‘Leveraging US markets to expand non-oil export’

The Chairman, Phillips Consulting Limited, (PCL), Foluso Phillips, has charged the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) to inspire Nigerians to take advantage of the market in the United States of America (USA), especially in areas where Nigeria have competitive advantage and global competence.

According to him, there is a need to go back to the drawing board for a total change in mindset with respect to trading with the United States, noting that effective trade depends on competitiveness of goods and services offered to the partner country.

He stated this at the inauguration of the 19th National president of the Chamber, Dame Adebola Williams in Lagos.

‘It is not about our government making money from this, it is for our people to trade their skills and capabilities and be paid handsomely for the global value they offer. Whilst we cannot manufacture competitively, there are SMEs that are excelling in their own areas, and individuals that are doing more where their talent comes to play. In the case of Nigeria, we are defining our competitiveness in unexpected areas that are glaring but not obvious.

“The challenge is for the Chamber to seek new and innovative ways to connect itself to this new world of trade and see how it can add value to the experience of those that are now actively operating in it, by offering support through linkages, advice, connectivity for access to the US through constant communication with the embassy. Whilst the US pursues ways to enhance its own level of trade with Nigeria, through the support that the Chamber provides to US businesses, such must continue to be reciprocated by the US to a differing form of Nigerian enterprises. It is time to go back to the drawing board and take on the new paradigm.”
Meanwhile, the PCL boss stated that Nigeria alone accounted for 50 per cent of remittances worth $23 billion to sub-Saharan Africa estimated at $45 billion in 2021, stressing that Nigeria continues to dominate remittance inflows into the region given the exceptional size of the Nigerian migrant base (an estimated 800,000 persons) concentrated in two key host countries, the United States (375,000) and the United Kingdom (220,000).

“Nigerians working in the United States, send about one third of the total volume of remittances to Nigeria, followed by the UK with 20 per cent, then Cameroon with 12 per cent and in that order Italy with 5 per cent, Ghana and Spain with 4 per cent each, Germany, and Benin with 3 per cent each, Ireland, Canada, Gabon, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Niger with close to 2 per cent each. I hope under the leadership of Dame. Debola Williams, the President of the Chamber, said that apart from the old ways of supporting trade, a much new context will be applied in seeking a much wider platform of engagement between the two countries,” he added.

Earlier, the Chairman and Publisher, Guardian Newspapers, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, said Nigeria has continued to grow the number of highly successful Nigerian professionals in the United States, across the healthcare, governmental science and technology spheres to mention a few.

She added that as of 2020 alone, over 3800 Nigerian doctors were licensed to practice medicine in America, saying that their remittances contributed to the global remittances to Nigeria exceeding N14.2 billion in 2021 alone.

“But no less important has been the calibre, dynamism and vision of the eminent leadership of this organisation throughout the past decades. I take no doubt that Dame Adebola Williams’ tenure as your 10th president with your genuine support, the sparkling examples laid by our predecessors will be fostered to continue to actualise the vision of sustainability, advancing Nigerian American trade, commerce, investments and cultural relations.

On her part, the National president (NACC), Dame Adebola Wllliams, said her administration would strive to boost activities and schemes aimed at enabling members of the chamber to package their products for exports to the United States of America.

She tasked the government to continue to expend efforts at revitalising Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to enable them to recoup their losses as global economies recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

She added that her administration and the newly-sworn executives were also committed to repairing the damages caused by the pandemic to the chamber and its activities.

“The pandemic has done some havoc on the activities of the Chamber so we would start by trying to repair these damages to close the gaps it created especially by resuming some of our physical activities.

“As a new team, we would watch, look at the policies and understand how they line up with what the government is doing and see how we can interface with the government by providing appropriate guidelines, particularly for the MSME.”

“Also, for the chamber, our top priority is aimed at encouraging our members with some of our many schemes to enable them to package their products properly for exports. They must see what they are deriving from being members,” she said.