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2 days ago
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Editor's note: In this piece, BUA Group Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu examines President Tinubu’s two-year tenure done a concern lens, evaluating however bold economical reforms person shaped investment, concern growth, and the easiness of doing concern successful Nigeria.
As Nigeria marks 2 years nether the enactment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I judge it is important to reflect, not from the lens of politics, but from the position of business, of industry, and of the economy. I talk not lone arsenic the Chairman of BUA Group - 1 of Africa’s largest conglomerates, but besides arsenic idiosyncratic who has lived done the complexity of Nigeria’s reforms. I person seen the outgo of dysfunction, the load of inefficiency, but much importantly, the committedness of a level playing tract and the dividends of decisive governance.
Source: Twitter
Fuel subsidy removal
The removal of the substance subsidy is 1 of the astir important decisions taken by this administration. Before that, Nigeria was selling PMS astatine 200 oregon 250 Naira per litre, which was astir 25 oregon 30 cents. I uncertainty determination was immoderate state successful the satellite wherever substance was being sold astatine that price. During my travel to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj successful February this year, I checked the pump terms astatine 1 of the petrol stations arsenic we drove from Jeddah to Mecca. When I converted the terms to Naira, it was astir 1,500 Naira per litre. That was Saudi Arabia.
We could simply not spend the subsidy. It was not conscionable Nigerians who were benefiting from it. We were subsidising the full region. I retrieve visiting Niger Republic a fewer years agone erstwhile President Bazoum honoured us. During dinner, helium joked and said,
“Thank you for the subsidy.”He said 100 percent of each PMS consumed successful Niger was coming from Nigeria due to the fact that it would outgo them 3 times much to import. There was nary inducement for them to bring successful their ain substance oregon refine crude astatine their ain refinery. This was the concern crossed the region.
Today, I recognize that our substance depletion has dropped by astir 40 to 50 percent. It is not due to the fact that Nigerians are consuming less, but due to the fact that neighbouring countries person stopped tapping into our subsidised fuel. The PMS is inactive cheaper successful Nigeria, adjacent astatine 800 oregon 900 Naira per litre, but the logistics nary longer enactment casual access. Countries similar Niger and Benin Republic inactive instrumentality substance from Nigeria, but others person stopped.
The removal of subsidies was needed not lone to prevention the system but to guarantee that Nigerians unsocial payment from what is imported. Even if determination indispensable beryllium a subsidy, it should beryllium for Nigerians only. The wealth saved is present being channelled to infrastructure, to amended enactment for states, and to different developmental priorities. All the states are receiving much wealth now, and that has made a existent difference.
I americium of the steadfast sentiment that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the close decision, and helium made it boldly. On the archetypal time helium took office, helium did what everyone knew had to beryllium done but nary 1 dared to do. He acted immediately. Many criticised him, but helium did the close thing, and it saved the country. Had we continued nether that burden, lone God knows wherever we would beryllium today. I ever say, Mr President is astir apt the lone 1 who had the courageousness to instrumentality specified hard and indispensable decisions.
On the unification of the overseas speech regime
The unification of the overseas speech marketplace is different captious reform. Before this, galore of america successful the concern assemblage spent astir of our clip chasing overseas exchange. I personally spent fractional of my clip trying to get FX from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The CBN was the lone root of authoritative exchange, offering FX astatine astir 500 Naira erstwhile the parallel marketplace was 800 oregon 900. No concern could past extracurricular the CBN structure.
Every 2 weeks, we would spell to Abuja to question allocations. It was exhausting and inefficient. You had to campy determination for 3 oregon 4 days earlier Allocation Monday, waiting for the CBN to allocate dollars. Today, I person met the caller CBN Governor, Mr Cardoso, lone erstwhile successful 2 years. The crushed is simple: I bash not request to spell to Abuja present to get overseas exchange. The strategy is open. It is working.
This was besides a bold determination by President Tinubu. It was necessary, and helium took that determination arsenic well. We are precise gladsome due to the fact that contiguous we tin absorption connected our businesses. These reforms are redeeming the economy.
Fairness, sanity, and stableness successful business
Under this administration, we person seen a instrumentality to fairness and stableness successful business. We nary longer interest astir arbitrary shutdowns oregon politically motivated disruptions. Let maine springiness a existent example. We started a caller concern successful Port Harcourt 4 oregon 5 years agone nether BUA Foods, operating astatine the Rivers Ports nether a concession with the Nigerian Ports Authority. It was going precise well. One day, we woke up to a missive stating that the concession had been revoked, the terminal unopen down, and the lease statement terminated. There was nary anterior warning, nary issue, nary conflict.
Later, we discovered that the Managing Director of NPA astatine the clip decided to adjacent the concern simply due to the fact that our operations were competing with those of her friend. She wanted to impressment her friend. That was the lone reason. Today, that benignant of happening cannot happen. Nobody would situation instrumentality specified an enactment nether President Tinubu. You tin aftermath up present without fearfulness that your concern has been unopen down by an bureau oregon politician.
