to President Jonathan as a mediocre. Just as a reminder,
this is a post I wrote in 2013. Facts don't lie. Read and
share.
"In 2006, President Obasanjo met with the CEO of the
New York Stock Exchange in Davo, Switzerland and
requested to ring the closing bell at the NYSE. He cited
instances with the economic reforms being pushed by Dr.
Iweala( whom 'our' governors wants sacked) and finally
got a subtle and tentative invite by the new CEO.
The NYSE uses its selection of bell ringers to make strategic
statements about the direction of the exchange and its
seen as a strong endorsement to potential investors all
over the world .
On arrival for the ceremony , the NYSE told President
Obasanjo that the request was not approved and that the
President can come for a 'lunch', which is a lesser
endorsement at the Stock Exchange. Characteristic of OBJ,
he got infuriated and shunned the Lunch.
A few months earlier, three African Presidents have been
lumped together to ring the closing bell at the exchange.
They were the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf,
the President of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza and the
President of Tanzania, Jakaya M. Kikwete.
Many African analysts saw this as a let down on Africa as
many smaller European country's presidents like Belgium
had rung the closing bell alone.
The only African presidents that have ever rung the bell
alone are Presidents of Botswana,Festus Mogae in 2005.
(Botswana was the only African country them with an A+
credit rating from both Standards&Poors and Moody's
ratings)
President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa which was an
expression of confidence in the South African economy
and President Chiluba of Zambia as an endorsement of the
massive economic reforms on the Zambian economy.
Not too long, we have heard various testimonies from
global players on the success of the Jonathan run
economy. From CNN Money listing of the Nigerian stock
amongst the five strongest in the world, to the testimony
of the British Prime minister in his address to his party
faithful .
From the Clinton Foundation's statement , to US President
Obama's endorsement. From international rating agencies
like Standard&Poors, Fitch etc, to global institutions like
IMF and World bank with a recent upgrading of Nigeria
from a low income economy to a middle income
economy .
The 23rd September 2013, honoring of President
Jonathan at the prestigious Bell ringing ceremony of the
NYSE is the greatest global endorsement for the
transformation agenda of President Jonathan and the
robustness of the Nigerian economy.
It is a testimony to the world that despite the bitter bad
press by disenchanted politicians at home, Nigeria is the
next destination for global investors.
It is also important to note that in this same year, the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) listed Nigeria as the number Foreign Direct
Investment destination in Africa.
On its website, the World Economic Forum explained why
it chose Nigeria as the host of the 2014 African edition
"...More importantly, it is a reflection of the growing
attraction of Nigeria to international capital as one of the
world's most rewarding new markets, following recent
painful but highly rewarding set of economic reforms"
For those who make it an obsession to paint President
Jonathan like a failure, by calling him names, no matter
what name you give to a spoon of honey, the name will
never change it's taste.
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