Nigeria is the second biggest economy on the African continent, after South Africa. Esther Nenadi, who has been involved in various educational and political positions in this country for many years, loves Nigeria and all it has to offer. At the same time, however, she is saddened by the fact that there is still such a bad distribution of wealth, with so many people living in abject poverty, and others living in gilded palaces. She believes that the mindset of the Nigerian needs to change, so that everybody can see that there is an entrepreneur within them, and that there are opportunities to be taken.
How Esther Nenadi Aims to Influence Policy for the Betterment of Nigeria
Esther Nenadi has been at the heart of some new policy developments in her country. Those include the deregulation of oil prices, the drop in investment in public sector businesses, the creation of specialized economic zones, and new forms of legislation that encourage the formation of new enterprises. Some positive results are being delivered through this, but Esther Nenadi believes more should be done.
Nigeria faces some very unique challenges and problems, and to resolve this, a bottom up approach needs to be adopted. Nenadi believes that the starting point for this must be infrastructure. The roads in Nigeria, as everywhere else in Africa, are in a very poor state, and this is a deterrent for productivity and economic growth. Nigeria has also been slow in adopting the digital highway, another things that she believes must be addressed, and a poor utilities network. Of course, it is also undeniable that Nigeria has been plagued by corruption at government level. With her background in financial posts, Esther Nenadi believes that this could be where she can make the greatest impact. Some of the suggestions she has put forward include:
- Ensuring appropriate regulatory mechanisms are in place for micro-financing options.
- Ensuring that it becomes interesting for investors to support small businesses.
- Ensuring that donor agencies, the private sector, and the government work together properly.
Naturally, all of these efforts will be in vein unless the people of Nigeria themselves also show what they have to give. Esther Nenadi firmly believes that every Nigerian is an entrepreneur at heart, that they have something to give and something to do that allows to take ownership of their own financial and social security. She aims to do this by:
- Developing a socio-economic environment in which enterprises can develop.
- Removing unnecessarily high costs for businesses.
- Improving infrastructure.
- Attracting more private investors into the local economy.
- Improving education and access to education.
- Ensuring the country remains politically stable and is unified under a single Nigerian banner.
Esther Nenadi Usman has a great vision and plan for her beloved country. It is also for this reason that she is so much loved by her people. With her humble background and her experience as a teacher and minister of finance, she seems like the perfect person to finally turn things around.