That stableness is critical. That Port Harcourt works unsocial has seen implicit 500 cardinal dollars successful concern and has employed implicit 4,000 people. The assurance this authorities has brought is real, and it is helping america program better.
I indispensable besides personally admit erstwhile President Muhammadu Buhari. When our Port Harcourt works was unfairly unopen down, it was his involution that saved it. I had the privilege of explaining the concern to him. He agreed it was incorrect and acted. He said helium would not licence injustice nether his watch. That determination saved the business. But the world is, I had access. What if I did not? That is the quality today. Now, cipher needs entree to the President to beryllium treated fairly. Everyone knows that if you bash thing incorrect nether President Tinubu, you whitethorn suffer your occupation oregon adjacent look prosecution and spell to jail. That is wherefore I tin present walk much clip focusing connected the concern and relaxing.
The President Tinubu reforms are creating a level playing field. Like I said previously, each concern had to lobby the CBN for FX. If you did not, your concern would collapse. Now, you bash not request to spell to Abuja. You conscionable absorption connected your operations.
Infrastructure arsenic a cardinal operator of development
In infrastructure, the quality is besides clear. Look astatine the Lagos-Calabar highway. Look astatine the Sokoto-Badagry road. Look astatine the Kwara projects we are executing nether the taxation recognition scheme. Look astatine Kano-Kongolam. Look astatine the Okpella to Kogi State corridor. These projects are progressing due to the fact that of the savings from the subsidy removal and FX unification. With much revenue, Nigeria is building.
These roads and others being built are captious due to the fact that logistics person go a large challenge. Transporting goods from Lagos to the North is precise costly owed to atrocious roads. Now, the President is addressing this. With amended infrastructure, logistics volition improve, and businesses volition grow. These reforms person enabled semipermanent readying and superior investment.
Source: Twitter
BUA volition proceed to stake connected Nigeria
Since President Tinubu took office, BUA Group has invested over 1 cardinal dollars successful the Nigerian economy. We are expanding our nutrient business, doubling our flour and pasta facilities successful Port Harcourt and gathering different successful Lagos. Demand is increasing. People are earning more. Confidence is returning. We person besides completed the archetypal POP plaster manufacturing works successful Nigeria, which is present operating, and are soon starting operation of a 30MW star vigor task successful Sokoto State.
In the lipid and state sector, we are completing our LNG task successful Ajaokuta, Kogi State. These investments are imaginable due to the fact that of the stableness that has been brought astir by President Tinubu’s reforms. We tin program now. The speech complaint has been reasonably unchangeable for astir a year. FX is accessible. Money is coming successful from antithetic sources, and investors are responding. If you privation 200 cardinal dollars a week for trade, you tin get it without lobbying anyone astatine the Central Bank. These are the results of bully policies.
On nutrient security
When I met President Tinubu recently, helium raised concerns astir nutrient prices. He wanted to cognize what BUA Foods was doing. I explained that his six-month tariff waiver had worked. It disrupted hoarding successful the atom market. In Nigeria, the atom harvest is abbreviated and runs for astir 3 months. Middlemen were buying paddy rice, hoarding it, and raising prices post-harvest. This artificial scarcity drove prices to arsenic precocious arsenic 110,000 Naira per bag. The farmers did not benefit. Farmers conscionable wanted to merchantability and determination on, yet immoderate radical were buying from them, hoarding it, and creating nutrient crises successful the country.
The impermanent waiver allowed atom to beryllium brought successful and milled immediately. The hoarders were chopped out. Prices began to drop. It was a short-term solution, but it worked. It showed foresight. I told the President it helped and that if the concern persists, further steps can beryllium taken. But for now, it has made a difference.
President Tinubu’s Nigeria First argumentation and backward integration
President Tinubu’s Nigeria First argumentation has aligned good with our ain content successful backward integration. Our cement concern is astir wholly local. We excavation our ain limestone. We usage Nigerian state adjacent though it is dollar-denominated. The lone overseas constituent is the equipment, and adjacent that benefits from authorities concessions for mining equipment, which everyone other successful the manufacture benefits from. If we had to import cement today, prices would beryllium implicit 15,000 Naira per bag. Nigeria does not person the larboard infrastructure to adjacent grip the import volume. Producing locally has saved the system and stabilised the sector.
We are doing more, and we volition proceed to bash more. Nigeria has everything—population, arable land, resources, water, and now, beardown enactment nether President Tinubu. We judge successful Nigeria due to the fact that the fundamentals are present strong. My proposal to each is to instrumentality a Bet connected Nigeria. This is the spot to be.
So, for me, what has this medication done right? First, it removed the substance subsidy, which was the biggest economical scam successful our history. Second, it unified the overseas speech market, and third, it restored stability, fairness, and assurance successful the economy. These are the foundations of growth. Nigeria is afloat of potential. With the close leadership, which we present have, determination is nary bounds to what we tin achieve.
Rabiu is the Founder and Chairman, BUA GroupDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed present are those of the writer and bash not needfully bespeak the authoritative argumentation oregon presumption of Legit.ng.
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