NIGERIA'S pride and some of its tested technocrats in government also rode high on the United States capital streets during the week.
On massive display in Washington DC were Vice President Namadi Sambo, four governors, ministers, the Central Bank governor and a proactive Ambassador Ade Adefuye blowing Nigeria's reform agenda and shopping for US investors in the power and agric sectors.
The presence of such a high number of top officials from the country in the US capital all at once, and speaking in different forums is also drawing positive reviews for the country here.
For instance, at the US EXIM Bank Annual Conference where Nigeria alone had two breakout sessions dedicated to it, the Vice President of the bank, Wanda Felton, praised the display of knowledge and expertise by Nigeria Ministers for Power and Agric, Prof. Bart Nnaji and Dr. Akin Adesina, respectively and CBN's governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, all of whom spoke at the two sessions.
According to Felton, who moderated one of the sessions on Thursday, the competence and skills shown by Nigerian officials had been inspiring, adding that many were impressed at the quality of the presentations and expertise of the Nigerian speakers.
Opening the first breakout session at the EXIM conference, VP Sambo told the American and international audience that Nigeria's quest to be among the top 20 economies by 2020 was on course.
"Nigeria should generate about 20,000 to 30,000 megawatts of power by 2020 and in line with that, 10 new thermal power plants are to be built, mostly by US General Electric (GE), in the country," he said.
He added that GE would also establish a power-training institute in Port Harcourt, as part of the educational component of the power reforms.
Although he admitted that Nigeria has a "significant deficit" in the area of power, Prof. Nnaji expressed the determination of the federal administration to "catch-up."
Nnaji, whose presentation and that of Ambassador Adesina clearly captivated the audience, disclosed that there were changes in the power sector, including the fact that banks could now lend to the sector unlike before.
According to him, thanks to CBN governor, Sanusi, "even the banks are now focused on how the reforms would succeed," stressing, "the success of the power sector reforms can result in the whole change of Nigeria."
Dr. Adesina's presentation topped the expectations at the US EXIM conference on Thursday, just as he did in the same US capital a couple days before at the Nigerian Agric investors' forum organised by the Nigerian Embassy.
Adesina, a world-class agric policy guru, disclosed that the federal government had stopped participating in the purchase and distribution of fertilizers and foundation seed. He called fertilizer a "political commodity."
He said until recently, government was in charge of fertilizers, but only 11 per cent of what was purchased normally reached the farmers.
He announced that provision of foundation seeds, for instance, have been accomplished without government funds, even though it took N30 billion.
Deploring the excessive importing of wheat, rice, sugar and fish into the country, costing about $11 billion yearly, Adesina noted that Nigeria spends N1 billion everyday importing rice, adding that such practices had stopped because "agric is not a social service or a development sector, but business."
He invited American investors to take advantage of the changes in the Nigerian agric sector, drawing applause at the end of his presentation.
The Guardian