Former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has pointed out the lapses in the country’s economy, which he said is on the verge of collapsing.
Speaking at the Kaduna Investment Summit, tagged KadInvest 6.0, the former Emir noted the lack of innovation in the Nigerian economy, unlike in other countries of the World.
He stressed that many countries across the world were shifting their focus from fossil fuel (Oil), which is approaching extinction, to alternative sources of energy.
He explained that while other countries were busy investing in the different sectors of their economy such as Education, Nigeria spends only seven per cent of its budget in that direction.
“Globally, work is being redefined. 30 to 40 per cent of workers in developed economies will need to significantly upgrade their skills by 2030. What are the major drivers of this redefinition? A few of such are ICT and remote working which we had seen even here with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is increased automation and artificial intelligence. Very soon, robots will take over work in most countries and those who would have hob are those who operate the robots or manufacture the robots or service the robot.
And you have decarbonisation. For us in Nigeria, the enclave economy that we have, the so-called goose that lays the golden egg is about to die. There will be no eggs. The future is not in the hydrocarbons.
“A few months ago, Germany was able to produce enough renewable energy for the entire country’s need. Today, we are having difficulties selling Nigerian oil. So, not only are we having problems producing, even when we produce, the market is not there.
“So, this is forcing a change, and for us as a country that depends on oil, things need to change.
“Nigeria is ranked 114th in the global innovation index. We are lower than other African countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and Senegal. We are in fact ranked 14th in sub-Saharan Africa. I think we should have this reality check and know where we are as a country. Let’s stop calling ourselves the giant of Africa because we are the giant with clay feet.
“Countries like Kenya, Rwanda, and Senegal are ahead of us. I am not even talking about South Africa. Our expenditure on education is only seven per cent of the budget.
“We are spending less on education than Ghana; I am not talking about as per the percentage of the budget; in absolute terms, even though the Ghanaian economy is much smaller than the Nigerian economy, even though the Ghanaian government revenue is less than Nigerian revenue, Ghana is spending more on education than Nigeria.
“And we are surprised that industries are moving to Ghana. We are surprised that the Ghanaian President has become the leading President in Africa. We are not investing in education and human capital.
He further emphasised the need to create an enabling environment for skill creation for young people, needed for economic growth and development.
“We have a 68 per cent missing job requirements and the major areas being IT, communication and decision making. And the completion rate between entry into primary one and completing university is eight per cent, meaning that out of every 100 pupils who go into primary school, only eight come out of university. And out of those eight, nine per cent, which is one of the eight will get a job.”
While calling on the government to encourage market access, he encouraged the Kaduna state government to continue on its e-government plan, which he said will help address the country’s waning economy resulting from the over-dependence on oil revenue and poor innovation.
