The high rate of unemployment, inadequate power supply and infrastructure deficit received attention on Tuesday at Ehingbeti as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the just-elected director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and other speakers advised the current administration to address these challenges to have the “Lagos of our dream”.
Ehingbeti is an ingenuous socio-economic apparatus that has contributed significantly to the evolution of Lagos State into a major economy in sub-Saharan Africa and an admirable megacity, with expanding potentialities.
The summit, hosted by successive administrations in Lagos State since the beginning of the 4th Republic, has consistently redefined the dynamics of public-private sector collaboration for development across social and economic indices in the state.
Okonjo-Iweala clearly said that successful Lagos is the one that creates modern jobs for its citizens.
She said Lagos, Nigeria and Africa should begin to embrace industrialisation.
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Given that Africa imports more than 90 percent of pharmaceutical products used on the continent, she sees this as a big gap and urges Africa to embark on manufacturing taking advantage of the 1.2 billion market, equivalent to China or India.
“One the most important things a successful Africa should look at is the demographics of Africa. When you have 60 percent of your population that is 30 years old and younger, then you have to worry about job creation. So for me, a successful Africa is Africa that is able to create jobs for its citizens and when I say jobs, I mean decent jobs,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
“In Lagos State, the issue of young people who are gainfully employed is important because if they are not, that would lead to so much dislocation and unrest,” she said.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is aiming at a common market and Nigeria and Lagos should take advantage of such a big market to make Nigeria not just a consumer sector but a big manufacturing centre that sends goods to other countries,” she said.
The new WTO boss sees digital, artificial intelligence driving the future of Lagos economy and urges the state and Africa to get on board or be left behind.
She said the biggest challenge for Lagos, the commercial hub of Africa’s largest economy, is infrastructure particularly for the future. She tasked the current administration on steady and sustainable supply of electricity, moving to renewable and green energy.
“Give them the basic infrastructure, let’s have some venture capital to encourage businesses to grow and create jobs,” she said.
Speaking at the event, Mo Ibrahim, founder and chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, said the Lagos State government needs to create a healthy environment for investors.
Ibrahim, who established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in 2006 to support good governance and exceptional leadership in Africa, wants Lagos to focus on transportation, waste management, security and bureaucracy.
“We hope to see Africa able to feed itself and others. We should be able to export food. We hope to see a digital economy. We need to deal with gender and ethnic issues,” he said.
