By Kolawole Ojebisi
Nigeria has recorded the lowest level of Foreign Direct Investment ever since 2013 following its drop to $29.83m in the second quarter of 2024.
This is revealed in a data analysis made public by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) this week.
The NBS noted that that Nigeria’s FDI includes equity and other capital. Most of the FDI in Q2 2024 came from equity investment, amounting to $29.82m.
According to the NBS datacthe FDI dropped by 65.33% compared to the the $86.03m recorded in the same period last year.
It also dropped by 74.97 per cent from the $119.18m reported in the preceding quarter of 2024.
The ugly development has been ascribed to many factors by social commentators and Economists.
However, the most mentioned reason is the naira devaluation and an unstable foreign exchange market
Available data shows that the naira lost about 40% of its value in the first six months of 2024.
Reacting to this development, a social commentator, Karounwi Adini, attributed the significant drop in FDI to many other factors, apart from the devaluation of the naira.
Karounwi said the country’s inability to formulate homegrown policies as panacea to our peculiar economic problems by our local economists is frustrating.
He stressed that pandering to IMF model and neo-liberal policies will not improve our lot but it would rather worsen it as it has been witnessed in countries that toed similar path.
Adini wrote on his Facebook channel: “This is after removing fuel subsidies, the lifeblood on which running the Nigerian economy depends on, and devaluing currency, just to appeal to these phantom “Foreign Investors” to pour in their dollars.
“This time-tested IMF Model, that has bred poverty in hundreds of countries of the Global South, has been packaged by President Tinubu’s PWC/KPMG consultants who treat the country like a business that is expected to deliver dividends to its shareholders, as the next thing after sliced bread.
“Cut costs and overhead, hike taxes, and you’ll have more revenue to play with”
“The country has an option of believing in the ability of its own people to drive the economy, to train them, and enact policies that will ensure fair competition and reward productivity.
“Or, it can shirk its duty of training its people and expect “manna” from “foreign investors” who are expected to bring in money to drive growth of the economy.”
