Taking Bayelsa to the World and Bringing the World to Bayelsa

Taking Bayelsa to the World and Bringing the World to Bayelsa
 By Famous Obebi Famous

No doubt, the world is a global village. This axiom found very strong expression in the economic meltdown of 2009 which was triggered by the mortgage crises in the United States but which nonetheless affected the economies all over the world. During that season of economic anomie, reserves as well as market capitalisation in major stock exchanges tumbled and crashed. Nations like Nigeria with mono economies were the worst hit.

Today, however, things are beginning to look up for the Nigerian economy. Thanks to the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan which is focused on gradually diversifying the economy. Today the foreign reserves stand at $50bn close to the 2008 pre-crises figure of $60bn. Also the Market Capitalisation stands at N11trillion as against 2008’s N12trillion. The transformation agenda is, indeed, right on course.

Perhaps this is why here in Bayelsa State, Governor Seriake Dickson is replicating the transformation agenda by utilising the Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation as a strategic enabler to catalyse development and diversify the economy away from oil and gas to income earned through investments in critical sectors. The vision of the BDIC, according to the Chief Economic Adviser, Mr Tamunoye Alazigha is to protect and grow the wealth of Bayelsans and transform the state into a top 5 economy in Africa by 2020. At the heart of the vision, of course is the development of local small and medium enterprises into global brands. This is because in Nigeria, SMEs alone account for over 50 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product

It was, therefore not surprising that recently, the BDIC opened its South Africa office in Johannesburg to further leverage on the vast opportunities offered by the African market. According to Mr Tamunoye Alazigha, the choice of South Africa is informed largely by its large economy with a GDP of $577bn. Furthermore, South Africa easily passes as the most developed economy in the continent with world class infrastructure and strong institutions. This is in sharp contrast with what obtained during the apartheid regime. But of course, it was able to achieve this quantum leap through a special purpose vehicle, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa created by the government for post-apartheid reconstruction and rehabilitation. Its success is legendary.

It is in recognition of this fact that the BDIC which is modelled after the Industrial Development Corporation and other Development Finance Institutions like the Botswana Development Corporation and the Rwanda Development Board, is set to take the world by storm. Speaking at the cutting of the tape to mark the formal opening of the office in Johanesburg, Governor Seriake Dickson remarked that the BDIC was destined to become a behemoth corporation that would greatly catalyse the socio-economic restoration of the state after years of waste and mismanagement.

He stated that his administration was committed to promote prosperity of the Bayelsa people, enterprise development and attracting investment and capital into the key sectors through the BDIC, adding that African governments must, apart from political collaboration, also engage in business-business interactions to improve the lot of Africa.

This is no doubt commendable especially when juxtaposed with the fact that some past administrations in the state was characterised by massive looting and profligacy rather than seeking viable means of enhancing revenue. Indeed, the opening of the BDIC South Africa office is historic as no other administration had been able to envision such a noble idea.

Shortly after commissioning the office on Sunday May 5, 2013 at about 7.30pm, the Governor undertook a guided tour of the outpost in company of top government functionaries including the Minister of Finance and co-ordinating minister of the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who represented President Goodluck Jonathan at the occasion.

The Governor reiterated that, going forward, the BDIC remained the vehicle for promoting investment and eradicating poverty and unemployment in Bayelsa state and assured that the state was safe for investors. He said the era of solely depending on FAAC receipts for funds to drive development was over as the discovery of oil in Oloibiri in 1956 had not brought in the much needed development in the area. Bayelsa he noted was a land of limitless potentials and possibilities.

Speaking at the event, Dr Okonjo-Iweala commended Governor Seriake Dickson for the vision to establish the Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation, stating that President Goodluck Jonathan was greatly impressed by the strategic move to diversify the Bayelsa economy and create jobs as it mirrored the transformation agenda which was also based on economic diversification.

She stated that with strong reserves, stable currency and inflation rate coming down to a single digit, there was strong basis to diversify the Nigerian economy away from dependence on oil and gas to massive investments in agriculture, housing and solid minerals which will generate millions of jobs and create wealth for the people. She said Nigeria is rich in over 34 solid minerals which had not been sufficiently explored to earn income.

