Exiting Multinationals Opportunistic, Nigerian Firms Have Risk Appetite — Soludo
Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, says indigenous Nigerian companies have higher risk appetite than foreign investors and multinationals.
The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) described foreign companies exiting the country as “opportunistic” firms that jump from one country to another “the day they have itchy feet”.
Soludo spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at the maiden edition of the Abuja Business and Investment Summit organised by the Abuja Investment Company Limited.
He said the “government must learn to derisk certain strategic investment for the private sector” as indigenous “nationals have higher risk appetite to invest in Nigeria”.
The ex-governor of the apex bank spoke on the theme of the event, ‘Optimising Investment Through Partnerships’. The event also has the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and other dignitaries in attendance.
“Dear friends, there is what we call the new mercantilism and pseudo-nationalism; it’s both a threat and an opportunity. In today’s world, in many countries, new nationalism is back. Economic nationalism is back, new mercantilism is back,” Soludo said.
“People are saying ‘America first’. We must be intentional, the agenda of ‘Nigeria first’ as a philosophy is something that we must mainstream. This will require us to intentionally nurture national champions for sustainability.
“If you see the companies that have pulled out of Nigeria, how many of them happen to be national companies? None. The day they have itchy feet, they jump to the next one (country), they are very opportunistic. extremely opportunistic, no emotions to it. So, for long-term sustainability, we must nurture the domestic capital and build them.”
