“Nigeria Has What it Takes to Transform Itself,” says World Bank Chief

“Nigeria Has What it Takes to Transform Itself,” says World Bank Chief

The Country Director of the World Bank Nigeria Country Office, Dr. Ndiame Diop has stated that Nigeria has what it takes to transform itself, adding that the success of Nigeria is significant to the success of the rest of Africa.

He stated that the country has abundant resources, resolve, and resilience that could be harnessed and advised the country to control its domestic policies.

Dr. Diop made these statements at the University of Ibadan while delivering the Distinguished Personality Lecture of the Department of Agricultural Economics.

The lecture was entitled ” Leveraging Agricultural Transformation For Sustainable Economic Development in Nigeria: Key Considerations,”

Dr. Diop, who has been elevated to the position of Vice President at the World Bank, submitted that the core elements of successful economic transformation strategies are leadership alignment for transformation readiness and macroeconomic stability.

He suggested the implementation of policies to increase agricultural productivity and the integration of small-scale farmers into the economic value chain.

He listed the enablers as education and human capital; connectivity and security; access to reliable power; access to finance; and trading across borders.

He also advised that the producing and the consuming areas should be connected through good roads.

The Chairman of the lecture, the Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, CON, spoke on the Renewed Hope Agenda of the government.

He said the agenda was aimed at inviting all Nigerians to accept that the country is not where it should be.

He noted that Nigeria had under-invested in all areas of the economy and stressed the need to address the situation to move the economy forward.

Senator Bagudu said agriculture is one of the key areas of the Renewed Hope Agenda to ensure food sufficiency, competitive advantage, and food security.

He assured that the government would revisit indigenous farming methods but leverage technology.

Senator Bagudu lamented that security is now a problem for agriculture because of the competition for resources between the farming communities and other land users.

He, however, assured that the Renewed Hope Agenda provides for occasional interrogation and search for knowledge, adding that the World Bank has been most supportive.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Kayode O. Adebowale, mni, FAS, fspsp, in an address read on his behalf by the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Oluwadayo O. Sonibare expressed the hope that the lecture will further elucidate on resolving the knotty issues for enhanced agricultural transformation and, by extension, sustained economic development that ensures inclusive growth and shared prosperity.

He reiterated that the University has always been in the vanguard of bringing the town to the gown to fashion out practical and workable solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting humanity.

He said the lecture was a further testimony and demonstration of the University’s willingness to collaborate with the town in solving societal challenges.