NIGERIAN INVESTMENT DRIVE:THE NEED FOR STRONG INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

Nigeria is 51 and is on the march to economic recovery and development, her goal which is very ambitious is to be among the leading economic nations in the World by the year 20:20 a laudable and strategic step, if you want to evaluate our nation's determination to be a great and productive nation.

With the new economic team Chaired by Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Honourable Minister for Finance and the Vision 20:20 committee, President Goodluck Jonathan has shown commitment in repositioning Nigeria's economy to be among the World's best, through his new Foreign relations approach wooing foreign investors to increase the foreign direct investment flows into the economy.

These are laudable moves by the administration, because the classified 'BRICS' leading economies in the globe have a favourable atmosphere for Foreign Direct Investment from key Industrial Capitalist economies in the World, which has in turn brought about accelerated economic growth.

From the Vision 20:20 committee the need for Nigeria to attract increased Foreign Direct Investment flows cannot be over emphasized as it has become imperative for the Nation to engage in aggressive and robust trade relations with other nations on favourable terms that will boost and revamp the economy.

It is on this basis that the President Goodluck Jonathan Administration has initiated a new policy directive which means that any Foreign Multinational Company that desires to invest in Nigeria, should make their request and an automatic visa will be issued that spans for 10 years.

This new direction though seemingly strategic has some salient issues that have not been addressed, and Dr Kwame Nkrumah the Great African leader once asserted that 'Multinational Companies were epitomes of neo-colonialism and hence agent of Imperialism', he also went unto posit that 'Imperialism is the worst form of Neo-Colonialism'.

In the past ten years, since when the Obasanjo Administration inaugurated the National Council Privatization, that wooed foreign investment into sectors like Telecommunications, Mining, Oil and Gas exploration, Manufacturing, Beverages and Foods, Agriculture, etc we have seen various levels of investments from Russian, South African, Indian, Chinese,Lebanese, and French Multinationals etc in the economy.

The fundamental issue here is that though driving foreign investment is a good initiative from the government, it can be counter-productive if the Nation's Institutional framework and economic value system is not sound and effective. Invariably if the Government and Private sector driven through Investment does not have a common point on the direction and essence of engaging foreign investments through multinationals then the Imperialism of our Nation's growing economy will experience another dimension.

To ensure that driving foreign investment does not deviate from adding value to the economy, there has to be strong Institutional framework and policies that set the pace for the operations of sectors like the Oil and Gas, and Telecommunications creating more value in the system.

It therefore means that any Multinational Company that is seeking to invest in the Nigerian Economy, must be properly scrutinized, avoiding the unfortunate trend of casualization of workers and the adoption of unfriendly Human Relations which has been the trademark of Chinese, Indian and Lebanese companies.

There is no way a Multinational company can come into a country and Invest without assessing the level of the Institutional reform in the Political Economy of the Nation. This means if they see that the country has a weak institutional framework, exploitation and casualization of Indigenous workers, which is a form of Imperialism will be the order of the day.

But if they see a stabilized economic structure, the foreign investors will have no choice but to align themselves with the policy direction and avoid issues that have to do with Imperialism, which can be dehumanizing and incriminating to a Nation that is the Most Populous Black Nation in the World.

Nigeria is a Valuable Nation, not a dumping ground for Foreign Investors, or Center for Exploitation and Casualization. It is time for the Government to arise and ensure that apart from wooing and driving foreign investment ,Accountability, Transparency, and Integrity come into play in the way the Multinational Company operates.

Carlos Hlem the Richest man in the World speaking several months said that the reason he invested in the Colombian Oil and Gas sector was due to the effective reforms that the Colombian Government Initiated which was backed up with a strong legal framework.

Beyond the fact that Government has now initiated a strategic sourcing for potential investors creating opportunities in the Nigerian economy, the issue of a Value-driven Institutional framework is inevitable if we are to safeguard our people from becoming economic slaves in their own Nation, all in the name of a new Government Foreign Investment drive .

Ottoabasi Abasiekong
Public Affairs Analyst
[email protected]