Nigeria receives $67bn FDI in 13 years with opportunities in solid minerals

Nigeria has, in the last 13 years of return to democratic governance, received direct investment of over $67billion, Godwin Emefiele, governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said.

Emefiele, who said this at the weekend after he was conferred with the honorary fellows award by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos, noted that the United States Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) also confirmed Nigeria’s position as the top destination for investment in Africa in the last two years.

However, despite the impressive and consistent investment inflows, he said, the myriads of inherent opportunities for high returns in the Nigerian economy remain largely untapped.

The CBN governor acknowledged that Nigeria is endowed with an abundant supply of natural resources, providing raw materials for a broad range of industries, yet it has an array of under-exploited solid minerals including coal, bauxite, tantalite, gold, tin, iron ore, limestone, lead, zinc, and gemstones.

He cited example with the country having more than 80 million hectares of arable land, 267 million cubic metres of surface water available for irrigation and over 170 million people at its disposal. Of the total arable land, only 40 percent is currently cultivated, indicating potential for sustained growth in crop and animal production.

According to him, Nigeria offers a stable macroeconomic environment for investors, with relatively low inflation, stable exchange rate, and low public debt. The investment climate in the country is rapidly improving while corruption and red tape are being fought one difficult step at a time. Even in the face of security challenges the country has been confronting in recent times, he said Nigeria has one of the highest risk-adjusted returns on investment in the world.

“In view of all these, I believe that now is the time for investors to harness these once-in-a-life-time opportunities”, he said.

Emefiele acknowledge that food prices are dropping and present some form of vulnerability, promising to ensure that actions are taken to mitigate the shock.