Mr Atedo Peterside was introduced by Pastor Poju Oyemade, with his outstanding achievements enumerating. Mentioned was his hallmark venture of being the founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank and his current services on the board of various companies in Nigeria.

The first question hinged on the billions of money made as profits annually by banks in Nigeria, despite which there exist the difficulty of accessing funds for the critical mass in the country.

Mr Atedo Peterside answered the question by alluding to the fact that even though the banks have huge capital at their disposal, a large chunk of it was locked up at the CBN. He did, however, make it clear that to have a better impact of the funds the bank has to use for business, people should be given loans based on the quality of their ideas and nit the amount of their collateral. He, however, noted that this is a long term goal, as even developed countries struggle with this as well.

The second question was on the pension funds available with the pension fund administrators which currently totals over 1trillion naira. He asked why the funds are not being invested in other sectors for development.

Mr Peterside sighted too many risks in the various sectors of the economy. He said Nigeria must de-risk its sectors for the investments to come through. He highlighted this as a crucial step as such planned investments must of necessity bring back the due returns to the pensioners whose funds had been invested. He said it would have been great to use such funds for infrastructural development but noted that such developments and investments are the riskiest in Nigeria. He noted, “There are no short-cuts, activities we must invest in must bring back returns to the pensioners”.

The Convener went on to highlight some of the activities of the guest in the support of young entrepreneurs in Nigeria and what Nigeria must do to harness the full potential of the youth.

Mr Peterside answered by saying it’s a shame the potentials of the youth were not being harnessed. He pointed out that the government-owned organizations such as NNPC and CBN must offer a levelled playing ground for all youths to compete. This, he said is of a necessity for the prosperity of the nation. He charged the youths to rise and claim their rights despite the stakes against them.

The fourth question hinged on the level of activism engaged in by Mr Peterside during the last 30 years and how the Nigerian youth must engage in such result-oriented activism for the right impact on the nation. Mr Peterside said that this is easier now with tools such as social media and the current political terrain. He said, “We faced the military” and “What our activism delivered for us is this democracy.” He further noted, “Today, that democracy is in danger.” He encouraged everyone to ensure free and fair elections on all grounds, not just as we experienced in Edo state recently.

The final question was on the ease of driving a 30-year plan when it was difficult enough to run the year yearly. Mr Peterside said long-term planning is the acknowledgement of progress planning for the future. He admonished that planning is essential as it gives direction to a destination rather than haphazard movements. He also enumerated the key role agenda setting does to using planning in ensuring that we get to where we desire to be.