Nigeria ranked behind Ghana and Kenya by World Economic Forum

Despite a series of reforms to improve the economic conditions and business competiveness in Nigeria, the country still trails smaller African countries like Ghana, Cameroun and Kenya in global competiveness.

The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) Index 2012-2013 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) indicated that Nigeria ranked 115th out of 144 countries assessed - behind Ghana, Kenya and Cameroun, which ranked higher at 103rd, 106th and 112th positions respectively. Only Benin Republic trailed Nigeria with a ranking of 119th while South Africa ranked 52nd globally, making it the most competitive in Africa.

The GCR Index, which assessed the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity, indicated that after some deterioration in the rankings in recent years, Nigeria has moved up to 115th place this year due to improved macroeconomic conditions which reflected a positive government balance and a drop in inflation.

According to the report, despite a slight improvement since last year, the institutional environment did not support a competitive economy because of concerns about the protection of property rights, ethics and corruption, undue influence, and government inefficiencies.

The security situation in the country was also considered dire and having worsened since last year. Additionally, Nigeria received poor assessments for its infrastructure (130th) as well as its health and primary education levels (142nd).

On IT infrastructure, the report pointed that Nigeria was not harnessing the latest technologies for productivity enhancements, as demonstrated by its low rates of ICT penetration.

However, despite these weaknesses, the report noted that the country has a number of strengths on which to build, including its relatively large market (33rd), which provides its companies with opportunities for economies of scale as well as sophisticated regional standards (66th), with some cluster development, companies that tend to hire professional managers, and a willingness to delegate decision-making authority within the organisation.

Ghana ranked 103rd this year, having moved up an impressive 11 places since last year, on the back of improvements in the basic requirements of its macroeconomic stability and health as well as educational outcomes.

The report noted that Ghana traditionally displayed strong public institutions and governance indicators, especially in regional comparison, along with increased government regulation, though sizeable deteriorations in all indicators dragged down the country's score in the institution's pillar to 75th place (from 61st last year). Education levels also continued to lag behind international standards at all levels, labour markets are still characterized by inefficiencies, and the country is not harnessing new technologies for productivity enhancements (ICT adoption rates are very low).

South Africa was ranked 52nd this year, remaining the highest-ranked country in sub-Saharan Africa and the third-placed among the BRICS economies. According to the report, the country benefited from the large size of its economy, particularly by regional standards (it ranked 25th in the market size pillar).

It also does well on measures of the quality of its institutions and on factor allocation, such as intellectual property protection (20th), property rights (26th), the accountability of its private institutions (2nd), and its goods market efficiency (32rd).

Particularly impressive is the country's financial market development (3rd), indicating high confidence in South Africa's financial markets at a time when trust is returning only slowly in many other parts of the world.

South Africa also does reasonably well in more complex areas such as business sophistication (38th) and innovation (42nd), benefitting from good scientific research institutions (34th) and strong collaboration between universities and the business sector in innovation (30th).

Overall, this year's report findings showed that Switzerland topped the rankings in the Global Competitiveness Report for the fourth consecutive year. Singapore remained in second position with Finland, in third position, overtaking Sweden (4th). These and other Northern and Western European countries dominated the top 10 with the Netherlands, Germany and United Kingdom respectively ranked 5th, 6th and 8th.

The United States (7th), Hong Kong (9th) and Japan (10th) completed the top 10. The Report emphasized persisting competitiveness divides across and within regions, as short-termism and political deadlock continue to hold back the economic performance of many countries and regions.

Looking forward, productivity improvements and private sector investment would be key to improving global economies at a time of heightened uncertainty about the global economic outlook, the report said.

Leadership

Related stories: Nigeria ranked third poorest provider of water

Video - Oil theft in Nigeria on the rise

Nigeria rated top economic performer in Africa

Nigerian navy rescues hijacked oil vessel

The Nigerian Navy says it has rescued the oil vessel, MT Abu Dhabi Star, hijacked by pirates off the Nigerian territorial waters early on Wednesday morning.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the vessel, which was carrying products belonging to Exxon Mobil when it was hijacked on Wednesday at about 3:00 a.m, had a 23-man crew.

Confirming the rescue, Lt.-Cdr. Jerry Omodara, spokesperson, Western Naval Command, Apapa, told NAN that the naval personnel had taken over the ship and were currently ferrying it to Lagos.

Omodara said the details would not be provided "until when the rescue team arrives".

He said that the navy had deployed a helicopter and two patrol vessels to search for the vessel and rescue the crew members in good condition.

The Nigerian Navy had last week chased another oil tanker allegedly hijacked within the country's territorial waters but was later found off the coast of Ondo State with the Russians crew heading for Cotonou.

