The Periscope| Nigeria's Economic Diversification and Post Oil & Gas Economy.

A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY THE PERISCOPE AT THE END OF THE 6TH EDITION OF THE ALL PROFESSIONALS' AFTER WORK HANGOUT, HELD ON THE 20TH OF MARCH, 2020, AT WESTBROOK HOTELS LIMITED, NEW OWERRI.

In attendance were professionals from the media/public relations, business/sustainability management subsector, agriculture, trade & investment hubs, as well as the academia and others.

The topic of discourse was NIGERIA'S ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION AND POST OIL & GAS ECONOMY Deliberation was robust and the following formed the communiqué at the end of the discussion:

A. It was noted that Nigeria has been operating a mono-economy where over 90% of the country's foreign earnings come from the sale of crude oil, an activity with little backward linkage to the Economy.

B. The continuous overdependence on oil is very dangerous and not sustainable in the long run considering the fact that several countries of the world are already working on alternative sources of energy in this era of clean energy, thus reducing the demand market for oil and making its future relevance in doubt.

C. Though Nigeria produces over 2.3 million barrels of crude oil per day, yet the current drastic drop in the price of oil in the international market occasioned by disruption of supply chain caused by Corona Virus pandemic means that the country may not be able to fund the 2020 budget, which is unacceptable.

D. Though each government has always rehearsed the chorus of Economic diversification, yet it only ends up as a lip service with no sort of seriousness, commitment or political will to take the necessary actions as no empirical record has shown credible milestone attained despite huge resources allocated over time.

E. There are several other sectors that the government can consider diversifying into such as; Agriculture and Agricultural Value Chain, Solid minerals hugely abundant, creative industry and Art, intellectual industry and Virtual Economy, ICT opportunities, eCommerce and supply chain and many more.

F. Most of the mineral resources in Nigeria are not being exploited as everyone focuses wholly on oil revenue. For instance, Ondo State has the highest deposit of bitumen in the world but it is not being exploited yet.

G. For the diversification agenda to be effective, there is an absolute need for the Federal government to encourage regional competition and encourage states to focus on developing what they have based on principles of comparative advantage.

H. It was also noted that the establishment of more vocational centers and the development of skills among young people will greatly enhance the nation's chances of exporting intellect to other countries.

I. As important as the Agricultural sector is and with all the potential it has, it was noted that exportation of raw products won't earn Nigeria much, equivalent to exporting jobs. There should be a conscious plan to develop and add value to the product as semi-processed or processed products to increase the export earnings.

J. Mentorship platform of business initiatives and creativity should be developed in order to enhance sustainability and create the ecosystem of good business practices in order to grow the non-oil sector.

K. There must be a conscious effort to translate the huge population of 203 Million into an economic advantage and this can be done through effective means of injecting measurable empowerment initiatives putting into consideration areas of passion.

In conclusion, The Periscope submits that enough has not been done in the diversification of Nigeria's economy and Nigeria cannot afford the continuous overdependence on oil when God has blessed us with many other resources. And our population should be one of our greatest advantages.

Signed

Anthony Akalugo Esq
Executive Director

Victor Iyama
Director of Programmes