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,  who stood in for President Jonathan, remarked that the BDIC with the kind of passion from the Governor and the talents in the team was, no doubt, going to record resounding success and charged the Governor to set key performance indicators for the corporation in order to effectively evaluate its achievements and take remedial action where necessary.

Also speaking, the South African minister of Economic Affairs, Professor Nkize who represented President Jacob Zuma of South Africa stated that since 1994, South Africa has worked with developed countries to grow its economy and to fight what he described as the three ills in the continent: High Unemployment, poverty and inequalities in the society.

Prof Nkize said South Africa was a stable economy known for mining activities but expanding now into manufacturing and promoting economic inclusion and expressed the hope that the partnership with the Bayelsa State Government  and Industria Development Corporation would provide the basis for accelerated sustainable economic development of the Nigerian economy.

She said Nigeria remained a feeder of South Africa’s tourism industry and assured of the continued support of the South African government for the success of the BDIC.

Earlier, the Deputy Managing Director, Mr Tamunoye Alazigha had remarked that the opening of the office represented another building block towards realising the dream to restore the fortunes of Bayelsa State through aggressive industrialisation and partnership with the private sector.

He noted that South Africa has in the last two decades undergone major infrastructural development through the instrumentality of the IDC and that the BDIC has signed MOUs with IDC on funding, partnerships, capacity building and best practices and working with financial advisors to explore funding opportunities.  In his words ,’‘the partnership is a first step towards sustainable economic collaboration between South Africa and Nigeria  aimed at optimally exploring the rapidly growing industries vital to the continued growth of the state,’’

Mr Alazigha noted that the opening of the office was a signal that Governor Seriake Dickson was ready to take Bayelsa to the world and bring the world to Bayelsa.

Speaking at the event, the representative of IDC South Africa and Musa Capital Advisors, Mr Eric Langalakhi Mahamba Sit-hole and Antoine Johnson expressed satisfaction with the bold move of the Bayelsa Government to expand its frontiers and bring capital and operating solution to the state in key areas.

It will be recalled that the Industrial Development Corporation which has been operating in South Africa for about 72 years now was very instrumental in the post apartheid reconstruction process.

In his vote of thanks, the Chairman Fiduciary Board of the BDIC, Prof Lawrence Ekpebu described the event as very relevant as it represented a strategic move to promote the interest of the African continent. He said while Nigeria contributed substantially in nipping Apartheid in the bud, Bayelsans played a significant role in the last phase of the fight against apartheid which led to its eventual collapse.

Prof Ekpebu who also doubles as Vice Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Corporation remarked that Bayelsans, for the umpteenth time, are involved in the second phase of the rebuilding of South Africa economy and thanked the people and government of South Africa for providing the required incentives for the take off of the BDIC.

It is strongly hoped that the alliance with the BDIC would provide the required leverage to turn around the economy of Bayelsa and deliver the much needed democratic dividend to the people of Bayelsa.

Highlight of the occasion was the presentation of Prof Lawrence Ekpebu’s book; South Africa the fall of the last Empiral Outpost President Jacob Zuma as part of the contributions of Nigeria to the development of South Africa.

The event witnessed grand performances by Timi Dakolo, one time winner of the West African Idol competition as well as other cultural performances.

With the opening of the BDIC office, the stage is now set for Bayelsa to extend its developmental tentacles to leverage foreign private capital in order to diversify the local economy. More importantly, there is very little doubt that with the vast opportunities offered by the South African economy, Bayelsa and indeed, Nigeria is on the fast lane of socio-economic reconstruction and rehabilitation after sixteen years of waste and pillage of scarce resources.

There is, therefore, no gainsaying that Bayelsa State is on the right path to economic recovery and sustainable socio-economic development. Thanks to the economic foresight, entrepreneurial ingenuity and business savvy of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson who is determined to turn Bayelsa into a world class investment haven.