Not surprisingly, the war in Syria tops the agenda at the ongoing world economic summit in Davos, Switzerland. Davos is fast becoming the diplomatic capital of the world. President Jonathan is already in Davos with the Coordinating Minister for Finance, jokingly referred to as Vice President for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Among the entourage was business tycoon Aliko Dangote, who will co-chair one of the sessions.
The gathering of the upper class in Davos, where they always meet for lunch, literally and metaphorically, highlights their determination to know what comes next in the world economy because, “Frankly, they don’t,” as one money market expert put it. . he put it up last week. They all come with a diversity of opinions, but they will never reach a consensus because they depend on the law of supply and demand, over which consumers have a comparative advantage.
As world business leaders meet to discuss the direction of the economy in the next decade, Africa will remain an observer and the crybaby of the rest of the world. The total gross domestic product, GDP, of Africa’s rich countries is estimated to be less than half the asset base of the average multinational company. For example, Bill Gates, the American computer billionaire, is said to be worth $12 billion as of September 2013. Nigeria’s annual budget is currently $321 million. And Nigeria is said to have surpassed South Africa as the economic center of the continent. The countries at the summit are striving to make it more of a diplomatic conference than an economic one.
The presence of Israel and Palestine, for example, shows the importance that these presidents attach to the economic background of diplomacy. On the surface, there appears to be stability in the world economy as the recovery from the 2008 crash appears to be underway. China is experiencing a slowdown and Japan appears to have emerged from the stagnant forest. The euro crises appear to be abating.
But last week, analysts expressed fears that a new crisis is looming, insisting that the Bretton Woods boys are being cheap with the truth or are actually ignorant of what is happening. “There is hardly a continent that has not experienced one crisis or another in this era of mafia rule,” a stock analyst told this magazine last week. “At the risk of sounding like a doomsayer, the economic indices are dire, even with the market rebounding.” Other analysts insist that the crisis in Syria, which has paralyzed its economy to the benefit of certain corporate powers, may have created an economic hole. But others are quick to reply that the big names in construction are ready to start rebuilding the damaged country, and world powers will be actively involved through surrogates. “It can be said that the Egyptian crisis, which was a direct consequence of the Arab Spring, the crisis in Sudan and the Central African Republic exist in the Third World, but the impact cannot be eliminated from the world economy. China and the United States they are in ding-dong because of their deep crisis, which has the United States thinking of dividing the Federal Reserve in two to reduce the shock waves of the economic war with China, even though the United States empowered China in the first place,” the analyst said. “The situation is really serious and the future is terrifying.”
Say it or not, President Jonathan has brought a message of hope to the international community. He was able to convincingly tell the world the progress made by his administration in terms of energy supply. According to him, before now, the law never allowed private organizations to interfere in energy problems, but now energy is being privatized and Nigerians are experiencing improvements in energy supply. He also spoke about transport in the West African sub-region to improve trade and investment. He said that Nigeria is destined to export minerals, cement and petroleum products, but these are the things that the country imports, and he congratulated Aliko Dangote for coming to the country’s rescue in that direction.
The president and his marketing team are likely looking at the Davos experience as a test case for the proposed African economic summit, where Africa will host the world in Abuja later in the year. This was hinted at by President Jonathan during the Davos summit.
The search for foreign investment seems to have paid off, particularly with investors from the Asian Tigers.