The African Development Bank (AfDB) has urged President Bola Tinubu‘s administration to chart a path toward prosperity for Nigeria.
During his keynote speech at the Business Day Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Forum in Lagos, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), highlighted the need for President Bola Tinubu’s administration to establish the correct direction for Nigeria’s prosperity.
It is worth noting that the keynote is titled: ‘Awakening the Lion’s Might! Charting Nigeria’s Path to Becoming a Global Industrial and Economic Titan’.
Adesina made a striking analogy between Nigeria’s circumstances and the narrative of Simba in The Lion King, wherein Simba faced multiple challenges but ultimately reclaimed his rightful place as King after the loss of his father.
‘Nigeria, like the cub Simba, has great promise. But the promise is yet to be realised.’
‘The day that Nigeria wakes up and becomes a lion king, everything will change for its people; and everything will change for all of Africa.’
‘Nigeria should never be a poor country, and Nigerians are tired of being poor.’
‘For now, Nigeria is developing too slowly and well below its potential. The challenge is for the lion to roar. Then we will have the making of an economic giant.’
‘The key for that is for Nigeria to have an Industrial Revolution,’ he said.
In his remarks, Adesina pointed out that the manufacturing sector’s portion of Nigeria’s GDP has hovered around seven per cent over the past several decades.
Adesina noted that the nation has been held back by the lacklustre performance of its industrial manufacturing sector, preventing it from fully capitalizing on its potential.
‘The performance of the manufacturing sector in the past five years has been poor. Between 2015-2017, the sector declined by -1.5 per cent, -4.3 per cent and -0.2 per cent.’
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‘This is in sharp contrast to the dynamic and rapid performance of manufacturing in Asian countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, India, and China.’
‘The manufacturing sector of Nigeria represents only three per cent of the total revenue from exports but accounts for 50 per cent of imports in the country.’
‘Instead of being forward-looking in expanding the share of the manufactured goods in its total export revenue, Nigeria focuses on the model of import substitution,’ Adesina said.
Adesina observed that the country’s manufacturing sector is stuck in a ‘survival mode’ rather than transitioning into a ‘global manufacturing growth mode’, hindering its global competitiveness.
He expressed that a developed and policy-enabled manufacturing sector, oriented toward exports, would ignite greater innovation, facilitate the implementation of industrial policies aimed at expanding export markets, and drive a transformative shift in the economy’s structure.
He recommended a shift in focus from conserving foreign exchange to enhancing it through the diversification of export value.
Adesina pointed out the disparity in trade performance between Nigeria, Malaysia, and Vietnam, highlighting that Nigeria’s exports experienced minimal fluctuations, while Malaysia and Vietnam effectively employed aggressive horizontal and vertical industrial manufacturing diversification to upgrade from low-value to high-value market products.
‘The result is seen in the comparative wealth of the three countries.’
‘While export value per capita is 7,100 dollars for Malaysia and 3,600 dollars for Vietnam, it is only 160 dollars for Nigeria.’
‘While Malaysia and Vietnam moved to global manufacturing growth, creating massive wealth and jobs for themselves.’
‘Nigeria remains in a ‘survival’ mode, still unable to substitute the imports of its petroleum products while being one of the largest exporters of crude oil,’ he said.
Adesina noted that African countries, Nigeria included, have developed policies, templates, and programs to promote industrialization and the growth of industrial manufacturing. However, there is a notable disconnection between these policy initiatives and the actual implementation efforts.