BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
The Chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc and former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Mustafa Chike-Obi, has called on the regulatory agencies to be more liberal, so that the private sector can thrive and give the Nigerian economy the necessary boost.
He made the assertion in an exclusive interview with The Point, in Lagos.
He identified the private sector as the most important sector of the Nigerian economy that would lift other sectors, as soon the right regulatory environment was put in place.
He said, “I must let you know that the private sector is the only hope for Nigeria, but here is the problem. The private sector is constrained by regulation.”
He cited examples from developed economies to show how liberal regulation could impact the private sector and boost the economy.
Chike-Obi explained that, “Many regulators in Nigeria are dictators, which should not be the case. They should make sure that the sectors are well run and promoters don’t do bad things, but they should not be dictators. Businessmen are usually scared that governments will deal with them, so they can’t speak up.
“When we get to the point where the private sector is regulated mainly by regulators and not dictators, you will see the private sector boom.”
On efficiencies, he opined that the private sector was more efficient in terms of usage of capital as against the public sector, hence, more efforts should be geared towards a more vibrant private sector.
He said, “The private sector is more efficient in using capital than the public sector, so anytime you transfer money from the private sector to the public sector (and they are doing this in many ways – through more taxation, more VAT, more tariff, stamp duty), it creates inefficiency and actually makes the system worse.”
