Nigeria is investment-ready; will beat U.S. to third-most populous country – VP Shettima tells foreign investors
The most populous black nation on Earth, according to Vice President Kashim Shettima, is ready for business and has invited foreign investors to take advantage of the opportunities in Nigeria.
Shettima made the request on Wednesday, July 26, at a side event of the ongoing UN Food Systems Summit, according to a statement from his spokesperson Olusola Abiola.
Shetyima asserted that Nigeria is far ahead of other nations in the region because of its youthful, active population and President Bola Tinubu’s program.
“We have the capacity of transforming the demographic bulge into demographic dividends, or it will be the demographic disaster that will consume all of us. Nigeria will surpass the United States as the third most populous nation on earth, and the population is young. The median age is 19,” stated the Nigerian vice-president.
In his words, “determined leadership and the support of the global community, we believe, as eternal optimists do, that there is hope on the horizon.”
Shettima also expressed optimism that the anticipated transformation could be supported by “building blocks that already exist” in Nigeria. He pointed out that these components include the government’s recent declaration of a state of emergency on food security, which transferred control of food and water to the National Security Council.
Shettima claimed that concentrating on agribusiness and realizing that private sector investment would be necessary to restructure the food system, with the government providing the enabling environment, would lead to an increase in investment.
“The success story of the value chain development programme speaks for itself. The programme has empowered 100,000 small-scale farmers to enter into engagement with some of the food marketing companies in the world, which enabled them to lift their families out of the poverty trap,” the vice-president explained.
“We have a president who has a private sector background and a vice president who is also from the private sector. We have a president who has the knack for selecting the best to drive the process,” the vice-president. “Be rest assured that the next frontiers for global development are facing Africa, and Nigeria will make or mar that transition.”