Posted Tue, Feb 25, 2020 8:49 AM

NESG Discusses Nigeria’s Future with The Next Generation at 2020 Social Media Week

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) hosted a panel session at the 2020 Social media week in continuation of its “Nigeria 2050: Shifting Gears” discussion which focused on the policy framework that can help transform Nigeria into a modern and globally competitive economy by the year 2050. The discussions focused on Human Capital Productivity, sustainable Peace and security, Managing Demography and Rapid industrialization.

Head of corporate Communications at the NESG and moderator for the panel session, Mr. Yinka Iyinolakan while welcoming participants to the session mentioned that for Nigeria to become an economically viable and globally competitive country, there is a need for Nigerians of all ages to partner and get involved in the discussions surrounding the development of the country.

Senior Economist at the NESG, Mr. Wilson Erumebor made it known that Nigeria’s population is projected to be 401 million by the year 2050 and that it will have an effect on infrastructure, social amenities, Education, Health and Food security. He mentioned the three scenarios that the NESG projected for Nigeria in the year 2050- as Nigeria rises, Nigeria stagnates and Nigeria fails. He stated that much work needs to be done to ensure the best-case scenario for Nigeria.

Dr. Ola Brown the founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, said that if Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is shared amongst all citizens of Nigeria, each Nigerian will get about 30,000 Naira in comparison to the USA where each citizen will get about US$60,000. She was of the opinion that for Nigeria to develop, there was a need to increase investments and exports. She stated that “Nigeria hardly has the money to finance its budget and there was a need to do more with less.”

Mrs. Titilope Oni, acting head of Think Tank operations at the NESG mentioned that peace and security were critical factors to the growth and development of Nigeria’s economy. She revealed that Nigeria’s scorecard was generally low in comparison with to that of other developing nations and that can be adduced as one of the reasons why Nigeria ranks low in Foreign Direct Investments.

Special Assistant to the Lagos state Governor on SDG’s and investments, Mrs. Solape Hammond stated that the Lagos State Security Trust Fund worked in collaboration with the private sector and that has helped to provide a more secure Lagos. Furthermore, she reiterated that the Lagos Employment Trust Fund is also working hard to empower the youths and it has trained over 7,000 people in empowerment skills and about 5,000 in employability skills.

Furthermore, Mrs. Hammond while responding to questions mentioned that the government recognizes the importance of Human Capital Development to the growth of the Nigerian Economy and that is why the budget for the education sector has risen to 12 percent of the total budget, which has marked a remarkable improvement from the past. She concluded by saying “as Nigerians, we need to do more to paint Nigeria in a positive light to further attract investors and aid the country’s development.”