Economy
By Christabel Ejenike
THE University of Dundee Nigeria Alumni Chapter held its 2024 Alumni Day in Lagos on November 2, 2024 and many of the speakers at the seminar focused on the nation’s potential and investment opportunities in Nigeria.
Although the keynote speaker Fatima Aliko Dangote could not attend the event as planned due to the death of a family member, the robust discussions by members made the day a memorable event.
Speaking on the country’s potential and investment opportunities, Adeoye Adefulu, Managing Partner Odujurin stated that the first thing is to recognise that Nigeria is not the only place for investment.
Adefulu noted that although Nigeria has a lot of prospects, but it has remained in the prospect zone and that people are saying it’s not enough and it should be heard by the regulatory sectors.
According to him, the regulatory sector has an arrogant attitude towards investments.
“They have this we’re enabling you to do business attitude,” he said and advised that these officials should always do the right thing always.
In the same vein, Adeola Agubiade, Director Commercial and business development of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN, said: “We working towards partnering with local farmers and training them on how package their goods, move them to the airports, preserve them until there are ready for export.”
Speaking on “airports for exports”, she noted that Nigeria is an import dependent country and that FAAN is working towards changing that narrative.
Dr. Ibrahim Bashir, Director Public Health State House, Abuja, noted that alternative medicine can be an excellent suggestion, but policies need to be in place to regulate it as knowledge of the quantity of active substances are unknown.
He also pointed out that traditional birth attendants are active and stressed the need to invest in research on why people prefer them and bring out the good side of it.
He acknowledged that alternative medicine can be a potential investment opportunity if done right and made reference to China and their Chinese medicine.
Tamara Egbedi, the co-founder of Pacha-Mama Food says that opportunities come with excellence and that people should aim at improving their skills and stop blaming the government always for their failures.
Tamara recommended collaboration and partnerships for fund sourcing and warned that investments can sometimes be a deathtrap to businesses, especially in this era of instability of the value of the Naira.
5th October, 2024.
C.E.
Tags: Adeola Agubiade Adeoye Adefulu Dr. Bashir Ibrahim Fatima Aliko Dangote Tamara Egbedi University of Dundee
