TheCable

The European Union (EU) has highligted the reasons why European investors are not willing to come invest in Nigeria.

In a interview with TheCable and a few newspapers on the sidelines of the EU-Nigeria business forum, Michel Arrion, head of the EU delegation to Nigeria, said Nigeria is a very big market for European investors, but a few challenges set Nigeria back.

“The European investors are very much willing to come and invest in Nigeria; it is a big market, it is a big country, you are 180 million, tomorrow you will be 300, 400, 500 million,” Arrion said.

“You have for instance in the food sector, in the clothing sector, in the construction sector, there is a golden opportunity, so they want to invest.”

He however highlighted the challenges as follows:

RULE OF LAW

“They are convinced about the potential of Nigeria, but what is missing is to be sure of the protection of their investment.

“If they invest here, if they sign contract, if they have a problem, can they go to court? Can they enforce their contracts. So the problem is the question of the rule of law.”

THE IMAGE OF NIGERIA

“It is not a question of money, those big companies will bring their financing, they will be bankable, the problem is not the money, the problem is not the investor, the problem is not the market,  the problem is the image of Nigeria and the capacity of Nigeria to have strong institutions to protect the citizens and also the residents and the investors.”

CRIME AS A BAD SIGNAL

Arrion said “If you want us to go into the north-east or into the Delta, we will have problems of criminality, kidnapping; if people start kidnapping engineers, it is a very bad signal.”

He asked Nigeria to face the challenge of crime in many regions of the country, in order to allow European investors to come in.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICY

“We need another monetary policy, you can’t continue with the system of dual exchange rate, so sooner or later, you will have to harmonise those exchange rates. There are people who are getting rich today, buying at 300, selling at 400. It doesn’t work.

“Sooner or later, the central bank and the government will have to find a common ground to clarify what is the exact monetary policy of the government.”

SECURITY IN THE NIGER DELTA

“We need to fix the question of security in the Delta. No military solution, we need a comprehensive response. Militants are joining the group of  agitators because they are poor, they have no jobs,” he said.

“That is a very important issue that the government is addressing.”