspora engagement stands as a
bridge that bring together foreign investors and host country (Nigeria)
smoothing the way to mutual trust and understanding which propelled His Excellency’s
maiden European investment summit organized in Ireland which attracted
investors from far and wide, with promising delivery to Enugu State. The benefits of such gathering are maximized
with constructive engagement and interaction on constant basis between the
public and private sectors as well as investors. Synergy, which many hype in discussions,
could be illusive especially when there is no plan to achieve it.
Most importantly, the Economic Advisory Committee
powered by high caliber economists, technocrats and business and political
leaders went to work; part of their many proposals and suggestions is the Enugu
State Investment Summit which was dubbed ‘Oganiru’ kicked off with fanfare on
April 12th, 2016 with a diversification theme, ‘Beyond Oil: Fostering inclusive economic growth and sustainable
development’. Such encompassing
theme restated in broad terms the strategic thrust of the government of Enugu
State in their continuous quest to make Enugu State the welcoming home of
investors from all over the world. In his own words, Gov. Ugwuanyi stated that
Oganiru is a bold initiative towards realizing our collective dream of
repositioning Enugu State to meet the economic challenges of the 21st century. The summit was successfully concluded at
Okpara Square safely tucked between House of Assembly Complex and the Enugu
State Government House.
Of the numerous foreign investment
opportunities and potentials courtesy of the investment summit, one that has
taken immediate root is a whopping 11 billion Naira Private-Public Partnership
(PPP) investment project between Enugu State government, FIT Consult Ltd., and
its consortium, the giant Chinese construction firm, Shenyang Yaunda Commercial
Company Ltd. The HELIU Residences is
located on 132 hectares in the hill-and-valley part of the New Independence
Layout, along Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway.
It is an estate of 500 single family or twin family duplexes and
bungalows with 24 hour water supply, 24 hour security, serviced plots, paved
roads, street light, recreation club, shopping mall, sidewalks and parks. Each
plot is 750 square-meters in size and cost 9.5 million Naira - certificate of
occupancy (C.of.O) available in two short weeks. The housing construction and infrastructure
costs are estimated to be 7.5 billion and 3.5 billion Naira respectively. The consortium will provide the financing for
the project while Enugu State government provides land. This project has opened a glaring optimism
that the much needed revenue would come from the sales while providing
employment opportunities for the teeming population. See more at www.heliuresidences.com
As we can agree, the thrust of Enugu State
government policies highlight the inherent economic, social and developmental
possibilities in forging a lasting strategic alliances, cooperation and
collaboration between the Enugu State people and foreign investors scattered
all over the world. The actions, so far, align with and emphasize the
importance of strategically planned and continuous constructive engagement
between the governments of the day and local cum foreign investors. Enugu State
government is on the right track to meeting the challenges of maximizing the
benefits of showcasing Enugu in line with acceptable standard and best
practices. The current administration of Governor Ugwuanyi has gone beyond the
call of duty to do the needful as they invited all to feast in the growing
investment opportunities available for grab in Enugu State.
However, in present day Nigeria, with the
glaring economic difficulties and the strangling policies at the center, the
search for foreign direct investments is not going to be an easy feat or a cake
walk. The result takes time necessitating a need to think out of the box. It requires doing things differently. It
calls for us to look within and search for how we can help ourselves drive
investments. The call by Gov. Ugwuanyi
for all hands to be on the deck extends to the Enugu Diaspora with the
attending benefits of those who reside in more economically stable clime. There is no better time to take advantage and
explore the possibilities of joining forces in the march for foreign investment
and diversification in our dear state of Enugu than now, especially coming from
the private part of the much touted public-private-partnership (PPP).
In view of the above, the ball is now in the
courts of the Enugu Diaspora worldwide, as every individual, associations and
organizations of Ndi-Enugu in whichever country you are and operate – Americas,
Asia, Europe and other African countries, to join forces with the Enugu State
government to chart a new strategic path for the economic development of Enugu
State. We have said it many times that
it is better to teach a man how to fish than to keep giving man fish. Apart
from the usual charities and handouts, the Diaspora communities could attract
foreign investors to Enugu State. The call is for real investment that creates
jobs and employment. It is investment
that is not just profitable but sustainable and provides stream of internally
generated revenue to the government and the people of Enugu state for we have
the means to do it.
