Ebun Francis| Africa’s richest man, and the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote on Wednesday called for more seriousness in handling diversification of the country’s economy.
Dangote who made the call while addressing participants at a consultative round table organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in Abuja, noted that he has been hearing about diversification of Nigeria’s economy since as far back as 1979 but now is the time to take things more seriously.
According to Dangote, more attention should be paid to the agriculture and manufacturing sector if the country is serious about diversification.
He said, “Diversification of this economy is very important. Since I got to Lagos in 1979, people have been talking about diversification of Nigeria’s economy.
“I think we really need this time around, be more serious so that we don’t just keep talking about diversification. It is possible but people are not really focusing on it.
“We need to find a solution as to how to make our country to be producing things that we consume.”
“Manufacturing creates a lot of jobs and transforms countries. These are the areas I think we really need to focus on.”
According to him, “We import almost every single thing that we consume in Nigeria. We need the sales industry.”
While dismissing the belief that the diversification of Nigeria’s economy is impossible, Dangote explained that it can be achieved through a joint effort of entrepreneurs and the Nigerian government.
Entrepreneurs, he noted, have a role to play in diversification of the economy by leaving their comfort zones and joining hands to boost the manufacturing sector.
According to him, the role of the Nigerian government, among other factors, is to reduce the cost of doing business and implementation of consistent economic policies.
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