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Without inclusion, Nigeria cannot achieve momentum required to propel economic growth — Okadigbo

By Ijeoma Thomas-Odia
26 March 2022   |   4:02 am
Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Sen. Margery Chuba-Okadigbo has said that breaking all forms of prejudices that constrain growth of our society will promote greater inclusion, accelerate business and economic growth.

Okadigbo

Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Sen. Margery Chuba-Okadigbo has said that breaking all forms of prejudices that constrain growth of our society will promote greater inclusion, accelerate business and economic growth.

She noted that without inclusion and opportunities for all citizens starting from the home, communities, schools and business organisations, it will be difficult to achieve momentum required to propel growth, prosperity, and make the economy more sustainable for current and future generations.

Okadibgo made the disclosure recently while delivering a keynote address at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Women Leadership Lecture Series held in Lagos to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.

According to her, “the United Nations (UN) has set financial and economic inclusion as one of the main goals in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The target is to achieve sustainable development, improve human welfare based on human rights and equality. This will encourage social, economic, and environmental development.”

She, however, observed that the Nigerian economy over the last decade has grown considerably pre-COVID, yet this economic growth has not impacted significantly on the level of poverty and economic inequality in the country.

“While recent studies on violent crimes and banditry in sub Saharan Africa is linked to unequal wealth distribution and exclusion of the most important demographic facet from the economic space, Nigeria continues to face massive developmental challenges, including the need to reduce the dependency on oil and diversify the economy. For us in NNPC Limited, we see this as a great opportunity backed by the PIA to address some of these inclusivity challenges.”

She therefore noted that skill development; financial inclusion, economic growth, social development and technological advancement make up key elements of inclusive growth.

“Skill development plays a key role in harnessing the demographic dividend, which in turn will depend upon the employability of the working age population, their health, education, vocational training and skills. Currently, Nigeria is facing a two dimensional challenge in skill development: the paucity of highly trained workforce and non-employment of conventionally trained youths.

“While financial inclusion is necessary for inclusive growth, it leads to a saving culture, which will initiate a virtuous cycle of economic development. Nigeria on its part have tried through its banking reforms to bring the largely unbanked population into the banking net as a means of catalysing growth in the largely untapped and under reported informal sector.”

On economic growth, Okadigbo observed there’s a strong correlation between inclusive and economic growth.

“Building on this twin relationship will trigger and harness for us several untapped opportunities. The local content act has seen key strides in the hydrocarbon exploration of our oil and gas resources of which SPE plays a key role. We have the Nollywood and the Lagos tech hub development as examples of recent ecosystems that have harnessed economic growth through Inclusive growth dynamics. There is a large list of women and youth who have leveraged their potentials in these industries due to inclusive growth.”

She continued: “Social development means the empowerment of all marginalised sections of the population like the physically challenged, the poor, and the underprivileged. This includes affording equal opportunities to all, regardless of social status. This can be achieved by improving institutions that service our social structures like hospitals, especially primary health and maternal care in the rural areas, schools, universities, etc.”

On technological advancement, she informed that the world is already on its fourth industrial revolution, adding, “The technological advancements inherent in this fourth dimension of global growth have capabilities to both decrease or increase inequality, depending on the way these technologies are adopted. I see opportunities for our gender to leverage on these elements of inclusive growth as a developmental platform to grow our economic potentials. I want to make particular reference to the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme, which is already deepened as a deliberate action in more inclusive nations.”

Okadigbo who is the first female Chairman of the NNPC Board, further stated, “As we walk into the next decade, we will be confronted by explosive population growth, and based on publicly available statistics citing Sub-Saharan Africa growth rate of 2.7 per cent, Nigeria’s population is expected to grow from the current 202 million to 400 million people by 2050.

“This will make our country the third most-populous nation in the world, forming a significant part of the population surge to be seen in Sub-Saharan Africa. The degree to which these changing demographics will shape the future of our countries is dependent on how we pursue inclusive growth.”

Highlighting poverty as a key challenge to achieving inclusive growth, she noted that it limits the ability of most individuals within the poor social net from accessing sustainable skills, which reduces one’s ability to contribute meaningfully to personal and socio-economic growth.

“Studies have indicated that women and the girl-child are the most vulnerable groups within this net, hence the family, is the smallest social unit for inclusive growth. As mothers, we want to see every child succeed, and for this to happen, children, irrespective of gender, social situation, or ability, need equal opportunities and support to succeed. Being inclusive in the opportunities we offer in our homes, and in our businesses, we are guaranteeing not only inclusive economic growth, but also a sustainable future.”

While observing that digital evolution is expected to shape our business and social life, Okadigbo said, “Creating greater avenue for inclusion in this respect will ensure individual capacities are bolstered to contribute to meaningful economic development. Beyond this, we need to add new impetus and vitality to accelerate gender equality, local content particularly in the oil and gas industry, which is still our economic mainstay as we seek for sustainable business and social practices for a better society.”

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