My colleagues in the media;
Members of the media; and
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen;
My name is Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. I’m delighted to be here today to join in welcoming the Honourable Penny Pritzker, the U.S. Secretary for Commerce, for what is a very special, perhaps even historic visit to Nigeria, also known as Africa’s largest economy.
There is clear evidence that Nigeria has a strong relationship with the United States of America:
America buys more of our oil than any other country;
Many of our citizens have pursued higher education and professional careers in the U.S.;
We’ve collaborated on numerous peacekeeping initiatives;
We have a U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission;
Even as we speak, the U.S. military is lending us their expertise to help recover our precious daughters from the hands of violent outlaws.
We’ve also been visited in the past few years by various Secretaries of State and Members of Congress.
And when such senior officials visit us, it says “Your country is important to us” and “You are our friend.”
However, when the U.S. Secretary for Commerce comes to visit, it says “We see economic opportunities in Nigeria” and “We want to do business with you.” So I am especially pleased that Secretary Pritzker is here with us.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, prior to being sworn-in as Secretary of Commerce, the Honourable Penny Pritzker had distinguished herself as a business leader in her own right.
As an entrepreneur myself, I am particularly happy to learn that we have similar business interests. In her business career, the Secretary has been involved in the financial services, real estate and hospitality industries.
She’s also served on the U.S. president’s council to increase U.S. jobs and competitiveness, as I’m doing with the National Competitiveness Council here in Nigeria.
The key take away for all of us here, is NOT how much Tony Elumelu and Penny Prtizker have in common, but how much U.S. and Nigerian businesses have in common.
We’re already doing some business together. And while the Nigerian people are proud that our oil is helping to power the biggest economies in the world, we are about so much more than our oil resources.
We are about agriculture; telecoms; real estate and hospitality; entertainment; banking and financial services and much much more.
The era of brain drain is coming to an end in Nigeria.
Every day Nigerian diasporans are returning home because they recognize their home country to be a place of opportunity.
Everyday new businesses are cropping up and others are evolving to adopt the high standards of corporate governance well-established in the US, and other developed nations.
And every day we are increasing our awareness that the Nigerian and African private-sector has a vital role to play in our continent’s development. I call this Africaptalism.
And we are making real progress.
Our government has been focused on sectoral reforms, rebuilding our regulatory capacity and institutions, and investing in key sectors that drive the economy. The Nigerian private sector has similarly responded to these sectoral reforms and public investments with massive investments in the power, agriculture and financial services.
Next we will tackle the manufacturing sector, which at just 5% of the national economy has a lot of room to grow.
We need investors and partners and technical expertise to develop our supply chains, infrastructure and workforce skills.
And American firms and entrepreneurs can help us accomplish this and gain significant value for themselves.
This is why this visit is not only important, but also strategic at this time.
And it’s why I want to urge our business visitors, accompanying Secretary Pritzker, not to be deterred by negative press reports.
We in tend to march on towards prosperity.
And together, we can grow Nigeria’s economy while helping U.S. economic recovery. And growing Nigeria’s economy is what will reduce poverty and create jobs, and drive out extremists from our society intent on disrupting peace and stability, and the new Nigerian, and African, story of economic prosperity.
I’ll finish by saying, Secretary Pritzker thank you for your faith and friendship. More importantly, thank you for your business acumen and for betting on Nigeria, especially at this time. You should always bet on Nigeria.
I know we are all looking forward to hearing your ideas for increasing US- Nigeria commercial ties. So the floor is yours.
America buys more of our oil than any other country;
Many of our citizens have pursued higher education and professional careers in the U.S.;
We’ve collaborated on numerous peacekeeping initiatives;
We have a U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission;
Even as we speak, the U.S. military is lending us their expertise to help recover our precious daughters from the hands of violent outlaws.
We’ve also been visited in the past few years by various Secretaries of State and Members of Congress.
And when such senior officials visit us, it says “Your country is important to us” and “You are our friend.”
However, when the U.S. Secretary for Commerce comes to visit, it says “We see economic opportunities in Nigeria” and “We want to do business with you.” So I am especially pleased that Secretary Pritzker is here with us.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, prior to being sworn-in as Secretary of Commerce, the Honourable Penny Pritzker had distinguished herself as a business leader in her own right.
As an entrepreneur myself, I am particularly happy to learn that we have similar business interests. In her business career, the Secretary has been involved in the financial services, real estate and hospitality industries.
She’s also served on the U.S. president’s council to increase U.S. jobs and competitiveness, as I’m doing with the National Competitiveness Council here in Nigeria.
The key take away for all of us here, is NOT how much Tony Elumelu and Penny Prtizker have in common, but how much U.S. and Nigerian businesses have in common.
We’re already doing some business together. And while the Nigerian people are proud that our oil is helping to power the biggest economies in the world, we are about so much more than our oil resources.
We are about agriculture; telecoms; real estate and hospitality; entertainment; banking and financial services and much much more.
The era of brain drain is coming to an end in Nigeria.
Every day Nigerian diasporans are returning home because they recognize their home country to be a place of opportunity.
Everyday new businesses are cropping up and others are evolving to adopt the high standards of corporate governance well-established in the US, and other developed nations.
And every day we are increasing our awareness that the Nigerian and African private-sector has a vital role to play in our continent’s development. I call this Africaptalism.
And we are making real progress.
Our government has been focused on sectoral reforms, rebuilding our regulatory capacity and institutions, and investing in key sectors that drive the economy. The Nigerian private sector has similarly responded to these sectoral reforms and public investments with massive investments in the power, agriculture and financial services.
Next we will tackle the manufacturing sector, which at just 5% of the national economy has a lot of room to grow.
We need investors and partners and technical expertise to develop our supply chains, infrastructure and workforce skills.
And American firms and entrepreneurs can help us accomplish this and gain significant value for themselves.
This is why this visit is not only important, but also strategic at this time.
And it’s why I want to urge our business visitors, accompanying Secretary Pritzker, not to be deterred by negative press reports.
We in tend to march on towards prosperity.
And together, we can grow Nigeria’s economy while helping U.S. economic recovery. And growing Nigeria’s economy is what will reduce poverty and create jobs, and drive out extremists from our society intent on disrupting peace and stability, and the new Nigerian, and African, story of economic prosperity.
I’ll finish by saying, Secretary Pritzker thank you for your faith and friendship. More importantly, thank you for your business acumen and for betting on Nigeria, especially at this time. You should always bet on Nigeria.
I know we are all looking forward to hearing your ideas for increasing US- Nigeria commercial ties. So the floor is yours.
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