President Bola Tinubu says collaboration and inclusiveness are invaluable to achieving global food security, addressing collective challenges, and driving innovation across a chain of interests for a more stable and prosperous world.
At a high-level panel session during the World Economic Forum WEF Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Tinubu said capital mobilisation, which is needed to spur economic growth and associated advancements in Africa, could not be overlooked any longer.
President Tinubu and other Global leaders at panel session during the WEF Summit, Photo Credit: Abdullah Bello
The President posited that the continent was richly endowed, but that the diversity of its resources must reflect in its wherewithal and economic realities. “The capital formation that is necessary to drive the economy, agriculture, ensure food security, innovation, and technological advancement must be an inclusive programme of the entire world”.
President Tinubu, said “I am glad the world is recognizing the need for cooperation, and that with the type of population growth that Africa is experiencing; the diversity of its resources must be married with economic opportunity. We must collaborate to achieve that,” President Tinubu said.
Highlighting the steps taken to set Nigeria’s economy on the path of expeditious recovery, the President said he had to take tough, but essential decisions like removing fuel subsidy – with its attendant perils – and managing the nation’s currency, effectively removing corruption-laden arbitrage.
“Yes, there have been drawbacks. Yes, there was the expectation that the difficulty would be felt by a greater number of people. But, of course, it was the interest of our people that was the primary focus of the government. Along the line, there was an arrangement to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the vulnerable population of the country”.
“The currency management was necessary, equally to remove the artificial element of value in our currency. Hence, our local currency finds its level and competes with the rest of the world’s currencies as we remove corrupt arbitrage and opaqueness. That, we did. At the same time, that is a two-engine problem in a very turbulent situation for the government. But we are able to manage that turbulence because we prepared for this with inclusivity in governance and rapid communication with the public,” the President concluded.
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, commended President Tinubu for offering insights on how to execute strategic economic reforms.
“President Tinubu has emphasized the right things about what world leaders must consider primary in the execution of strategic economic reform. He said there is a need to ensure that reforms are accompanied by a human touch. The needs of people must be identified and catered to as governments implement tough but necessary reforms,” the IMF Managing Director said.
During the session, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, who was also on the high-level panel, said: “I am happy that the Nigerian President spoke on the need for inclusive economic growth. Africa is the stage for an expanding middle class. As the growth of the middle class in developed economies stagnate, Africa’s middle class is growing. It is our human resources and not natural resources that make our continent strategic and central to the global community moving forward.”
FRCN
