By Daniel Iworiso-Markson
With appreciable growth in infrastrucre and an expanding economy, Bayelsa State is stepping up on its quest for industrialization. Currently, Bayelsa has a Gross State Product of N2.4 trillion or $18.5 billion which is large enough to attract some good investments locally and abroad. So from the 16h to 18th of July, this will be an issue of common interest to those who will be attending the state’s Investment and Economic Forum in Yenagoa, an event put together to share the Bayelsa Dream: an incredible array of opportunities for strategic and forward looking investors in the various sectors of the state economy.Already all major institutional modalities have been well addressed and streamlined to cater for the next phase of development in the New Bayelsa State as a systematic channel towards attracting the right kind of investors…from the legal angle to economic incentives. At the forum with the theme: “Unlocking Bayelsa economic potentials: Challenges and Opportunities”, the state government is looking for serious investors who are ready to come and invest in the state and take advantage of its vast untapped resources. And the emphasis is on major partnership with the private sector, thereby influencing the culture and character of the people to be more active in business and indeed affecting the local economy through job creation and improved living condition. The government is also conscious of leveraging on the ensuing business development to create alternative sources of income.Even with oil and gas being dominant enterprise in Bayelsa economy, the state government is advocating a paradigm shift which also places premium on such lucrative and sustainable sectors as power generation, agriculture, hospitality and tourism and e-commerce.The power sector in particular presents a very rewarding business opportunity considering the abundance of gas in the state. The mid-term objective of the state government was to generate 3000 megawatts of electricity and therefore would be a major interest for the government to have more investors coming to share its vision in this regard and feed the national grid to supply the nation at large which is a good business for those who are so foresighted to see this future possibility. Interestingly, a number of companies have shown much interest and even some have signed MoUs with the state government which does not, however, limit the expansion and dynamic attention to the sector as a goldmine in need of massive investments and by as many investors as possible. Thus the forum will be an apt avenue for rubbing minds with the officials of the state government by such strategic investors who will be willing to be part of the government’s economic diversification drive.Also, for some time now, the economic diversification efforts have necessitated a growing shift to agriculture and tourism as a deliberate step to create a new economy where there is alternative sources of income generation and the people can then have much more opportunity to participate and earn decent income. The last two years have seen increased activities in the development of agriculture in the state, training hundreds of our youths at Songhai Farms in Port Novo, Benin, establishing the Agricultural Training Institute and generally encouraging people to go into farming. This has affected the sensibilities of our people as massive cultivation of cassava and rice plantation becomes viable business. In particular, the emphasis has been the need to do modern farming which can only be on a large scale employing so many and creating huge incomes for the people. This is the sense in the current drive to attract big investors in agriculture in Bayelsa State where the cultivation of rice, for instance, will be hugely successful. Here, there is the comparative advantage because the local condition allows for continuous planting of rice throughput the year as a single most notable area in the country where we can grow upland and lowland rice the year round. This has serious implication for business and economic buoyancy, affecting both the local economy and that of the nation. Similar considerations apply to the cultivation of cassava and plantain and the growing business of aquaculture in Bayelsa State and therefore calling for the right investors to take advantage of all these opportunities. Government is desirous to see agro-allied businesses springing up in due course.The other arm of the economic diversification is in the area tourism which had gotten a generous investment by the state government in building the right infrastructure with enabling laws. Bayelsa State is adjudged as one of the safest states in the nation today and this is good for tourism which explains the resurgence of so many socio-cultural events, arts and culture like AMAA, the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) Pageant, the International Day for Culture, the UNESCO First African Underwater Cultural Heritage Conference, top class musical events and other international functions that drew the cream of global celebrities have been held in Bayelsa State in recent times. This is clearly an affirmation of Bayelsa as a worthy environment to do business, being safe and secure. It is already documented that we have the longest coastline of beautiful beaches in the world and an array of historical sites waiting for global visitors and that’s why the sector must first be well developed to the desired international standard as being consciously upgraded by the Restoration Government ably led by Governor Seriake Dickson, who sees tourism as the future of major economic boost in the state and hence his determination to pour more resources into the sector while encouraging others to do same as a lucrative enterprise. From this perspective, it is a timely step by any serious investor to come into the tourism industry in the state and invest. The basic requirements of infrastructure are happening in terms of roads and bridges, urban renewal, electricity generation and general security of lives and property. From hotels to golf courses and the New Yenagoa City, something spectacular is evolving in the glory of all lands. These are not happenstances but deliberate and visionary. The future is appealing to the present with so much optimism that Bayelsa State can create its own Eldorado by sheer passion, vision and leadership. For those who would like to invest in hotels and real estate, the environment is now very liberal and indeed, the collection of certificate of occupancy has been computerized and made easier to acquire.The Investment and economic forum in Yenagoa which is drawing representatives from several Chambers of Commerce locally and abroad will also be testing the contemporary relevance if e-commerce as a way of getting the people more involved in trading as a means of making money just as the traditional oil and gas business will be further engaged to see its continued relevance and opportunities to investors in serious industrialization of the state. In the last two years, the state government through the Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC) has actually done some good work in cementing vital business relationships with MoUs signed with some reputable oil companies to open vistas of economic progress in the state. More of this development initiative will be tabled for investors’ appreciation at the forum next week to see what gains accruable to them in the oil and gas sector of the state economy. Of course, Governor Dickson has repeatedly stated of his desire to see Bayelsa as the new business and economic hub in the Niger Delta and so much is being done to realize this lofty objective.Generally, the Bayelsa Investment and Economic forum would be a harvest of golden business opportunities as recently explained by the Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment, Barrister Kemela Okara, who talked about the rare advantages of doing business in the New Bayelsa State. With an airport of its own to make transportation easier to the state, an integrated railway linking the vital economic areas down to the Sea Port at Agge and a free trade zone, among other strategic initiatives to boost business, Bayelsa State is moving up the ladder of investment destination.In the long run, we hope to see an emerging state economy with steady growth in the private sector and a preponderance of the local entrepreneurs as core beneficiaries in the value chain and this would be really good for the local economy, inter-linked, prosperous and happier for the people
Iworiso-Markson is Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seriake Dickson