NAN-HE-22
Inclusion
Abuja, Oct. 12, 2017 (NAN) Panelists at the 23rd Nigeria Economic Summit (NES#23) on Thursday in Abuja harped on the need for human development in order to achieve economic inclusion.
The panelists expressed their views at a session on “Economic Inclusion and Business Case for a United Nigeria’’ at NES#23 with the theme; “Opportunities, Productivity and Employment; Actualising the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan’’.
They noted that driving economic and inclusive growth had become a global priority and a way towards building fairer and stronger economies.
According to them, economic inclusion is essential to sustaining growth, building the middle class, raising national competiveness, and promoting social and political inclusion.
One of the panelists, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said that the government had embarked on social investment programmes to address economic inclusion.
She said that collaboration had been going on with the private sector, states and other stakeholders to implement the priority areas in ERGP.
ERGP is aimed at driving economic recovery, and ensuring sustained and inclusive growth; building a globally competitive and diversified Nigerian economy; investing in the Nigerian people-our biggest asset.
It is also aimed at building strong governance institutions to drive change. The goal is to run an economy with low inflation, stable exchange rates, and diversified and inclusive growth.
Also speaking, Dr Okey Ikechukwu, the Executive Director, Development Specs Academy, said economic inclusion and partnership with states didn’t depend on resources but on strategic framework.
He said one could be excluded by policy, incompetent by government, absence of infrastructure and one can be excluded by his own stupidity.
“Economic inclusion can only run on rail that have four pillars, capacity, sustainable infrastructure that is developed, political and social integration, and economic environment that runs on 21 century paradigm.’’ Ikechukwu said.
Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, a former minister of Education, spoke on how ERGP could be used to address economic inclusion.
She said government existed to be an arbitrator as it were, adding thatthe government arbitrates to ensure there was a level of equitable distribution of opportunities in order to ensure stable societies.
According to her, productivity and competiveness are key to achieving economic inclusion.
“Our greatest challenge has been the inability to organise our thoughts process in the way they agree these two factors of lack of productivity and competitiveness.
“Dignity of human life; putting premium on human life because human being will determine productivity the most.
“If we emphasise that every Nigerian matters, then everything we will do in terms of policy, institution building, investment both private and public will resolve around belief that every Nigerian life matters,’’ she said.
Abubakar Suleman, the Chief Financial Officer, Sterling Bank shared his perspective on innovative strategy and financial inclusion.
He said the benefits of financial inclusion would enhance economic inclusion.
“We started micro banking business at the beginning of this year, and within the first next nine months of the year, we had more than 700,000 customers that would have not been otherwise customers of banks.
“The most important thing is that why should government care about the economic inclusion of the people?
“The single role government should play is to ensure a safe and stable society where people can actually transact. You will not have that if people are economically excluded,’’ the official said.
According to him, if you cannot transact with the mainstream of the economy, then you are financially excluded.
“It means that the transaction you carry out, even when you are employed is not directed to the body of the main economy.
“Financial inclusion allows you to access capital, then capital allows you to use your labour to increase your productivity and it is only increasing your productivity that you have enough to develop yourself.’’
Meanwhile, the World Bank’s Global Index 2014 Report shows that two billion adults do not have access to financial services, of which 350 million adults are in Sub-Saharan Africa. (NAN)
CIA/EEE
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Edited by Ese E. Ekama