It is no longer news that Nigeria will be hosting the 24th World Economic Forum on Africa in from Wednesday, May 7th to Friday May 9th. Experts and economic actors from across the globe will therefore be converging on the Abuja Federal Capital Territory to brainstorm on the theme, Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs.
The Forum, according to the organisers, is coming against the background that, “Africa’s remarkable growth trajectory is projected to remain above 5 per cent in 2014 with West Africa the fastest growing sub-region, representing the continent’s largest business opportunity.”
Such momentum”, they say, “is a welcome and necessary boon to a region whose youthful population offers the prospects of a significant demographic dividend fuelled by growth in consumer industries, manufacturing and business process outsourcing.”
They identify Nigeria’s role in the current economic milieu this way: “Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest economy (sic) and most populous nation – with over 160 million inhabitants – already plays a crucial role in advancing the continent’s growth; yet it is also emblematic of the challenges of converting natural wealth into solutions that address persistent social challenges.” This is like saying that Nigeria is the problem and Nigeria is the answer; but that’s a matter for another day.
The Forum, described as “the foremost gathering on the continent” is expected to “bring together regional and global leaders to discuss innovative structural reforms and investments that can sustain the continent’s growth while creating jobs and prosperity for all its citizens” (emphasis added).
Any forum that can help bring investments that can help sustain Africa’s growth, create jobs and prosper the citizens is certainly worth every kobo spent on it. And I congratulate the Federal Government for bringing the forum to Nigeria.
But even as the forum is holding Abuja, a relatively zero-publicised Kingdom version of it will form one of the highlights of the three-day KINGDOM MEN’S MEGA SUMMIT opening a day later than the Abuja event.
Styled, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY ROUNDTABLE, it may well have been titled as above, Kingdom Economic Forum. The theme, Kingdom Citizens in the World Economic System, is intended to address the challenges faced by Christians in their day-to-day interface with the economic system. How does a man who is in the world but not of the world operate within the world’s system, without becoming “of the world?” To put it another way: how do you navigate the ‘Babylonian’ system with Kingdom tools? What is the correlation between job and prosperity? What is the place of faith in prosperity?
The Roundtable, which holds on Friday May 9, 2014 will go beyond that to examine the role that the faith of our policy makers can play in economic policy formulation and execution; and the extent to which that is currently in evidence in our nation.
Two speakers whose training and experiences in the economic practices of the world and how a Christian should operate both sides of the economy divide have consented to share their thoughts on the subject.
Apostle Alex Bamgbola, Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, is an economic actor whose experience straddles the world’s economic system and the economic system of the Kingdom of God on earth. He is a renowned International Investment Banker and retired Bank CEO. Today he oversees Zion the City of the Lord Ministries, alongside serving on the boards of a number of companies. Bamgbola serves on the Board of Trustees of several international Christian organizations and NGOs and on the Board of some multinationals. He became Lagos PFN chairman in 2009.
The other speaker is Mr David Abraham, Managing Director, Managing Business for Christ, a ministry for bringing business people and practices to Jesus Christ founded by Dr Chris Kolade. The ministry helps people to appreciate the pre-eminence of Almighty God in all businesses done on earth and also as an extension agent of God’s work by encouraging people to apply the values and standards taught by Jesus Christ in all fields of endeavor and to help people in businesses to improve the performance of their enterprises through teaching, counseling and consulting based on Christ approved principles. Affectionately called Father Abraham by many who have interacted with him in the cause of his vocation, he is an experienced business manager with a gentle mien and patience that has helped many floundering businesses resuscitate and grow.
Yours sincerely will be moderating this very important part of KMEN’s Mega Summit 2014, to which all members of the public have been invited. Venue is Planet One Halls, 5, Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, Maryland, Lagos. The Summit has as its theme, the Complete Man and features such top ministers as Larry Titus, author of The Teleios Man, Femi Oduwole of Word Ablaze Ministries International, Taiwo Odukoya, President, Discovery for Men and Ajibola Oluyede, a lawyer and pastor with Christ Chapel International Churches, whose wife, Pastor Funmi, also a lawyer, will be cutting short an international bar engagement to handle two crucial break-out sessions on Saturday.
The post A kingdom economic forum in Lagos appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.