The Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has urged the Nigerian government to use the opportunity presented by low oil prices to diversify the economy.
Mr. Dangote spoke Tuesday at the 11th edition of the Nigeria Summit hosted by The Economist magazine in Lagos.
“Diversification of the economy should be given priority, if we do not do it now, maybe we never will,” said Mr. Dangote, Africa’s richest man.
Mr. Dangote urged local businesses to source raw materials locally so they would depend less on foreign exchange.
“People sometimes underestimate the economy of Nigeria by simply looking at the FX situation,” he said. “It is not so.”
Mr. Dangote said local businesses can succeed under harsh conditions depending on the business model, noting that his local investments in cement, rice, and sugar have been a success due to his business model.
“Lower oil prices does not spell doom. In 1998, oil price fell to $9. There are opportunities in every ‘crisis’ situation. Once oil gets back to $80, we forgot about diversifying the economy. Now is the time to diversify the economy.”
The Group Managing Director of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, said policy reversals by government could pose a problem for entrepreneurs.
“Every business that has a strong base must have a niche for itself,” said Mr. Wigwe.
“I think it’s a great time to kick-start your ideas. It can’t get worse. It can only get better.”
Earlier, the Minister of Industry,Trade, and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, said the government was putting “a lot of efforts” to improve mining activities.
“The government can’t do everything but policies can be put in place to make things work,” Mr. Enelamah said.
“We should make the commitment to do the right thing as a government and as a people.”
