Obasanjo, who spoke at a roundtable advocacy forum organised by the
Institute of Directors, Nigeria, in Lagos, said the way the Governor,
Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, was fighting inflation by
removing money from circulation was improper.
While speaking on the cost of doing business in the country, Obasanjo
called on stakeholders and government agencies to rise up to the
challenge.
He said some observers had suggested that the Vision 2020 blueprint
was somewhat of an ambitious agenda, which was unrealisable considering
the daunting challenges confronting businesses in the country.
Obasanjo said the 2012 annual report of the International Finance
Corporation and the World Bank publication titled, ‘Doing business in a
more transparent world,’ noted that a record number of African countries
took decisive steps to encourage more local entrepreneurs to come into
the formal economy over the past 12 years.
He said, “Across the continent, 15 countries lowered barriers to
entry for new businesses, 23 facilitated access to credit, and seven
made it easier to pay taxes. Nigeria is not in any of these leagues.
“In its 2008 report, Nigeria ranked 108 out of 178 countries and in
the space of four years, we rank 137 out of 183 countries measured. This
is a damning report on our business environment and, therefore, calls
for more concerted efforts by various stakeholders on how to ensure that
this trend is reversed and the Nigeria business environment is made
more conducive for investments and less costly for businesses to thrive.
We cannot aim for 2020 if we do not halt the downward spiral.”
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