Lagos State Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has for the umpteenth time reiterated his conviction that Lagos is open for business, noting that his government is striving to create an atmosphere that allows businesses to thrive.
The Governor made this known through the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, on Wednesday while receiving the representatives from the Georgia House of Assembly led by Hon. Almaz Dagash at the Conference Room, Lagos House, Ikeja.
According to him, “We have the market here, the vibrancy is here, and everything, and the capacity that is here is humongous. Also, we have a population of about 24 million people, with a GDP of about $259 billion. It’s a lot of people with enormous opportunities.”
Sanwo-olu added that the country now has a federal government that is intent on changing the narratives; a government that is trying to do everything, stabilising the nation’s currency instead of the usual fluctuations, removing subsidies, among other measures. “Though it’s tough on the citizens, but the essence is how do we liberalise the economy, make a bigger economy? And for the first time in about 60 years, the country is doing a tax reform where we know that less well-paid don’t even pay an income tax at all,” said the governor.
As for the state’s efforts, Sanwo-Olu stated that Lagos is trying to liberalize everything and to make sure that all processes are automated, adding that the government is building a broadband network across the state to ensure that all the public schools, public institutions, have access to broadband, noting that the state has a portal that allows people to interact with the government and civic engagements.
While emphasizing the market attractiveness of the state, the Governor noted that though the state only occupies 0.4 percent of the land mass of Nigeria, it houses 10 percent of the population.
He also said that Lagos’ population is more than 12 African countries put together. “So if Lagos were to be a country, it would be the sixth-largest economy in Africa, after Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, it would be Lagos. But it’s not a country”.
Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the delegation, Hon. Almaz Dagash, stated that the essence of their visit is to engender collaboration; to ensure that the state’s entrepreneurs are trained, mentored, and have access to funds, which they have been doing for the past eight years.
“It is very important for the continent to harness the knowledge, the resources, and the abilities of the diaspora, because we can mentor, we can invest. We can also open doors”, said Dagash, noting that they have chosen to visit Nigeria because of the opportunities the country presents, not only to Nigeria, but the entire continent. “The people must admit that there is an incredible sense of entrepreneurial spirit, highly educated population”.
While responding to why it is always Nigeria, Dagash noted that it has the highest educated population, and very high achievements in everything they do. Yes, there are challenges, but everywhere you go, you will find that Nigeria is doing extremely well. Nigerians make sure that they make a difference, not only on the continent where they come from but even in the community where they live, which is key.
