By Okerafor Athanasius, Jalingo
From Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, came sound piece of business advice to Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State: If truly you want to succeed in the business of investment in your state, then allow local investors play huge role.
The governor, who is desirous of seeing the far-flung North-Eastern State take its place among the preferred investment elite of states in Nigeria, took the laudable step of opening a first-ever Taraba investment summit,on Wednesday.
Drawing from his deep well of multifaceted business experiences, Dangote, who spoke during the event, tagged Taraba International Investment Summit (Taravest) 2025, which held at TY Danjuma House in Jalingo, the State capital, seized the opportunity to tell the governor some home truths.
Commending the State government for creating opportunities for people to come and see things by themselves, Dangote advised that the only way to attract foreign investors is by having local investors on ground.
According to him, local investors are the ones that will attract foreign investors to the state.
His words: “If you don’t invite local investors to come and invest, no foreign investor will come and I want to tell you that no international investor would want to come and invest in a place where there no local investors.
“Foreigners are attracted when things are good; once they discover that things are good, you don’t have to invite them, they will definitely come.”
Emphasizing that Taraba is endowed with agriculture, tourism and solid mineral resources, Dangote noted that such resources offer immense investment opportunities and opportunities for processing the natural resources.
“The State has huge potentials for tourism, being the home of captivating landscapes, including Mambilla Plateau, the Nigeria highest point.
“Your Excellency, you know that actually Taraba is endowed with all these but they can remain underground for decades without being harnessed.
“The only way to to get them out is to create jobs”, he said.
Dangote also noted that the theme of the summit, ‘Unlocking Taraba’s Investment Potentials: Advancing Agriculture, Energy, Mining, and Industrialization for Sustainable Growth and Development’ is apt and timely, given the need to diversify the state’s economy and attract investors.
He pledged that his conglomerate, the Dangote Group, would invest in the state with a view to creating jobs for the teeming populace and reducing poverty.
In his remarks, Gov. Kefas promised tight security of lives and property of potential investors, saying the government would ensure that Taraba is safe and ready to welcome investors.
He acknowledged the presence of Vice President Kashim Shettima to the event as a testament and approval to the entire world that the state is ready and safe.
Kefas said: “What I want to say now is Taraba is safe; Taraba is peaceful and Taraba has huge natural resources, and today, I have created a good business enabling relationship for all investors.
“Our gateway into the State capital is the Suntai Airport where you came in from. The environment is ready for ease of doing business and your business is guaranteed.
“My business today is how to pull all of you here to invest in Taraba just as the Ooni of Ife has said.”
