Nigeria holds great prospects for investors –Chidoka

Nigeria holds great opportunities for her citizens who wish to
invest in the recent projections that the economy would
continue to grow at the rate of over 6 per cent for the next 20
years, Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, has said.
Chidoka said there was no need for citizens to be disillusioned
but urged them to look inward as the abundant human and
natural resources make the country a big market for goods
and services, the two key areas that would serve as stimulant
for growing the economy.
He made this known when he delivered the 44th Convocation
Lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) entitled,
“Rebuilding the Nigerian Dream: Mapping the Building Blocks.”
Chidoka said that Nigerians are fastidious and therefore have
the tendency to criticise their country even when it is
unnecessary, adding that although that attitude is seemingly
wrong but it spurs the citizens and government to do things
better.
“The most virulent critics of Nigeria are Nigerians. A few years
ago Nigerians celebrated one year of no blackouts in Ghana.
Even though no such celebration took place in Ghana,” he
lamented.
He noted that Nigerians have inherent elements to succeed in
every endeavour and those elements include superiority
complex, hard work and the readiness to sacrifice today for
better tomorrow.
Chidoka said that although the Nigerian education system is
severely criticised by her citizens, but Nigerians who studied in
Nigerian schools like the UNN have distinguished themselves
within and outside the country, particularly in the United
States of America (USA) where they remain the most
successful professionals among the black population.
“The criticism of our education system and the lamentations
about the so-called Nigerian Factor notwithstanding, the
Nigerian Diaspora has been singled out as one of the most
successful black Diasporas in the world. In the United States,
Nigerian-Americans dramatically outperform Americans in
terms of income. In their book, The Triple Package, Professors
Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld explain that Nigerians are over-
represented in the field of medicine, higher education, law and
investment banking (Chua & Rubenfeld, 2014).
“Why are Nigerians so successful? Because of the way we
raise our children. According to the authors, we Nigerians
possess the three traits that breed success: a superiority
complex – an idea that we are special in some way; insecurity
– the fear that if we don’t work hard we will fail; and impulse
control – the ability to delay gratification in the short term for
better outcomes in the future. Even if you had never attended
this institution, but by the virtue of being raised as a Nigerian,
you already have the tools for success,” the Minister said.