The stage is set for the national discourse on Nigeria’s response to the coronavirus pandemic being organised by BusinessDay, West Africa’s leading business news and intelligence provider.
Tagged ‘A National Conversation: Mapping Nigeria’s Response to COVID-19’, the two-day digital dialogue scheduled for Tuesday, June 16 and Wednesday, June 17, with registration on-going at https://conferences.
The virus outbreak, which has ravaged economies globally, has exposed Nigeria’s weaknesses, necessitating a collaboration by leaders in both the private and public sectors on ways to save the country from its current precarious state.
Business leaders, technocrats and economic experts from across various sectors will, therefore, beginning from 11am today (Tuesday) brainstorm on the best fiscal and policy response that would provide clear directions and liberate the economy from the shackles the pandemic has thrown it into.
The digital event will address the front-burner issues as Nigeria reopens its economy as well as position participants to filter through the noise and take advantage of opportunities in the country.
Conversations at the digital dialogues will be led by luminaries such as Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning; Paul Collier, professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government and director of the International Growth Centre; Akin Abayomi, Lagos State commissioner for health, among others.
The digital discourse will feature nine panel sessions, four of which will hold today (Tuesday), with a fireside chat with Bola Onadele. Koko, CEO, FMDQ Group. The panel sessions include ‘COVID-19: How is Nigeria and Africa’s trajectory different from the rest of the world?’, ‘Governance and optimising Nigeria’s response to COVID-19’, ‘Mapping Nigeria’s fiscal strategy and response’, and ‘Global economic crisis: How deep and protracted will the recession be?’.
The second day of the digital discourse will feature five panel sessions that include ‘Fuelling economic diversification: Reigniting Nigeria’s energy sector’, ‘Nigeria’s education system in the era of virtual classrooms’, ‘Safeguarding the nation: Agricultural credit and national food security in an economic downturn’, ‘Investing in Nigeria’s future’, and ‘Success stories in Nigeria’.
Other speakers include Ibukun Awosika, chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Obiageli Ezekwesili, member, advisory panel, Nigeria Natural Resources Charter/former VP, World Bank Africa; Aliyu Abdulhameed, MD/CEO, NISRAL; Doyin Salami, chairman, Economic Advisory Council; Mansur Ahmed, president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN); Ofovwe Aig-Imuokhuede, director, Africa Initiative for Governance, and Philip Asiodu, former minister of petroleum.
Also expected to speak at the digital dialogues are Yemi Kale, statistician-general, National Bureau of Statistics; Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State; Charles Robertson, global chief economist, Renaissance Capital; Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, vice-chair, ANAP Foundation COVID-19 Think Tank; Sutura Aisha Bello, PPP component lead, UK Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), among others, while Olisa Agbakoba, senior partner, Olisa Agbakoba Legal; Frank Aigbogun, Publisher, BusinessDay Media; Chinny Ogunro, CEO, WellSpring Health; Tolu Oyekan, principal, Boston Consulting Group, among others, will moderate the panel sessions.
The programme is sponsored by CSCS, FBNHoldings, Hadiel, Jobberman, Nigeria Natural Resources Charter, Upfield, and Union Bank.
