President Bola Tinubu and state governors have been urged to look inwards and discover opportunities in the country that could boost the economy rather than always jetting to scout for investors abroad.
Some Nigerians, who have been striving to invest in the country, complained of alleged lack of support and partnership from governments, especially at the level of the state.
They said the more the President and governors spend taxpayers’ money to travel abroad, the more investors are exiting the country.
In their separate interviews with The Point, some of these local investors appealed to elected officials in the country to open their doors for partnership with Nigerians who are willing to contribute their quota to redeeming the battered economy of the nation, instead of frustrating them.
According to them, governments should create opportunities for industrious citizens to contribute to the Gross Domestic Products by providing them with land and other needed resources.
“We have only been reading on the news how our President and governors have been traveling from one country to the other under the guise of driving foreign investments home but the truth is that we are yet to see results to justify their trips abroad,” a gym owner in Abuja, Francis Ibito said.
“I remember when I was about establishing a soap factory in Abuja, I wrote to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for collaboration but my proposal was not attended to.
But, we keep hearing our President and governors traveling abroad to meet with investors but those who are close to them and their own, they don’t want to meet and support them.
This attitude won’t help our nation to grow,” he added.
Also urging the nation’s political leaders to create an avenue that would enable young entrepreneurs to thrive, a local investor, Boluwatife Fasugba, lamented how he made futile efforts to get the Osun State Government’s attention when he was about establishing a tennis court in Osogbo.
Fasugba said he came into Nigeria from overseas to invest in a novel sport known as Padel Tennis. Being an indigene of Osogbo, the investor chose the capital city to build the multi-million game facility.
At the launching of the game facility recently, there was no single official from the state Ministry of Sports in attendance and explaining the reason for the government’s absence, Fasugba claimed that government officials were not accessible.
“I am voicing out of frustration because we have been hearing the government saying they have been traveling out of the country to go and invite investors; but the question is, what are they doing for the local investors? I have tried my best even on social media to reach out to the government (Osun) for their support but no way to get through to them,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of iPadel game said, “This (the project that cost over N100 million) was done by only me and my team but I still want to implore the state government that if they see investors, especially young entrepreneurs, they should give us an avenue to contribute our own quota; it is not until we bribe somebody. We want a society where nobody can become somebody.”
