10 other high profile visitors we need to host this year as part of an ambitious foreign direct investment initiative titled Nigeria is Open For Business

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Barrack Obama

[2] Richard Branson

[3] Pep Guadiola

[4] David and Victoria Beckham

[5] Mike Tyson

[6] Lionel Messi

[7] Angela Merkel

[8] Usain Bolt

[9] Madonna

[10] Jennifer Lopez

[1] Our reality is that exporting primary commodities can no longer sustain us. We either attract investors to build processing plants to convert them into finished goods or we perish

[2] Apart from the capital, we also need the technology transfer because at the moment, we lack the skills to run an highly industrialised economy

[3] I take the view that what we need is a major event to announce to the whole world that it will no longer be business as usual. Maybe this visit by Harry and Meghan may just be the start of that process

[4] If you look at most of the world’s vibrant economies today, it took some major event or a Big Bang to get them going. It provided them with the proverbial kick up the backside, forcing them to step up production, accelerate manufacturing and pledge never to leave themselves vulnerable again

[5] For instance, the US quadrupled industrial output after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941. They went from being an agrarian economy to becoming the world’s biggest manufacturer of ships, automobiles, armaments, etc within three years

[6] China too has never been the same since Tiananmen Square. Faced the reality of massive social inrest and an inevitable revolution, the country decided to get its act together

[7] When I look at Vietnam too and the way they have turned their economy around since the US aggression and invasion in the 1960s, I just marvel at how a nation can get going once the will is there. Do you know that today, Samsung manufacturers about 40% of its phones in Vietnam?

[8] Japan is another unprecedented wonder. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is like they pledged never to get left behind again. Just look at the technological advances Japan has made since, especially in the area of automobiles. No European car company would believe in 1945 that the likes of Toyota and Nissan would out-perform it on the international market but alas, that is the reality of today

[9] Nigeria, as the world’s largest black nation simply has to step up to the plate and take the initiative here. Any nation that imports goods in excess of $5m from an African nation must be compelled by international law to open up a manufacturing facility there. We cannot remain perpetual consumers

[10] We look forward to seeing how President Tinubu leverages on this visit as it was a PR smash hit and unprecedented success. Maybe one way forward is to host another Festac in Abuja so the whole world can see that Nigeria is indeed open for business