Why Nigeria lies prostrate, by British ex-PM, Brown

Guardian

18 November 2011

Why Nigeria lies prostrate, by British ex-PM, Brown

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Brown, who delivered the Keynote Address at the first Rivers State Investors Forum organised by a group of entrepreneurs in collaboration with the state government yesterday in Port Harcourt, said Nigeria’s economy has the capacity to grow by more than seven per cent if it had critical infrastructure like stable power.

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Brown noted that Nigeria, with its vast oil, gas, agriculture and human potential can within the next 30 to 40 years surpass major European economies like Italy and Spain, if it invested more of its resources in infrastructure development, including electricity, roads, rail transportation and education.

According to him, “prosperity does depend on infrastructure and no matter how good the resources are, if the transport, road water and power are not there then there can’t be meaningful development”.

The former British leader pointed out that improvement in infrastructure accounted for one per cent out of the seven per cent economic growth recorded by Nigeria.

He noted that Nigeria would have done better if it had infrastructure at the level necessary for businesses and industries to flourish.

Brown urged the Nigerian leadership to quickly diversify the economy and pay special attention to the manufacturing sector, which is capable of generating employment for the teeming populace.