'Nigeria Beyond Oil:
The Future,' a conference organized by ‘Inside Out with Agatha’
- Nigeria’s longest running independent television talk show – held
on Friday 5 August, 2017 to mark the show's 20th anniversary.
The event, which was
held at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos, was part of a series
of activities lined up to celebrate Agatha Amata as she steps down as host of
the show.
According to the media
entrepreneur, the theme for the event was inspired by the vision of the
former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who stated his
mission to create a ‘Delta state beyond oil’, and providing solutions
for disgruntled youth who feel that the government has not done
enough for them.
Giving her keynote
speech, the Special Guest Speaker, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija,
emphasized the urgency in the need for change, advocating for a
massive shift in the focus from crude oil to other
promising sectors of the economy.
“The federal
government and other Nigerian financial institutions that provide credit
facilities for growing businesses have to remove loan
conditions that continue to stifle creativity and entrepreneurship,”
Alakija said.
"Nigerian youths
have to avoid the prevalent get-rich quick culture, and other negative
values affecting the socio-economic development of the country, and divert
their skills to businesses with long-term potential such as agriculture,
ICT amongst others," she stated.
Joining a panel
session which included Folorunso Alakija; Muda
Yusuf, Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce; Tosin Akande, a
social critic; Shedrack Madilon, Managing Director,
Safari54; and Obi Buogo, CEO, Wood Designs; Uduaghan reiterated
his message that human capital development is imperative for
capital investment. According to him, this can be assisted with
strategic mentorship that helps youth across the country to
identify economic opportunities inherent in the environment.
Supporting the former
governor’s statement, Yusuf stated that current government
policies impedes foreign direct investment, pointing
out that the private sector should become a strategic partner in
driving investment that will pull the country out of recession.
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