He said that even though the revenue-to-GDP ratio has grown, it’s still lower than what it was 15 years ago.

The result, according to him, is that Nigeria spends less per-capita on its people than other African countries with a fraction of its wealth.

“Nigeria’s economy has stagnated. Earlier this year, your debt exceeded 50% of your GDP for the first time since 2001.

“And while your revenue-to-GDP ratio has grown, it’s still lower than what it was 15 years ago. The result is that Nigeria spends less per-capita on its people than other African countries with a fraction of your wealth,” he said.

Gates, who attended the National Economic Council meeting at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday, noted that after the unification of exchange rate, the next great hurdle for Nigeria’s economic leaders is raising revenue.

While acknowledging that paying of taxes are never popular anywhere in the world, Gates maintained that they are social compact needed to drive the economy.

According to him, Nigerians are more likely to pay taxes when they see the government spending that money to give them a better life.

“Taxes are never popular. That’s true in America too. But they’re part of a social compact. People are more likely to pay them when they see the government spending that money to give Nigerians a better life.

“That’s what I want to speak about today. Because there are so many Nigerian leaders committed to investing in your people. And so many promising solutions in the pipeline,” Gates said.

He also emphasised the need to for the Nigerian government to invest in the health sector “because without health, there can be no opportunity.”

He added, “In just two decades, the world reduced the number of children who die before their 5th birthday by half. That’s largely thanks to investments in primary health care, like routine immunization. But in Nigeria today, 2.2 million kids have never gotten a single vaccine. I think you’ll agree that if children aren’t immunized against deadly diseases, little else matters.

“Primary care is the first—and sometimes, the only—point of contact most patients have with the health system. Yet Nigeria spends just 3,000 naira on primary health care per person, per year. 70% of your spending goes to secondary and tertiary care, compared to just 30% for primary care.”

The Co-Chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also advised the Nigerian government to invest in nutrition.

According to him, “Malnutrition is the root cause of nearly half of all child deaths. When children are malnourished, they’re more vulnerable to deadly diseases. Even the children who survive malnutrition never escape it.

“It stunts their brains and bodies in ways that can’t be reversed. And new data show that nearly one-third of Nigerian children suffer from stunting.”

Amid all the negative effects of malnutrition, Gates noted that there is still reason to be optimistic.

“Nigeria already mandates that staple ingredients like cooking oil and wheat flour are fortified with essential nutrients. And researchers are now working on fortifying bouillon cubes too.

“If scaled up, these bouillon cubes could save 11,000 lives and prevent over 16 million cases of anemia each year.”

Gates also noted how his bond with Nigeria has grown over the years, with his foundation investing over $2.8 billion in the country, which is its largest commitment in Africa.

“I’ve been coming to Nigeria for over two decades now. In that time, I’ve seen performances by Afrobeats legends. I’ve formed friendships with leaders across sectors. And I’ve met with innovators who are changing the world.

“I’m also proud to support their work. To date, our foundation has invested over $2.8 billion in Nigeria. It’s our largest commitment in all of Africa,” he stated.

Gates said he’s not a fan of digital currencies or investments and that cryptocurrencies and NFTs are “100% based on greater fool theory.”

NFTs are tokens that can’t be exchanged for one another. They’re often touted as a way to prove ownership of digital assets like art or sports collectibles.  Many NFTs are built on the network behind ethereum, the second-biggest token.

Speaking at a TechCrunch talk on climate change Wednesday, Gates described the phenomenon as something that’s “100% based on greater fool theory,” referring to the idea that overvalued assets will go up in price when there are enough investors willing to pay more for them.

Gates joked that “expensive digital images of monkeys” would “improve the world immensely,” referring to the much-hyped Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection.

“I’m used to asset classes … like a farm where they have output, or like a company where they make products,” Gates said.

As for crypto, “I’m not involved in that,” Gates added. “I’m not long or short any of those things.”

Bitcoin was last trading at $21,107 on Wednesday, down 7% in the last 24 hours. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has erased over half of its value since the start of 2022.

According to Mail Online, the review will be conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Arent Fox LLP, which the board of directors selected because it has experience in dealing with sexual harassment allegations and has not conducted much work with the company in the past.

After the law firm’s findings go public, Microsoft will release a report detailing its sexual harassment investigations and if any, actions were taken as a result.

The company was hit with sexual harassment allegations against Gates going back to 2000. He stepped down from the company amid an investigation into one of his relationships with a former employee in 2020, and on May 3, 2021, he announced his divorce to his longtime wife, Melinda French Gates.

A few weeks later, The New York Times published an expose detailing how Gates sexually harassed several of his employees and remained a loyal friend to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein three years after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said in a statement “Our culture remains our number one priority and the entire board appreciates the critical importance of a safe and inclusive environment for all Microsoft employees. We’re committed not just to reviewing the report but learning from the assessment so we can continue to improve the experiences of our employees.  I embrace this comprehensive review as an opportunity to continue to get better.’

The move to hire an independent firm to review the company’s investigations comes after activist shareholders demanded greater disclosure of the company’s handling of sexual harassment issues.

A resolution seeking greater transparency passed in November with support from almost 78 per cent of the shareholders in November, The New York Times reported.

As part of the review, Arent Fox is expected to submit its findings to Microsoft senior management and board members with recommendations on how to improve the culture at the company, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The company would then share a summary of the findings with the public in the spring, which would lead to a public release of Microsoft’s transparency report detailing the effectiveness of the company’s workplace policies related to sexual harassment and gender discrimination. The report will include data on the number of sexual harassment cases Microsoft has investigated, and what the results of those investigations were, and is expected to summarize the results of investigations into Gates and other senior leaders.

In a statement, Microsoft executives said the report ‘will assess the steps that have been taken to hold employees, including executives, accountable for sexual harassment or gender discrimination.’

The firm will also compare Microsoft’s sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies against the best practices that have been adopted by other companies.

Founder Bill Gates has been accused of soliciting at least two employees while he was running the tech giant, according to The Times. In one of the incidents, in 2007, it was reported that Gates sat through a presentation by a Microsoft employee then promptly emailed her asking for a date. He reportedly wrote: ‘If this makes you uncomfortable, pretend it never happened.’

According to Bill Gates, people need to get results back sooner so that they’re able to “change their behaviour so they’re not infecting other people.”

Gates said in an interview with CNBC “The simplest thing, which has to do with such insanity, is you should not reimburse somebody for getting a test that it takes more than 48 hours to get the result back. That test is a complete waste. And to all these numbers about how much we test, the majority is just complete waste”

Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen, who died in 2018, has now grown the company over the last 30 years to one of the world’s richest companies.

He said “I have made the decision to step down from both of the public boards on which I serve – Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway – to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities including global health and development, education, and my increasing engagement in tackling climate change. The leadership at the Berkshire companies and Microsoft has never been stronger, so the time is right to take this step With respect to Microsoft, stepping down from the board in no way means stepping away from the company,” Gates said. “Microsoft will always be an important part of my life’s work and I will continue to be engaged with Satya and the technical leadership to help shape the vision and achieve the company’s ambitious goals. I feel more optimistic than ever about the progress the company is making and how it can continue to benefit the world.”