KEY POINTS
- Nigerian banks create barriers to investment, says Jerry Gana .
- Accuses banks of weaponising forex and has stopped foreign investors, especially banks and investment companies from taking out forex.
- He has called for reforms to solve its issues and attract more business investments.
According to former Minister of Information, Jerry Gana, Nigerian banks have created unnecessary barriers that are discouraging local and foreign investors to do business in Nigeria.
According to Gana who was speaking at a press conference to unveil its forthcoming International Conference, ABLI, targeted at setting agenda for Africa, charged financial institutions over the role they play in weaponising foreign exchange (forex), and not creating a favourable business environment.
Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Gana, agreed that high exchange rates remains a major bottleneck to ease of doing business in the country.
The banks are better off. ‘They should be helping growth but they are frustrating things, and it is most unfair,’ Gana said, lamenting that that their actions is affecting Nigeria’s economic growth.’
Exchange rates blamed high and restrictive forex policies
Gana says Nigeria’s ‘bank gatekeepers’, or the banks, have turned into obstacles for potential investors who are unable to access forex while operating in a negative investment climate.
Nigeria’s large crowd, exceeding 200 million people, and its wealth of resources make it an attractive market, but investors are put off by financial difficulties and lack of support, he added.
‘Nigeria is a good market for investors, and if you invest here, he added, the return on investment is the highest in the world.’ The reality though is that the gatekeepers of the economy do every bit they can to frustrate investors,’ Gana said. And he called on the media to beg them [the institutions] to review their policies and see how Nigerian economy can grow.
Nigeria is currently undergoing economic challenges including the rate of high inflation, unstable exchange rates and decline in foreign direct investments, a development that informs the former minister’s remarks.
Gana said that if Nigeria addresses these critical issues, Nigeria’s fortunes would turn around, and investments would flow into the country again.
A project dedicated to raising transformational leaders for Africa’s future
Also, at the press conference, was a discussion on the next ABLI 2024 conference, titled “Value based Leadership Model for Africa”. Gana, as Chairman of the National Planning Committee, said the initiative seeks to grow a next generation of transformational leaders in Africa, in Nigeria in particular.
According to The Punch, Gana agreed on the need for the continent’s socio economic problems to be tackled with good leadership, and without good leadership such a country will fall in no time. The four day event slated for Abuja October 21 will feature leaders and experts from across diverse fields as they deliberate strategies of building a more prosperous and stable Africa.
With calls for policy reforms and an emphasis on transformative leadership, Gana’s message was clear: It is only when Nigeria’s economic gatekeepers turn away from self enrichment, to create an enabling environment for sustainable growth and development that the country can move forward.
