This week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assured foreign ambassadors in Nigeria that his administration was ready to maintain open lines of communication and cooperation with their countries.
This, he said, is with the aim of advancing mutually beneficial economic opportunities across sectors.
The President spoke while receiving the Letters of Credence of the Ambassador of Angola to Nigeria, Mr Jose Bamoquine Zau; the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Nigeria, Mr Pieter Leenknegt; the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Nigeria, Mr Sevin Baera, and the Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Nigeria, Mr Albert Castelar.
In separate meetings with the ambassadors, the President emphasised the importance of strong diplomatic relations and expressed his willingness to engage with the foreign missions.
He told the ambassadors that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President would always be available to interact with the foreign missions and address any matter of concern.
“We will maintain an open-door policy,” he said. “We are ready to do anything that will make your stay rewarding and our relationship strong. Do not hesitate to bring up any matter with the Foreign Minister or my Chief of Staff; they will bring it to my attention.”
The President wished the ambassadors the best in their duty tours. However, the President needs to go beyond pleas and make the country walk its talk to attract investment inflows and facilitate the nation’s industrial growth. To achieve that goal, there is the need for the government to step up its policy implementation in the areas of infrastructure development and promote strict regulatory measures that would help protect businesses operating in Nigeria.
The government needs to create an enabling environment for investments to thrive. Essentially, the government needs to create an enabling environment for businesses to invest in Nigeria because the country has a large market and we need to maximise that opportunity.
For Nigeria to attract foreign investments, it must create the right environment and appropriate fiscal incentives to out-compete currently preferred destinations of foreign capital like China, India and Vietnam, among others.
Investors gear their investments toward economies where they have the highest potential for profit and the least risk. As such, the dent of the social unrest to the image and perceived risk of long-term capital investment would mean that the country will struggle to attract the much-desired long-term finance needed for accelerated growth and enhanced job opportunities.
Of course, a few other things Nigeria can do to boost foreign investments include making the process of governance open, transparent and honest to investors. Businesses need easy access to ports, an adequate and reliable supply of energy and relative certainty that the country will be good to invest in just as the existence of good institutions also attracts investment.
The Tinubu-led government should encourage partnerships between foreign and local businesses. Foreign firms might be familiar with global good business practices, but local firms will be more familiar with the indigenous context. This synergy could be very beneficial for the country.
No doubt, it is also critical that Nigeria gets its state governments involved in the bid to attract foreign investment. Thankfully, there are many states in Nigeria, and these states all have their unique opportunities, challenges and advantages.
Nigeria should also tap into its huge diaspora. There are many Nigerians living outside the country who understand its challenges. They should be encouraged to help or asked to work with their networks to invest in the country.
In the end, as the President has said, other countries and their citizens are valuable partners to Nigeria and Nigerians, and we need their support. We have a crucial resource, population, in Nigeria as one out of every five black persons is a Nigerian. Thus, “we must stimulate our economy,” the President said. “If Nigeria succeeds, Africa succeeds. This government is promoting a lot of reforms and it is committed to improving the ease of doing business.”
