Many Nigerians go to Singapore today. Besides its educational system, one factor to which we can attribute Singapore’s attraction is its virile and developed economy. Is it feasible, within the lifetime of the All Progressives Congress mandate and Nigeria’s resources, to transform the economy of Nigeria to be as robust as that of Singapore? Yes. The Managing Director of Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, Ike Chioke, says it is doable.
Chioke believes, among other things, that it is a realistic target so long as the government gets everyone in the country aligned in the same direction, and motivated. He believes that the mechanics and details of how this transformation can be achieved should be the change that the incoming APC administration should think about.
Speaking last week at the American University of Nigeria, Chioke, with a career spanning more than 24 years in investment banking, reviewed the manifesto of the APC within the context of Nigeria’s current economic realities.
Highly critical of the proposed budget of the outgoing administration, he noted the pressing need for more capital expenditure in Nigeria and the lack of funds in the current budget to achieve these ends. He likened this to a parent who earns and spends all his income on frivolities only to borrow to pay children’s fees.
At the well-attended event organized by AUN’s Atiku Centre for Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Development, Chioke described APC’s proposed programmes as “noble.” These programmes include war against corruption, attainment of food security, accelerated power supply, integrated transport network, free education, affordable healthcare, devolution of power, and accelerated economic growth.
In dialogue with the members of the AUN community, Chioke analyzed the APC programmes: short-term, medium-term and long-term programmes. Short-term programmes, which represent quick wins for the incoming General Muhammadu Buhari Administration, include reducing the cost of governance, addressing leakages in the country’s public finance system, strengthening capacity to fight corruption, and passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill in scheduled tranches. Medium-term programmes address power supply, agriculture and food security, an efficient transport system, and social objectives such as housing and healthcare. In the long term, the APC promised to achieve infrastructure development, industrialize the Nigerian economy, and concretize Nigeria’s steel and minerals development.
Chioke compared the intended trajectory of the APC programmes with the development experience of Singapore, where the government of Lee Kuan Yew did not attempt to directly finance its industrial development, but focused on private sector and strategic foreign direct investment. He advised that the incoming administration prioritize the first item on its pre-election manifesto: War against Corruption.
He argued that the Nigerian public finance system is plagued by revenue and expenditure leakages that have made economic growth difficult: plugging the diversions could save Nigeria substantial resources to pursue economic growth and finance some of its policies. He stressed that for Nigeria to reduce corruption, top government officials, including the President and leading lights of his government, should lead by example while punishing offenders and continuously reorienting the citizenry to value integrity.
Subsequently, the government should focus on infrastructure development and address the power supply. On infrastructure, Chioke suggested four critical steps: increasing allocation of capital expenditure in the budget; creating an enabling environment to attract strategic FDIs; privatizing the rail sector to reduce the cost of moving goods and services, and rehabilitation of major airports (Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja).
Chioke ended his presentation by stressing the need to renew the pride of Nigerians in Nigeria. He argued that there is a social and human dimension to economic development and advises the government to seek the buy-in of citizens by giving them more reasons to love their country.
Chioke has contributed to the development of the Nigerian capital market in numerous ways, including acting as Chairman of the Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS 2020) Capital Markets Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria and also as a member of the Bond Market Steering Committee of the Debt Management Office. He is the current Chairman of the Enugu State Technical Committee on Privatization and Commercialization. He holds a B.Sc. Civil Engineering (First Class Honors) from the University of Ife and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, graduating with an M.Phil. in Management Studies.
Chioke has been active in helping the American University of Nigeria raise funds to help feed those fleeing the Boko Haram violence in northeast Nigeria.