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New Year Message: Ajia Calls on Nigerians to Build a Strong, Resilient Economy for a Brighter Future

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The President and Chief Executive Officer of Funab Group of Companies Limited,  Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Ajia has called on Nigerians to work together, hand in hand, to build a strong and resilient economy that will not only benefit us today, but also generations to come.

Ajia made the call after paying a courtesy visit to felicitate the President and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, GCFR, on the last day of 2023, in the company of Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, Chairman House of Representatives’ Committee on FCT, Alh Musa Yakubu CEO Musaco Investment Ltd and Hon Mohammed Almankura at the President’s residence in Ikoyi Lagos state.

Ajia, in his New Year message tagged message of possibilities, hopes and aspirations for a brighter future, said, “As we bid farewell to the challenges of the past year, let us welcome the fresh beginnings and endless possibilities that the New Year brings. Let our hearts be filled with possibilities, hopes, aspirations, and anticipations for a brighter future, especially with regards to our country’s economy and security.

According to the message, Ajia is hopeful that the in-coming year holds great opportunity, “The year 2024 holds great potential for economic growth and stability for our beloved nation, Nigeria. Let us work together, hand in hand, to build a strong and resilient economy that will not only benefit us today, but also generations to come; that will also make our businesses thrive, investments flourish, and job opportunities abound for all our citizens.”

From Left, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Ajia flanked in photograph with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other friends during the courtesy visit in Lagos

In the same vein, Ajia noted that the issue of security challenges should not be taken lightly. “We call upon our leaders, both at the states and national levels, to govern with the fear of God and good conscience. The protection and well-being of the people should be their highest priority.

Let us invest in our security forces, equip them with the necessary tools, and provide them with ample training and support. Only then can we truly ensure the safety and peace of our people.”

To our esteemed leaders, “We urge you to implement policies that will alleviate the suffering of our people. We understand the challenges and complexities of governance, but we implore you to always have the welfare of the citizens at heart.

“Focus on initiatives that will provide access to quality education, healthcare, affordable housing, and basic infrastructure. With this, you will be uplifting the lives of millions and leaving a legacy of positive change.”

Ajia condoles with the people of Plateau and Kaduna states over the needless killings in those states. In his statement,  “Our hearts go out to the people of Plateau and Kaduna states who have endured immense pain and loss due to acts of violence and insecurity. We stand in solidarity with you, and we call upon the government to do everything within their power to bring swift justice to the perpetrators.

“Let us not allow such tragedies to become a recurring nightmare in our society. It is imperative that we address the root causes of these conflicts and work towards lasting peace and reconciliation. We must never forget that the responsibility of safeguarding the lives and properties of innocent citizens lies with the government.

“We must hold our leaders accountable and demand that they live up to their duty to protect us. We call upon the government to thoroughly investigate all cases of violence and bring those responsible to justice. It is only through their actions that we can restore faith in our government and ensure the safety of our communities.”

Ajia flanked in a photograph with the Executive Governor of Niger state, Alhaji Mohammed Umar Bago, Hon. Mukhtar Aliyu Betara and the Executive Governor of Lagos state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos.

The Ilorin-born politician urged Nigerians to be patient with our leaders, noting that changes take time. “Dear compatriots, let us exercise patience with our leaders. Change takes time, and the transformation we desire for our beloved country cannot be achieved overnight. We must have trust in the process and continue to play our parts as responsible citizens.

“Together, let us work towards building a nation that we can all be proud of, one that encapsulates the values of justice, unity, and prosperity.”

He wished all Kwarans and Nigerians a Happy New Year praying that this year be filled with abundant blessings and limitless opportunities for growth.” He said.

 

   

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Time Nigeria is a modern and general interest Magazine with its Headquarters in Abuja. The Magazine has a remarkable difference in editorial philosophy and goals, it adheres strictly to the ethics of Journalism by using the finest ethos of the profession to promote peace among citizens; identifying and harnessing the nation’s vast resources; celebrating achievements of government agencies, individuals, groups and corporate organizations and above all, repositioning Nigeria for the needed growth and development. Time Nigeria gives emphasis to places and issues that have not been given adequate attention by others. The Magazine is national in outlook and is currently being read and patronized both in print and on our vibrant and active online platform (www.timenigeria.com).
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  By Chidi Nwafor  In October 2023, a Gulf sovereign wealth fund quietly closed a $2 billion allocation to global infrastructure, earmarked in part for emerging-market energy and transport assets. The announcement drew the usual applause: another sign, commentators said, that institutional capital was finally waking up to the infrastructure opportunity in the Global South. Eighteen months later, less than a tenth of that allocation had actually left the fund’s balance sheet. Not because the mandate had changed. Not because the fund had lost appetite. According to two people familiar with the portfolio, the constraint was simpler and more uncomfortable: there were not enough investable projects to put the money into. This is not a story about a reluctant investor. It is a story about capital that wants to move, cannot find enough places willing and able to receive it in a form it can underwrite, and quietly waits instead. Multiply that fund by the hundreds of pension schemes, sovereign wealth vehicles, commercial banks and infrastructure funds now carrying dedicated allocations for emerging-market infrastructure, and a pattern emerges that rarely makes it into a headline: the world is not short of capital for infrastructure. It has capital in historic abundance, sitting adjacent to a historic infrastructure gap, unable to cross the distance between the two. The Comfortable Explanation  The explanation on offer at every major infrastructure summit is a familiar one. Global infrastructure investment needs run into the tens of trillions of dollars over the coming decade; committed capital falls well short; therefore, the problem is one of insufficient funding, and the solution is more of it: more pledges, more blended-finance facilities, more climate funds, more multilateral capital increases. It is a comfortable explanation because it assigns responsibility clearly to governments who under-fund, institutions who under-commit, and it offers a clean remedy: raise more. 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Availability Is Not Deployability  Capital availability and capital deployability are not the same condition, and the conflation of the two is doing real damage to how the world thinks about the infrastructure gap. Availability asks whether money exists somewhere with a mandate that could, in principle, be pointed at infrastructure. Deployability asks something much narrower and much harder: whether a specific project, at a specific moment, has been engineered, structured, documented and de-risked to the point where an investment committee can approve it without exception. The first condition is met, overwhelmingly, across nearly every category of capital that matters to infrastructure. The second is met by only a small fraction of the projects competing for it. The result is a market that looks, from the outside, like a financing gap, and functions, from the inside, like a conversion problem: an abundance of capital on one side, an abundance of infrastructure need on the other, and an underbuilt set of mechanisms in between capable of turning one into the other at any meaningful scale. Where the Conversion Breaks  The break does not happen at the ends of the process. It happens in the middle, in the unglamorous sequence of work that turns a plausible concept into an instrument a fiduciary can sign. A promising transmission project needs a feasibility study rigorous enough to survive institutional scrutiny rather than optimistic enough to attract early interest. It needs offtake arrangements that hold up under real counterparty and currency risk, not the counterparty risk assumed in a base case. It needs environmental and social documentation calibrated to the standards of the institutions being asked to fund it, not the standards of the jurisdiction hosting it. It needs a legal and commercial structure that allocates risk in ways a commercial lender, not only a development financier, will accept. It needs a sponsor capable of executing what has been proposed, not merely capable of proposing it. 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