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‘Energy security, others crucial to growth’

Stakeholders in the Nigerian petroleum industry and financial service sectors have provided insights and workable solutions to the challenges facing the nation's economy and businesses.

They spoke at the Lagos Business School's Modular Executive MBA 9th cohort (MEMBA 9) Graduation Dinner which was held at the Lagos Intercontinental Hotel.

Speaking on the topic, "Politics of Energy Transition", the Co-founder and Pioneer Chief Executive Officer, Platform Petroleum Limited and Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Austin Avuru, advocates the prioritisation of energy security among African nations while particularly urging the Nigerian government to optimise the country's oil and gas resources before committing to its energy transition agenda.

Avuru pressed on the significance of energy, saying: "Access to energy is crucial not only for the attainment of health and education outcome but also for reducing the cost of doing businesses and for unlocking economic potential and creating jobs."

According to him, besides climate change, poverty, hunger, diseases, and conflicts are existential threats to African nations as they are linked to gross underdevelopment.

He insisted with the worldwide pursuit of "energy security" the continent "must achieve sustainable energy security within the resources available" to them.

 “Carbon emissions reduction has been the key factor that all the energy transition argument has been hinged on. Most countries have focused on addressing energy security and optimizing the available resources while driving the transition. Every country will address these two things before coming to what some people think is the residual matter of reduction of carbon emission.

 “We must, therefore, do the following; ramp up production and build up reserves of oil and gas, reduce the per-barrel production cost, build internal refining capacity, build industrial/manufacturing capacity to use oil and gas as feedstock intensify gas to power schemes, maximise gas to methanol, gas to fertilizer and gas to petrochemical schemes.”

This, he emphasised, given the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) ongoing in Dubai.

 “African nations need to collectively prioritise convenience, affordability, and reliability to reach a quality of life enjoyed by the industralised world, which has powered its economic growth and achieved prosperity using hydrocarbons.”

Speaking on “Finance, Economy and Asset Management”, Corporate Executive in the financial services industry, Odiri Ogini, explained how some major factors of the outgoing year like "cash crunch, Naira redesign, inflation" greatly impacted people's wealth.

Ogini disclosed the greatest challenge of every asset manager is how to sustain competitive returns.

 “Everyone wants to earn against inflation, the greatest challenge for investors.”

On asset and portfolio diversification, the market leader in Asset Management commended the planned recapitalisation of deposit money banks (DMBs) as announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria towards a $1 trillion economy of Nigeria by 2023.

 “With the CBN's soon-to-be established recapitalization plan for banks, we are likely to see mergers in 2024 in order to achieve the Apex bank's target.

 “The Federal Government's target of a $1 trillion economy in the next seven years gives us a sense of direction and strategies to follow for its attainment."

To the MEMBA 9 graduates, Ogini admonished them to be agents of change regardless of where they find themselves, employing the mosquito analogy

She stated: "Irrespective of where you are, you can make a difference. It's all within your capacity to. If you think you're too small to make a difference, try going to bed with a mosquito."

The host, Ayodeji Olukeye while congratulating MEMBA 9 graduates, shared the reason for the failure of many Nigerian businesses.

He argued that businesses fail because people are not prepared.

"So, if you are doing that and suddenly or accidentally make it big in the business which you know you are not prepared for it. You will eventually fail. So preparation is the major reason why Nigerian businesses fail," he stated.