By Ayo Akinfe
With elections looming, surely the likes of Tinubu, Obi, and Atiku will sit down with their inner circles to draw up an industrialisation plan. Any serious blueprint must recognise that a nation needs seven fundamental pillars to get going — and Nigeria already has most of them.
First, crude oil remains vital to powering the economy. With the Dangote refinery coming on stream, Nigeria no longer needs to spend billions importing petroleum products. What is required now is to raise output back to 2.5 million barrels per day and refine all of it locally.
Second, cash crops are indispensable. Rubber, timber, cocoa, palm oil, cassava, and livestock provide cheap raw materials for processing. Every state should invest in at least one cash crop and attract investors to open processing plants.
Third, an abundant food supply is non-negotiable. A hungry populace cannot be productive. Nigeria is already the sixth largest agricultural producer globally and leads in yam, cassava, shea nuts, kolanuts, melon seed, and cocoyam. Alongside onions, tomatoes, plantain, and fruits, these can feed the nation.
Fourth, a skilled workforce is essential. With a 60% literacy rate and 600,000 graduates annually from over 300 tertiary institutions, Nigeria has a strong platform. Training these graduates for a year could make them capable of producing anything required.
Fifth, adequate land is available. Nigeria’s 923,768 square kilometres provide ample space for factories, solar farms, and industrial parks. With 37.33% of this land arable, there is room to expand both cash and food crop production.
Sixth, access to the Atlantic Ocean gives Nigeria a strategic advantage. With 853 km of coastline, the country can build at least 10 shipping ports to export finished goods. Britain, with far less land, has 120 commercial ports compared to Nigeria’s four.
Seventh, however, comes the biggest challenge: the absence of a powerful local entrepreneurial class. Without robust local investors, Nigeria remains dependent on imports and foreign capital. This fuels corruption, cronyism, and poor infrastructure. A strong private sector would eliminate many of these problems. Religious finance could play a role here, as Nigeria’s general overseers sit on untapped wealth that must be channelled into production.
Beyond these seven essentials, three glaring weaknesses stand in the way. Nigeria produces no steel, while countries like Brazil, Iran, and South Africa churn out millions of tonnes annually. Without steel, industrialisation cannot even begin. Electricity supply is another headache: Nigeria generates just 7,000MW, delivering only 4,000MW, compared to Egypt’s 70,000MW. Finally, the absence of a national railway network cripples logistics. Heavy goods cannot be moved efficiently by road, yet Nigeria persists in relying on lorries, worsening accidents, fuel consumption, and road damage.
If Nigeria is serious about industrialisation, these obstacles must be tackled head-on. The raw materials, land, workforce, and coastline are already in place. What is missing is steel, power, rail, and above all, a bold entrepreneurial class ready to invest in production rather than politics.
📧 ayoakinfe@gmail.com
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