Financial and economic experts have advised that investment in real sector of the economy must be explored to take advantage of the population as well as grow the country’s economic indices.
They agreed that the rapid population growth in Nigeria might be a blessing in driving economic growth only if the potential is harnessed.
Speaking during the panel discussion during the BusinessDay 2020 Nigeria Economic Outlook Conference in Lagos, Managing Director, Old Mutual Life Assurance, Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, said Nigeria should not lose sight of huge potential inherent in human capital for a country like Nigeria with such a large population.
As prominent personalities and experts continue to share insights and perspectives on whether or not Nigeria’s huge population growth rate is a blessing or a curse to the nation’s economic growth and development, Omosehin called for more investments in real sector to leverage population growth for economic development.
“Nigeria’s huge population of about 200 million people is rather a blessing. We have an active population that is attractive to investors. People between the ages of 15-64 years makes up 50 per cent of our population,” Omoshein said.
According to the panel, a quick take on exploring the potential of a growing population will be a deliberate effort by government to grow entrepreneurs in the country to address the issue of unemployment and underemployment, particularly among the youth.
“With the right policies, Nigeria can fully optimise the power inherent in its huge population. We need to focus more on youth entrepreneurship and support the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),” Omosehin noted.
As an intervention, Omosehin explained that the insurance sector has great potentials of enhancing a viable environment for engagement for the businesses by undertaking capital investments, while also implementing medium and long term insurance policies, which could support the SMEs.
“The insurance sector is capable of accelerating economic growth in Nigeria. According to him, insurance sector needs the right policies to become the backbone of the economy. With the right policies in place, insurance can encourage long-term savings and mobilize funds to finance critical infrastructure deficit in the areas of Transportation, Power and Housing to accelerate economic growth”, he explained
In his reaction, the Chief Economist, Development Bank of Nigeria, Prof Joseph Nnanna, aligned his position on the propositions and further urged the government to focus on investing in quality education, infrastructure, SMEs and girl child empowerment to enhance development and propel Nigeria for a double-digit growth.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Nigeria’s Prosperity Ahead 2030: Population, Data, Productivity.”
The Managing Director, BusinessDay Media, Dr. Ogho Okiti, had in his keynote address, emphasised the need for an extensive diversification of the Nigeria economy.
Even as the economy of Nigeria advanced 2.28 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2019 compared with an upwardly revised 2.12 per cent rise in the previous period making it the fastest expansion since the fourth quarter of 2018, as oil output grew the most in over three years, Okiti opined that reliance on oil might not be sustainable on the long run.
Source: newtelegraphng
