‘Nigeria must move from consuming nation to industrial giant’

The Renewal Group (TRG), a political pressure group, has said Nigeria must urgently transition from a consuming economy to an industrial powerhouse. The group’s Convener, Lai Omotola, stated this during a press conference, stressing that productivity remains the only sustainable path to economic growth and poverty reduction. According to him, political leaders must move beyond […]

The Renewal Group (TRG), a political pressure group, has said Nigeria must urgently transition from a consuming economy to an industrial powerhouse.

The group’s Convener, Lai Omotola, stated this during a press conference, stressing that productivity remains the only sustainable path to economic growth and poverty reduction.

According to him, political leaders must move beyond slogans and present practical solutions capable of industrialising the country.

He, however, identified lack of clear implementation strategies as the challenge mitigating against transforming Nigeria into an industrial nation.

“Everybody can identify what the issues are, even a three-year-old baby. If someone says Nigeria must move from a consuming nation to an industrial giant, he has only identified the issue. The real question is: what is the work plan to get us there? “ he said.

Ahead of the 2027 general election, it declared support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu, emphasising the need for him to consolidate his administration goals.

“The role of government in this is to create an enabling environment, to bring policies that will help us, but eventually, after election is gone, each Nigerian is left with no face. 

“The jamboree of elections will come and it will go, but every Nigerian is left with no face. And let us understand this critically, that every Nigerian, either poor or rich, will be measured on the basis of his productivity and the percentage of GDP.

“We are talking about productive work. The only way we can turn this country around is when the economy becomes productive, when we begin to be productive,” he said.

 

He maintained that productivity across all sectors of the economy was critical to addressing unemployment and poverty.

 

“The only way we can turn this country around is when the economy becomes productive,” he said.