No nation grows by exporting only raw materials — Aganga
A former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga has charged the government at all levels to come up with industrialisation plans that will improve Nigeria’s productivity, adding that no country can grow by only exporting raw materials. Aganga made the disclosure while delivering a keynote address in Abuja on Thursday during the Inauguration […]
A former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga has charged the government at all levels to come up with industrialisation plans that will improve Nigeria’s productivity, adding that no country can grow by only exporting raw materials.
Aganga made the disclosure while delivering a keynote address in Abuja on Thursday during the Inauguration of the federal government’s Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG) championed by the Ministry of Industry.
Aganga stated that industrialisation has been the backbone of every advance developed country, citing China’s manufacturing revolution which has seen the Asian country grew its wealth tremendously.
He however noted that “No country has become rich by just exporting raw materials as the more a country only exports raw materials, and become import-dependent, the more they become poorer,”
He further stated that “Industrialisation is the only multiplier of national wealth in Nigeria as Nigeria has over the years grappled with the challenge of industrial stagnation, where once-thriving industries have succumbed to inefficiencies and outdated policies.”
On the way forward, he noted that “Nigeria currently sits on 84 million hectares of land where everything can grow and be fertile but overtime, we refused to add value and be a net exporter, as such elwe must ensure that made in Nigerian products are globally and also revive our industries. Also, the IRWG will be entrusted with an immense opportunity to rehabilitate industries that once contributed significantly to our GDP,” he explained.
Also, in his remarks, the Minister of State for Industries, Senator John Enoh explained that the IRWG was established to design, champion, and implement industrial strategies that will resurrect dormant industries and empower the next generation of manufacturers.
Enoh added that the group is saddled with the responsibility of “Streamlining policy reforms and streamlining bureaucratic bottlenecks and will be looking at short, medium and long term implementation.”