Wednesday, November 15, 2017 7.00PM / Proshare WebTV

TheGoddy Jidenma Foundation held its 5th Public Lecture series on Wednesday,November 15, 2017 at the main auditorium of the Nigerian Institute ofInternational Affairs, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos to discussthe theme “The Challenge of Economic Growth in Nigeria.” The event waswell attended by relevant stakeholders from various sectors of the economy.

The Chairman of the occasion, Mallam MohammedHayatu-Deen, OON, Vice Chairman/CEO, Alpine Investments ltd & formerChairman, the Nigerian Economic summit group, gave the opening remarks. Helauded the initiative and emphasized the importance of the event, urging allstakeholders to participate actively in the discourse.

The distinguished guest lecturer, Prof. KingsleyChiedu Moghalu, OON, Founder & President of the Institute for Governanceand Economic Transformation (IGET) and former Deputy Governor of Central Bankof Nigeria, took to the podium to deliver his keynote speech. He explainedeconomic growth as a rise in thequantity of goods and services produced in a particular country as well as anincrease in GDP.

According to Moghalu“Economic development, on the other hand, is more holistic as itlooks at factors like healthcare, infrastructure and the general standard ofliving”. He said “You can have economic growth without commensurateeconomic development and that is predominantly what obtains here in Nigeria,”The economist  espoused further that economic transformation occurs when acountry's economy begins to shift from an agrarian based economy to amanufacturing/service based economy. It is a process that is built on the backof strategic thinking.

Speaking further, helisted a lack of inclusive growth as one of the major challenges plaguingNigeria. “We need economic development and growth that is broad based but alsofounded on the productivity of labour. Diversification of the economy is anessential component of economic transformation. China remains a prime exampleof countries that have managed to achieve economic transformation, liftingmillions of its citizens from below poverty lines to the middle class. This clearly shows us that innovation is the bedrockof the economic development in a country.”

He decried thefailure of fiscal policy in Nigeria. According to him, fiscal policy in Nigeriafor the past 50 years has been focused not on the efficient and effectivegeneration and spending of tax revenue, but on rents from crude oil which hasusurped normal tax policy in imports. To tackle the myriad of challengesplaguing Nigeria, he recommended that Nigeria must establish an economicphilosophy from which its economic vision will be derived and set out a visionthat will drive economic policy and management. He suggested that the currenteconomic management should be overhauled.

Furthermore, from2019, he proposed that the Federal Government of Nigeria should establish aconcrete economic diversification plan with a well thought-out path to apost-oil future for Nigeria based on the emerging global trends. He harped onthe urgent need to create millions of jobs in Nigeria within a four to fiveyear period and establish a stronger public-private partnership to support jobcreation. He also submitted that the Nigerian tax authorities should follow theownership trail of Nigeria’s estimated 140 million mobile telephone lines tobring operators in the informal economy into the tax net.

He called on theFederal Government to cease all new foreign borrowing and highlighted the needfor the Nigerian Government to establish a hedging arrangement to manage risksof oil price volatility. His final recommendation was for the   Governmentto institute smart protectionism, which he believed would engender more rapideconomic growth, development, and ultimately – transformation.

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