On August 27, President Bill Clinton addressed a large gathering of Nigerian and American business leaders and announced several new initiatives supporting Nigeria's new democracy with expanded trade and investment. The host for this high-level event was the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (NACCIMA), a CIPE grantee for more than a decade.
In his remarks, President Clinton stressed that "any nation that wants to grow wealthier has to have the basics right: managing the economy well, keeping the markets open, establishing the rule of law, and creating a good climate for investment." In announcing the initiatives that will support duty-free access for Nigerian goods, debt relief, and assistance for expanded education and technology access, Clinton declared, "After working so long to restore democracy, there must be a dividend to democracy for the people of Nigeria."
Alhaji Umaru Shehu Ndanusa, the National President of NACCIMA, thanked Clinton for his encouragement, noting, "It is satisfying that the USA, which is the bedrock of democracy, would assist Nigeria's private enterprise and support us in our quest for democratic governance." To achieve this end, he concluded, "It is imperative that appropriate public policies required to foster private sector development must reflect the views of the private sector."
Ndanusa told Clinton that for the past twelve years, the Nigerian business community has "benefited from its collaboration with CIPE" and that "the advantage of this has since begun to extend to other parts of Africa."
Earlier this year, CIPE and NACCIMA wrapped up an 18-month program that strengthened NACCIMA's members (55 state, city, and bilateral chambers of commerce) through training in advocacy and public policy implementation. A legislative bulletin kept members and policymakers aware of key business concerns and issued "watchdog" reports tracking government efforts to liberalize trade and investment.
The watchdog program is fundamental to business community involvement in monitoring government pledges on economic reform. NACCIMA's Policy Monitoring Unit is committed to keeping the business community informed and pressing the government to foster economic growth and stability, which are crucial to sustaining and enhancing Nigeria's fledgling democracy.
Ndanusa concluded, "On our part, we assure you of our strong commitment to democracy and its ideals. We are also determined to fight corruption and ensure transparency, not only in the public life of Nigeria, but also in the private sector of this nation's economy."