By Temidayo Akinsuyi
Chief Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has urged the federal government to address the challenges of insecurity and poor electricity supply in order to attract investors to the country.
Speaking in an exclusive chat with TheScrutinyNG, Agbakoba said no foreign investor will be willing to travel to and invest their monies in a country that is insecure and lacks power to run their businesses.
“At a conference I attended recently, I asked the audience a question. I am going to Gaza where there is currently a war, to invest $2m and I need some partners to come with me. I looked at the audience and said, ‘Who wants to come with me?’ Nobody raised their hands, and the reason is obvious. Gaza is in turmoil, and it is an insecure place.”.
“So, if a foreign investor says, ‘I am going to invest serious cash in Nigeria’, people will say ‘Are you sure you want to do that with all the insecurity changes, lack of rule of law, with the situation in Rivers state? Do you really want to do that?”. The government should tackle insecurity so that the farmer can go to his farm without fear of being attacked by bandits.
Citing his personal example, Agbakoba said he alone has 10 generators for personal use owing to the worsening electricity supply in Nigeria.
“The second thing is power. Countries that cannot power up their systems will not be productive. As I speak to you, I personally have 10 generators. If I, as a person, can have 10 generators, you can imagine what companies like Guinness will have and the impact of the cost of diesel on their businesses. When the first, which is insecurity, is gotten right and the power issue, which is the second, is also gotten right, then you will focus on spreading prosperity.”.
“People are hungry. 133 million Nigerians are in abject poverty, and it is the business of the government to cater for these people. However, the government can’t do so if the economy is not functioning and the country is insecure. Those are three triangles that I believe if the government focuses on, nobody will begin to remember that the naira is falling,” he said.
