From Our Correspondent
Abuja, Jan. 22, ’25 (TNZ) Vice President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu is working hard to make Nigeria an investment destination in Africa.
TheNewsZenith reports that Shettima made the remarks at the ongoing 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
The theme of the Forum is, “Roadmap to Co-create Investment Opportunities for Africa’s Frontier Markets”, according to a statement from the Presidency.
Mirek Dusek, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and Marie-Laure Olugbade, Senior Vice President of the African Development Bank (AFDB) co-chaired the session.
Speaking for Tinubu at the forum, the Vice-President stated that Nigeria was poised to dominate the global business platform with modernisation and robust investments.
“Serious investors can now take unfettered advantage of Nigeria’s growing investment climate to tap from the limitless opportunities in the country and the African continent.
“For 20 years, I have been in the Nigerian banking industry. I was a general manager in Nigeria’s largest bank, Zenith Bank.
“I grew up in that ecosystem. The President himself is a seasoned chartered accountant.
“So, I believe that Nigeria is ready for business, Nigeria is ready to embrace the path of modernisation with very robust investment,” TheNewsZenith quotes the VP as saying.
He, however, said that the nation might still have certain deficits. Shettima pointed out that Nigeria was looking up to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to address the challenges.
According to him, the country is having a huge deficit.
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“But we are looking forward to the AfCFTA and that involves investing in infrastructure.
“For instance, the coastal highway from Calabar to Lagos is the largest single investment in Africa.
“We are building corridors to the North and there is the West African gas pipeline.
“We are thinking ahead of time akin to the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said.
Shettima added that Nigeria is partnering with 14 African countries to invest in gas infrastructure down to Morocco.
He insisted that Africa was not all about tales of doom and gloom. According to him, the continent has woken up from its slumber.
“From DRC to Somalia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, Africa is waking up from its slumber.”
The VP recalled what Napoleon Bonaparte said about China; that China is a sleeping giant, but when she wakes up, she will rattle the world.
“So, Africa has woken up and we will take our rightful place in the comity of nations.
“This is because the trajectory of global growth is facing Africa. We are the youngest continent,” Shettima said. (TNZ)
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