Africa Industrialization Day with a difference

Precisely because yours comradely was involved, I bear witness on behalf of the IndustriALL SSA Region’s EXCO Members that 2015 edition of Africa Industrialization Day ( AID) Policy Roundtable/ celebration on the 20th was remarkably successful. Since 1990, African Industrialization Day is observed on November 20th each year as a platform to reflect on the […]

Precisely because yours comradely was involved, I bear witness on behalf of the IndustriALL SSA Region’s EXCO Members that 2015 edition of Africa Industrialization Day ( AID) Policy Roundtable/ celebration on the 20th was remarkably successful. Since 1990, African Industrialization Day is observed on November 20th each year as a platform to reflect on the challenges of Industrialization in Africa.
2015 AID assumes special importance for a number of factors. For one, Nigeria has a new government that has shown commitment to the revival of industry. The Federal cabinet has just been constituted. It was significant that the first major assignment of Minister of State Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar was the observance of the AID with the participation all the stakeholders in the private sector. The mission of the ministry cannot be overstated: “To formulate and implement policies and programmes to attract investment, boost industrialization, increase trade and exports and develop enterprises”.
President Muhammadu Buhari has commendably charged the new ministers to be business unusual; minimize waste of time and resources, stay on jobs, and get the jobs done. The performance of the new Ministers of industry among others will determine the success of Buhari administration.
Despite its abundant natural resources, Nigeria once a promising industrializing nation harbours the biggest industrial cemeteries. Former functioning and productive industrial estates of cities like Lagos, Kaduna, Aba, Port-Harcourt and Kano now harbour closed hundreds of industrial plants with attendant millions of mass job losses.
 The restless unemployed youths that have become foot solders for dangerous forms of violence from terrorism to succession clamouring for a false republic must be kept positively busy in the factories through decent mass employment in the factories. At the official 24 per cent unemployment rate, Nigeria is still a peaceful country.  No country with this huge army of unemployed can survive social revolution. It was an unemployed worker who set himself ablaze in Tunisia in 2010 that led to the Arab springs from which many Arab countries and indeed the world is yet to recover.
There was a resolve at the policy dialogue forum that the new ministers of industry must visit both the closed and the remaining factories to appreciate the task at hand. Manufacturing which once contributed as much as 24 per cent of GDP now contributes less than 4 per cent. The collapse of the price of crude oil has made economic diversification a necessity. I still hold the view that President Buhari should have been the substantive Minister of Industry or Agriculture to practically and symbolically demonstrate his commitment to see that Nigeria moves out of the box of extractive industry.
However as substantive  minister of Petroleum Resources, President Buhari makes the oil sector truly an industry with value adding activities in functioning refineries and petrochemicals instead of just extraction and export of crude oil. What Nigeria and indeed Africa need is strong consistent industrial policy. Nigeria and indeed Africa must produce what it consumes and consumes what it produces and in the process create decent jobs. This must start with the Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.  Significantly the AID this year was truly African and global.
Appreciation goes to the pioneer General Secretary of 50 million-member Industrial Global Union, Jyrki Raina, Fabian Nkomo, Regional Secretary of Industriall, Africa Region, Jenny Holdcroft, Head of Industrial Policy and Policy Director, IndustriAAL, from Geneva, the General Secretary of National union of miners, (NUM) of South Africa, President of National Union of Miners of  Ghana who all matched in company of NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and other Presidents and General Secretaries of industrial unions to observe the day. The issues are the same. South Africa and Ghana produce gold and diamonds, yet the countries import necklaces from abroad with lower end jobs of poorly paid miners. The IndustriALL Action Plan calls for strong industrial policies that recognise manufacturing as a key engine of growth for national economies.