Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria.
Malawi
President Prof. Peter Mutharika, and Nigeria's former President,
Olusegun Obasanjo have challenged Malawians, and Africa at large, to be
architects of their own fortune by exploiting their resources for
economic development.
The
two leaders made the call at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe where Mutharika
hosted the former Nigerian Head of State for talks on investment
prospects and economic development.
The
state visit follows an invitation the Malawi leader had made to his
Nigerian counterpart at the Global Economic Forum which was held in
London last December.
In
his statement, President Mutharika urged Africans to stop entertaining
the "we are poor" attitude saying the continent had a lot of priceless
resources which could effect massive economic transformation if fully
exploited.
"Africa
is not not a poor continent although our people are poor. We have
resources and we have opportunities. What we need is to convert our
natural assets into capital," asserted Mutharika.
He
added; "for this to happen, we need our people to be equipped with the
right skills and above all, we need our people to have the right
mindset."
Mutharika
also stated that his Government was working hard to make Malawi an
investment friendly environment by, among other initiatives, intervening
to make investment application process easier and quicker through
establishiment of a one stop center where all processes are handled.
Echoing
Malawi's first citizen, Obasanjo explained that "we first have to
realise that we are not powerless because have the power."
He
said what was needed most was to invest more in the abundantly
available resources, including human resource through, among others,
youth empowerment.
On
his visit, Obasanjo has visited the country's sugar production
industry, and has toured some of the country's villages to appreciate
the basic farmers' production of farm produce like tobacco, beans and
maize.
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