The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, has stated that the real investors know that it is in challenged areas that vast opportunities abound.
According to him, the insecurity challenges bedeviling Nigeria will not stop foreign investors from coming into the country to do business.
Adesina said this during an interview on Channels Television, noting that the president is right when he said that Nigeria is Africa’s most viable investment destination.
He said, “If you were thinking like an investor, you will know that it is in challenged areas that it is best to invest. Because when you invest in challenged areas, you go in at very attractive rates because of those challenges and when those challenges are surmounted, you will then make a lot of quick returns on your investments.
“Imagine those who invested in telecoms at a time Nigeria was not even an attractive destination. We were under military rule. Do you know the returns they receive today, 20 to 22 years after? Because they are hard-core investors. They could see beyond the façade, so they knew that this was a place to go into because they saw the future. If you begin to see with the eyes of an investor, you will know that it is in time of challenges that you need to go certain places and invest.”
Adesina listed provision of infrastructure, ease of doing business and business-friendly policies as part of the things that the Federal Government has put in place to attract investors to the country.
“All the things that conduce to investments are being done in Nigeria. One is infrastructure. Infrastructure will promote and enhance investments. Another one is the relevant laws. Nigeria has been changing all its laws. Ease of doing business, you know how many steps in the ease of doing business.
“Policies that are meant to attract investors. Look at the PIA, you will see a potpourri of things for potential investors in it. And then our market. It is heavy (in) strength. A market of 200 million is heavy for any investor.
“Many other things that will be very good for investors, Nigeria has… in abundance. So, that is why the president has been marketing the country from Riyadh, an investment forum, to Paris, also investment, then to Dubai. The president will continue to market Nigeria.
“What I am saying is that investors see beyond now. They will know that yes, Nigeria has security challenges, but is that all there is to Nigeria? By no means! That is not all there is to Nigeria. There are other things in Nigeria which attract investments. They will look at those things and they will come in despite the security challenges, knowing that the challenges will not last forever. The challenges will be surmounted.
“Security is an issue that will be solved and that is why the president told the investors that ‘keep an open eye on Nigeria. Because these security challenges will be surmounted and we will get there’,” he added.