Nigeria and Benin Republic last year commenced a joint patrol of their territorial waters.

Leadership

First Lady Patience Jonathan in German hospital due to food poisoning

Foreign news agencies yesterday quoted unnamed Presidency sources confirming the story of First Lady Patience Jonathan's medical trip to Germany, which was first reported by Daily Trust on Monday.

The Associated Press and the Agence France Presse reported that Mrs. Jonathan has been receiving medical treatment for the past 10 days in Germany for food poisoning.

In the first newspaper report of the First Lady's illness, Daily Trust reported on Monday that 55-year-old Mrs. Jonathan took ill and travelled abroad last week.

But a spokesman for the First Lady, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, told Daily Trust on Sunday that she went abroad to "take a moment's rest" and not for medical attention.

AFP yesterday quoted a Presidency source as saying: "It is true that the First lady is ill. She was flown to Germany for medical treatment some 10 days ago. Initially it was for food poisoning that we know of, but we learnt that she underwent surgery last week. I really don't know yet the purpose of the surgery."

The source added that she had been expected to return to Nigeria last week, but "the German hospital is insisting on her full recovery before her discharge."

The Associated Press said a government official told the agency that Mrs. Jonathan fell sick about 10 days ago, following her hosting a summit of First Ladies from across Africa.

As her case of food poisoning worsened, she was flown to Germany for medical treatment, the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as information about Jonathan's illness had yet to be officially made public, despite numerous newspaper reports and rumors circulating on the internet.

President Goodluck Jonathan has made no public comments about his wife's health.

Daily Trust

First Lady Patience Jonathan Undergoes Surgery in Germany

First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, who was flown out for medical treatment over a week ago, has undergone surgery in a German hospital for ruptured appendicitis, sources told THISDAY Monday.

The hospital, the source said, performed the surgery on her last week and she is now recuperating.

Although the presidency said she travelled abroad to rest, sources privy to her trip, said she was flown to the German hospital where she was diagnosed of ruptured appendicitis, necessitating the surgery.

Mrs. Jonathan was said to have been accompanied on the trip by a medical personnel from the Presidential Villa, and a few of her aides.

THISDAY gathered that the decision to fly her abroad followed her deteriorating health condition in Abuja, after she was initially treated for "food poisoning."

It was learnt that Mrs. Jonathan, shortly after returning from a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), took ill, prompting the invitation of the First Family's medical personnel to attend to her.

She was said to have been treated for food poisoning for four days, "but her condition kept worsening by the day," the source said.

By the fifth day, President Goodluck Jonathan was said to have yielded to the suggestion that she be flown abroad for "thorough treatment."

It was not certain if the inability of the president's doctors to treat her was because of faulty diagnosis or insufficient facilities.

According to the source, "the trip was therefore hurriedly, but discretely arranged, after a German hospital, suspected to be Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany, had been contacted".

By last weekend, she was said to have regained "full consciousness" on her sick bed and was willing to return home.

THISDAY checks, however, revealed that the hospital authorities are insisting on her full recovery before discharging her.

"They say she has to be completely stable before she can be discharged, because they are still observing her, although the worst seems to be over now," the source said.

When contacted, Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said he was unaware of the first lady's condition.

Similar efforts made to reach the first lady's spokesman, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, were unsuccessful as he did not pick calls to his phone nor respond to text messages sent to him.

But an online forum had quoted him as saying the president's wife travelled abroad for a "moment's rest".

This Day

Drug trafficker attempts to smuggle cocaine in roasted chicken

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the weekend arrested a man suspected to be in possession of 2.655 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken.

According to the agency the arrest was made at the Murtala Muhammed international airport in Lagos during the inward clearance of passengers on a Turkish Airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

NDLEA put the street value of the seized drug at about N24 million.

The NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar who gave the name of the suspect as Vincent Chegini Chinweuwa described the seizure as remarkable.

“We discovered 2.655kg of cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken. It is a remarkable seizure because no one would have imagined cocaine worth several millions inside roasted chicken,” Mr Hamza said.

“During interrogation, the suspect said he thought that the drug will not be detected. In his words,” NDLEA said.

According to the agency, the suspect said: “It took me three days to pack the cocaine inside the roasted chicken. I was confident that the drug will not be detected. I have been living in Brazil since 2006. Life has been stressful because I cannot even visit my wife in Nigeria due to lack of money. I wanted some money to start any business of my choice back home. Unfortunately, I was disappointed upon arrival in Lagos”.

The agency’s spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju said the suspect who hails from Imo State will soon be charged to court soon.

Channels TV