When discussing his charity work, Nigerian businessman Kola Aluko expressed his investment belief: that funds should always be put to work with a commercial, market-viable approach in mind. His words ring truer than ever these days, as the reports on Nigeria’s second quarter national revenue start to pour in.
Several experts from the continent and
international economic analysts have expressed a call for attracting
more offshore investment and this is where Kola Aluko’s advice comes
into play. The main driver of economic growth in the country has always
been crude oil production and this holds true in this most recent
report. There are, additionally, some industries that are relatively new
on the scene, such as telecommunications, which are providing a good
deal of welcome, yet unexpected growth.
Investment is clearly needed to further boost these
brand new strong economic domains but, as Kola Aluko stressed in his
inaugural interviews with the occasion of his charity launch, funds
pumped into developments without the proper thought behind them are
useless and will eventually dry up. What is really needed to underpin a
healthy, thriving economy is something akin to what Mr. Kola Aluko was
talking about: strengthening the infrastructure or those industries on
which other fields depend on.
It has not been a bad year, not even close to one,
especially considering the fact that the ripples of the economic crash
from 2009 are still felt worldwide. Still, concerns are growing about
the fact that, while it is still demonstrating stable growth across the
board, the rate is development is not as fast as expected. International
and regional opinion seems to be that commercial viability on an
international level, the kind of economic strategy Kola Aluko has been a
keen promoter of, should be one of the top priorities for the
government and individual businesses going forwards.
There is also a view that is gaining more and more
followers which says that the past success were not driven by an
inclusive growth program which would take a measured and comprehensive
view of the main picture. A dominant industry is fine as long as it is
backed by a solid structure of interlinking structures and Kola Aluko’s
favourite asset class, the so-called human capital.
To conclude, if the problems identified so far with
the Nigerian society’s approach to economic growth are to be properly
addressed, then they should be addressed with a business-minded strategy
that, as Mr. Kola Aluko advocates, will have the final result of
creating a stable, self-sufficient economic climate.
