The Managing Director of Parthian Partners, Mr. Oluseye Olusoga, has called for greater productivity and an aggressive export of Nigerian goods and services as means of strengthening the Naira. In an interview on the sidelines of the just-concluded Nigerian Economy Summit, in Abuja, he said that the country had depended too much on imports which he said was adversely affecting the nation’s currency.

His words, “‘Nigerians need to be more productive. We need to focus on productive strategies.  If we do not produce, the country is going to be poor.

“Right now, the country has not been able to actually generate enough revenue to meet all its obligations in the year which results in a high debt-to-revenue ratio.

“Also, the country has a complex issue around how to rebuild infrastructure, and naturally we have to print money or borrow money to do all those things.

“If monetary policy and fiscal policy can come together, this will get us to be a producing nation and export valuable services. But as long we do not produce the turbulence of the naira crisis.

Speaking on foreign investments coming to the country, Mr. Olusoga who is also the founder of i-invest said that the nation needed to encourage foreign investors to go into the real sectors of the economy, rather than portfolio investment.

“We need to know if the funds are increasing the productivity of the country because if it is not increasing the productivity of the country, it is not different from rent-seeking.

“The government should engage with investors and create an environment that will attract foreign investors to the country. But such investments should go into productive ventures.

He said that his company has been supporting the Nigerian Economic Summit Group over the years because of the conviction that both public and private sectors must work together to boost the economy.

He said, “We believe that NESG provides a very good platform for government and private sector to engage, and for us to become an important institution, we need to engage and align with government policy.

“We have to understand government policies and for us to operate in Nigeria we need to understand the policy and be aware of how the private sector should be involved and be part of the policy decision.

‘‘The job of the government is to provide an enabling environment for the business sector to thrive and this platform is a very good one for us to actually engage and support that initiative of dialogue between the private sector and the government.”

Speaking on the theme of this year’s summit, Mr. Olusoga noted, “It is high time Nigerians came together and realized that the country belongs to all of us.

Earlier at one of the Breakout Sessions on Managing the Nigerian Foreign Exchange,  the Parthian Partners boss urged greater focus on exportation in order to generate more foreign exchange.

Read more:

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/11/only-greater-productivity-export-can-strengthen-naira-olusoga/

https://nationaleconomy.com/how-nigeria-can-boost-economic-performance-olusoga/