Former Tanzania President visits Nigeria, gives post-recession tips

Former Tanzania President, Benjamin Mkapa, has commended the government of President Muhammadu Buhari for pulling Nigeria out of economic recession. Mkapa however outlined steps the country could take to sustain and consolidate its exit from recession and stay permanently on the path of growth.

Mkapa outlined the measures while delivering lecture as guest speaker at the 45th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday.

The former Tanzania leader, reputed for moving his country out of recession into a growth rate of five per cent per annum while serving as President from 1995 to 2005, listed technology as a very important factor in staying relevant in the global market.

He also advised Nigeria to:

1. reform business registration procedures to reduce bureaucracy so as to better the country’s investment climate;
2. Banish the scorch of official corruption;
3. Develop and maintain constant synergy between the government and the private sector, with the private sector as the driver of the economy;
4. Evolve good financial system, with a practical and transparent system of taxation,
5. Establish a mechanism for monitoring public policy implementation.
6. Develop “pillars of growth,” which include encouraging youth and women entrepreneurs and adaptation of technology; and
7. Adopt effective trade policies. On this, he advised that Nigeria as African Super-power must champion the review and possible exit of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU as certain components of the Agreements, e.g. reciprocity and equity are not in the best interest of Africa’s economy and regional integration.

Mkapa further advised Nigeria to use its power to reject the application by Morocco to join the Economic Community of Wester African States (ECOWAS) as it is a surreptitious and easy leeway for the EU to access West African market through the back door.

He also said that Federal and state governments should work more harmoniously to push private sector-focused policies that would produce more Aliko Dangotes, the Tony Elumelus and the Mike Adenugas.

According to him, with an estimated Gross Domestic Product of $405bn in 2016, representing 0.65 per cent of the world economy and almost a quarter of Africa’s total GDP, it was important for Nigeria to pause for reflection and assess its own economic history and profile so as to determine its impact on the manufacturing sector’s growth or decline, as some technology, especially robotics, were a great threat to the future of manufacturing all over Africa.

The former Tanzanian leader noted that the future of the manufacturing industry in Africa as a whole is very uncertain with the emergence of certain technologies such as mobile connectivity, artificial intelligence, next-generation robotics, and 3D printing posing great threat to the industry.

Mkapa however noted that “…..that Nigeria remains an extremely important economy and has a major role to play in the continent’s crusade for economic liberation, which…… can best and easily be achieved through strategic industrialization, with emphasis on the manufacturing sectors (in a way) that will help (Africa) increase her share in the global trade.”