Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said Nigeria’s economy can be turned around within a few months.
Speaking to reporters at State House after the inauguration of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) by President Bola Tinubu, Dangote said the public and private sectors would work together to revive the economy.
The industry also pledged to have the private sector advise the government on the types of policies needed to revive the economy.
“This is where the public and private sectors work together. We will advise the government on the types of policies needed to revive the economy,” he said.
“The economy could turn around within a few months. Things will change quickly. We will work to change things for the better.”
Dangote’s remarks came after he condemned the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) hike in interest rates to nearly 30 percent.
Dangote, speaking at the opening of a three-day summit organised by the Association of Nigerian Manufacturers (MAN) at a banquet hall at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, called for new policies to protect domestic industries.
He called on the federal government to protect existing domestic businesses, especially manufacturing, by creating an environment in which they can thrive.
“You can’t create jobs with interest rates at 30 percent. Growth won’t happen. Look at the major countries in the West and East that are aggressively protecting their industries,” he said.
“Import dependency is the same as importing poverty and exporting jobs. Without electricity, there is no growth or prosperity. Similarly, without affordable finance, there is no growth or prosperity. Without protection, there is no industrialization. Ignoring these facts breeds insecurity, banditry, kidnapping and extreme poverty,” he stressed.
Dangote noted that industrialization is an “inevitable path” to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and human development.
According to him, manufacturing remains a key driver of the nation’s economic development and pursuit of self-sufficiency.
“It is clear that the strength of a country’s manufacturing sector determines its competitiveness in world trade, with 70 percent of world trade being manufactured goods.”
“I know that the Bretton Woods institutions have confused some of our economists with the word ‘protection,’ and some of them think it is sacrilege and a word that should not be uttered in friendly relations. But how did China, South Korea, India and other Asian countries become such powerful economies that they became a threat to the existing world economic order?”
“It is often said that if we protect our own industries, our country will become uncompetitive. This is a total myth. Quite the opposite is true. I say that unless we protect and support our own industries, we will not be competitive.”
“In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that Nigeria has all it takes to develop and sustain a globally competitive manufacturing industry. But to do so, we need to rethink our industrialisation policies. We need to look to leading countries in the West and East that are aggressively protecting their domestic industries.”
“We must similarly enact policies to protect our domestic industries and nurture them into homegrown champions that create the jobs and prosperity we so desperately need,” he concluded.