UK: Why Foreign Investors Are Hesitant on Nigeria


From Collins Edomaruse in Abuja, 11.22.2006

The United Kingdom yesterday said, President Olusegun Obasanjo's aggressive diplomatic shuttle to attract foreign direct investment into Nigeria, has not yielded the expected result, because the country has not put its acts together in the area of infrastructure.
British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Richard Gozney, who met with some select journalists yesterday in Abuja, said so long as the nation's energy sector remained comatose, prospective investors would continue to seek countries where they would spend less capital on the provision of energy. He argued that, following the global nature of world economy, competition has taken centre stage, insisting that "stable electricity" was key to industrialisation.
The High Commissioner explained that several investors have desired intelligence on the nation's state of electricity and often looked in the direction of the Asia and Pacific countries, for cheaper source of power supply for their industries.
On if his argument justified his country's arguably poor showing in Nigeria's industrial sector, Gozney said: "Britain is largely present in the oil and gas sector. Our traditional area of investment is going on smoothly, and that is oil and gas. BG (British Gas) has just come. It is putting in $1 billion in the country (Nigeria). We are also expanding our presence in the Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) at Bonny, River State. We are also in other areas of the oil and gas sector," he explained.
Gozney, whose interface with the journalists was to unveil the itinerary of the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, who begins a three-day state visit to Nigeria from November 28, also disclosed that his home country has raised what he called a common pot of 7 million Pounds Sterling or N1.8 billion to provide ancilliary services to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to ease the Commission's polling problems. He said the UK expects Nigeria to have a better election next year than what obtained in 2003, stressing, "We expect elections that are with less intimidation, less use of money and other related vices. We expect an election that will produce winners that will be sworn in on May 29 and the same winners that will inspire satisfaction in the minds of voters that those taking office are those that majority of the electorates voted for. It is important the transfer of power happens on May 29 and elections hold on April 14 and 21 next year as schedule."
He also stated: "It is important that Nigerians respect the referee (INEC) and the referee commands the respect of the voters. This has to happen because it is not possible to change the referee once a game has started," he added. Giving more insight into the visit of Prince Charles, Gozney said the monarch would have his activities centred around Kano and Kaduna States, where the British government has invested millions of Pound Sterling, to improve on girl-child education, increase immunisation against all child diseases and other health related programmes, that equally spread across the country.
On Niger Delta, Gozney said the region needs no foreign financial assistance but expertise, on how the large resources in the area could be utilised effectively. He lauded Governors Peter Odili, Jonathan Goodluck and Donald Duke of Rivers, Bayelsa and Cross River States respectively for their innovative developmental programmes.

Source: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=63902