The senior adviser of Lazard, who is also the Gavi board chair, has said it took Dubai over 30 years to attain true diversification, drawing lessons for Africa.

“We need to look at the area of diversification. We ask ourselves, all the time, we talk about diversification, but I think we are a little bit lazy in the way we talk about it,” she said in an interview with Africa CEO forum.

“Diversification cannot happen over four years. Look at Dubai; it took Dubai more than three decades. Now all of us are rushing there to go and do business, to go for medical check up, to go and enjoy ourselves.
“They didn’t do this overnight, they began to think about it years ago, and it took them three decades. So African countries must get serious and say now, what are the logistics? What is the infrastructure?

“What do we need and how do we concretely start one sector at a time to diversify so that we can have an economy that is less dependent.”
She highlighted the need for African countries to go beyond talking to specialising and improving on industrialisation.

“The next question is industrialisation and trade. How do we attract more manufacturing into our countries and also specialise in our trade. The trade among us is so little, anywhere from 12 to 16 percent, has not been growing much over the years.

“We are all producing the same thing, so quite apart from the logistical problems that confront trade, we have to ask ourselves, are we going to sell each other the same trade? The answer is no.

“Our trade will never grow as long as we don’t specialise among ourselves, and that means that some of us have to get into manufacturing, we have to industrialise more, so that we can send different goods to different countries. These are areas where we need to do deep thinking, not just talking.”

These are areas where we need to do deep thinking, not just talking.”

mamabomboy:
www.sunnewsonline.com/africa-lazy-about-diversification-okonjo-iweala/

Look at Dubai; it took Dubai more than three decades........“They didn’t do this overnight,

“Our trade will never grow as long as we don’t specialise among ourselves, and that means that some of us have to get into manufacturing, we have to industrialise more, so that we can send different goods to different countries.

modath:




Does this woman even reflect before saying this damning things?

modath:




Does this woman even reflect before saying this damning things?

modath:




Does this woman even reflect before saying this damning things?

cktheluckyman:


Are you sure you fully understood the point she is trying to make?

modath:



Does this woman even reflect before saying this damning things?

cckris:

Mo, are you sure you're a Nigerian? Or even African?

ganisucks:
I just love this woman. You can search the entire length and breadth of APC Yorubaland and you won't find one woman there who can hold her ground like NOI

Standing5:
Lyrical heavy weight. Keep the lyrics flowing. Same minister who help us saved under OBJ held deplete same reserve under IB-GEJ.

Babacele:
she is indicting herself and GEJ.

These are areas where we need to do deep thinking, not just talking.

bayelsaowei:
ThIs woman sha. ..I always respect her...so many allegations against her but yet no efcc arrest....I must have to believe that this woman really was cautious and really a financial manager....

I know she is one person who would forever support true federalism...she is so exposed to international politics and financial management. ..

Madam NGO....The mallam we have as president can not think beyond oil...He would rather die than see to it that our economy is diversified through a major restructuring of Nigeria. ..

obailala:
You just accused the mallam of not diversifying after spending only 1 year in a famine. But you praise and worship the ones who spent 16 years (of which the last 7 years was characterised with plenty), but they kept depending solely on 1 product (oil) and couldnt do anything to diversify. They couldnt even build a single modular refinery or at least repair the old ones. They also spent 16 years without doing anything to restructure; meanwhile out of these 16 years, NOI was minister for up to 12 years; and some smart ass now thinks the mallam is bad for not diversifying in 1 year, even though NOI has just pointed out that it took Dubai 30 years to diversify and get to where it is today.

With the above, do you still think that thing you wrote up there makes any bit of sense?... It might probably make enough sense for people within your level of reasoning, enough sense for you to get some like minds toss a few 'likes' at you.

mamabomboy:
“What do we need and how do we concretely start one sector at a time to diversify so that we can have an economy that is less dependent.” She highlighted.

ganisucks:
[s] just love this woman. You can search the entire length and breadth of APC Yorubaland and you won't find one woman there who can hold her ground like NOI[/s]

bayelsaowei:
guy....This woman has always been a proponent of all that will take to ensure our economy is diversified. ...have you forgotten she wasn't the president of Nigeria and also not part of the Nass .....could she on her own had enforced templates to drive diversification. ...could she on her own had enshrined true federalism....


Make u get sense na...The woman as a person has got her own personal conviction which all northern leaders put together would forever run away from....


Nonsense....

obailala:
Go back and read your previous comment, you are the one who tried to compare the woman with Buhari. But now you know she wasnt the president.

You started by insulting the president that he cant think beyond oil, I only reminded you that it was too early to pass such judgement. After only 1 year, if you think buhari is so useless in terms of thinking only about oil, then the past regime was 5 times more useless for also also thinking about only oil and putting the nation in its present predicaments.

bayelsaowei:
guy....This woman has always been a proponent of all that will take to ensure our economy is diversified. ...have you forgotten she wasn't the president of Nigeria and also not part of the Nass .....could she on her own had enforced templates to drive diversification. ...could she on her own had enshrined true federalism....


Make u get sense na...The woman as a person has got her own personal conviction which all northern leaders put together would forever run away from....


Nonsense....

wirinet:


Which proponent of diversification? She was finance minister of Nigeria for about 10 years for God sake, what diversification policy did she propose? She was the person who was suppose the formulate the revenue generating policies of the country but what did she do? She was granting waivers up and down, killing local industries. She even granted waivers on such mundane items like rice and vehicles.Then her other "diversification" policy is to mouth savings, without doing anything to get the federal government to save. She was more obsessed to saving the revenue due to the governors. i do not know where saving became a diversification policy.

Justiyke4u:
Diversification is happening already by the exploration of oil in more regions