Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote revealed that he feels Nigeria’s economy is not working.
Dangote, who is Nigerian, shared his thoughts on efforts by what the government is doing to transform the nation’s economy during a roundtable discussion with the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Dangote says Nigeria’s economic diversification program has been largely sluggish and elusive.
According to Daily Trust, Dangote also warned that the risks are huge if Nigeria fails to fast-track the diversification of her economy. He said: “My heart bled when I read that Nigerian Customs collected N1.35trn import duties last year. It means the economy isn’t working. If the economy is working, the customs shouldn’t collect that much money, it is the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) that should.”
The richest man also expressed concern about how the drop in the price of international oil would be affected. He added that now is the time Nigeria should diversify as the country can’t hinge sustainable development on just agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
Dangote while lamenting about the poor facilities that have lead to economic drain advised that the country needs to be more serious as we don’t talk about diversification.