According to World Bank, remittances are an
important and fairly stable source of income for millions of families and of
foreign exchange to many developing countries such as Nigeria. Top recipients of remittances are India
topping the chart with $70 billion, China with $64 billion, the Philippines $28
billion, Mexico $25 billion and Nigeria at $21billion. It is said that the African Diaspora constitute the greatest
Africa’s offshore assets and the most indispensable catalyst in the accelerated
development of African home countries.
However, despite the sheer magnitude of remittances to Nigeria, it is
sad to report that there is nothing tangible or visible to show for it. This is akin to money pouring from the
Diaspora but ending up in the thin air of consumption with none being invested. Therefore, what needs to be done is to
redirect our thinking about the remittances we ship to Nigeria and reroute a
percentage to foreign direct investment in chosen sector of the economy in Enugu
State.
In doing so, it is important we explore the
concept of the Diaspora Fund, a private investment venture with a defined investment
destination. This is basically pooling
and pulling resources for sole purpose of investment in a chosen sector in
Enugu State. Diaspora Fund is to be
facilitated by the Diaspora Communities helping to dismantle hurdles that have
previously curtailed group efforts to investment in Nigeria. The Diaspora Fund is a business to be professionally
managed that contributes to the development of Enugu State as well as provides opportunity
for Nigeria Diaspora to plan retirement by investing in Enugu State.
Studies of Diaspora have shown that Diaspora have a permanent
vested interest in the welfare of their home countries decades after migration. This is based on presumption that Diaspora retains
emotional ties to their country of origin. Such virtue has been evident in the
charitable and philanthropy activities of various Diaspora organizations to the
benefit of Enugu state people. Also, these
yearnings for home and the desire to remain attached is a powerful emotional
force needed for the benefit of the people and could be applied to finance
through foreign investment in Enugu State. Diaspora Fund with elements of
transparency, accountability, trust, legitimacy, affordability and fairness
stands to tap into emotional bond of Diaspora and our home of Enugu State.
However, It is important to underline that the ideas of Diaspora Fund
is not going to be a pipe-dream or pie-in-the-sky investment of the past such
as the Mono-Rail type which was designed to fail from the beginning. It is not
land speculation to build a non-existing factory rather we are talking about
foreign direct investment such as building a brand new Cashew Processing Plant
in the Free-Trade Zone of 9th Mile Corner, it involves full and 100%
acquisition of any of the state assets such as The Hotel Presidential or Nike
Lake Resort and/or acquisition and completion of the uncompleted International
Conference Center. There are plenty that
can be done to participate in the economic development of the Enugu state. As I write, group of financial experts and professionals
are discussing, exchanging ideas and putting final touches to present a world
standard Diaspora Fund geared towards investment in Enugu State.
In conclusion, if we can agree that the former
Gov. Nnamani was “Infrastructural Friendly”,
and former Gov. Chime to an extent was “Diaspora
& Infrastructural friendly”, it is not far-fetched to dub Gov. Ugwuanyi “Foreign Investment, Diaspora &
Infrastructural Friendly”. Such is
in line with the experience in seamless continuity with the ability of
leadership to go against the grain in making tough decisions (retaining Office
of Diaspora) and the support to get it right by calling on all to come help
develop Enugu State, presented avenue for engagement between Enugu Diaspora
Communities and Enugu State Stakeholders, (Diaspora Week), embarked on European
Investment Summit in Ireland, and hosted a very successful ‘Oganiru’ Enugu
State Investment Summit 2016. I leave it
to you to contemplate Gov. Ugwuanyi and his capable team in their relentless
quest for foreign investment and diversification of the economy of Enugu state
away from oil dependence. The question is how can the Diaspora genuinely help?
Dr. Udeh, an adjunct professor at South University, a policy
analyst, social commentator, strategist and management consultant at www.espatsolutions.us, writes from Enugu
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