Sir: Long before the recent visit of Adeyemo, the Nigerian-born top American technocrat to engage in an interactive session with students of the Lagos Business School, yours truly had serially campaigned through my opinion essays, that it was high time our political leaders institute an annual forum to brain-storm with Nigeria’s best of brains. That should span different areas of requisite knowledge.

We should look beyond Adeyemo’s visit being misconstrued as influenced by President Biden and the United States government, surreptitiously to gain more influence on the country, with the aim to keep China away, with its expanding economy, as insinuated by some analysts are the lessons to be gleaned from his visit and the discourse.

Worthy of note is that Adeyemo reminded the students that Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and will be the fourth most populous country in the world by 2050. He also recognises the fact that he is a child of the diaspora, who has risen to become the U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, in a journey of more than four decades ago, noting that Nigerians are:”A people filled with so much potential but with too few opportunities.” But why is this so? That is the million-naira question begging for credible answers.

This is a statement of fact but millions of Nigerians keep stewing in the ignoble miasma of poverty because they lack access to quality healthcare delivery, clean and safe water as well as that of impactful and life-changing education. The obvious lack of the enabling environment for small and medium scale businesses to thrive has over the decades been exacerbated by the subsisting infrastructural deficit and the centripetal, bloated government structure.
Ayo Oyoze Baje

Adeyemo is however, ready to offer hope as he reiterates that Nigeria’s greatest resource is not oil, but the Nigerian people listing those who have built leading companies around the world such as the Dangote Group, Globacom, and Zenith Bank. He mentioned Wole Soyinka to Chinua Achebe as those who have made significant contributions to culture while also noting that Nigerian music and films have become global phenomenon.

Adeyemo emphasised the crying need for the protection of the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system. “The cowardly kidnapper, corrupt official, and fraudster all are seeking to launder their money. Taking steps to make your banking system more secure will help reduce the ability of criminals, terrorists, and others to illicitly use the Nigerian financial system.”

The onus, therefore, lies on President Tinubu government to muster the political will to ensure that the benefits of agreements reached with the United States are neither politicised nor exclude the poorest of the poor, the sick and the ignorant members of the Nigerian society.

Ayo Oyoze Baje