How lack of vision worsened Nigeria’s economic crisis, by ex-minister

• Peterside, others task govt on ending recession

For Nigeria to overcome its current economic recession, the Federal Government must initiate policies and programmes to boost the confidence of investors.

At the 2016 Refined Investor Series organised by Fine & Country in Lagos, Peterside Atedo, an economist and founder of IBTC Bank, said the most convincing way to fix the recession was build business confidence.

Meanwhile, the former Minister of State for Works, Chris Ogiemwonyi, has criticised the President Buhari-led administration for failing to come out with a blueprint for ending the recession.

While delivering the 42nd Founders’ Day Lecture of the University of Benin, he said: “I do not know the vision of Nigeria so far, and one wonders if the current government has one. What does Nigeria want to be? We know the vision of Dubai, and Dubai took itself there. Does Nigeria want to become a tourist centre? Does Nigeria wish to become the food basket of Africa? Does Nigeria wish to become the information technology capital of the world? Or does Nigeria wish to become a combination of these or some of them and others?”

Atedo, who delivered the keynote address on behalf of the Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank, Bola Adesola, noted that the country was currently experiencing the worst of negative growth and high inflation.

“There is need for collective action by Nigerians, to make government understand that economic growth is not a right and that it cannot really happen because you want it to happen. You cannot grow the economy by destroying business confidence,” he said.

On his part, the Managing Director of Alpha Mead Facilities, Femi Akintunde, called for palliatives from the government, to ensure businesses remained alive.

The Managing Director, UACN Property Development Plc, Hakeem Ogunniran, said there was the need to bring back confidence. His submission received support from Vice Chair of Fine and Country West Africa Udo Okonjo, who called for the building of confidence through integrity.