Olusegun Aganga, a former Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, has urged the government at all levels to develop industrialization programs that will boost Nigeria’s productivity, emphasizing that no country can thrive solely by exporting raw commodities.
Aganga made the announcement while delivering a keynote lecture in Abuja on Thursday at the launch of the federal government’s Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG), which is led by the Ministry of Industry.
Aganga argued that industrialisation has been the backbone of every advanced industrialized economy, highlighting China’s manufacturing revolution, which has seen the Asian country’s wealth increase dramatically.
But he added: “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,”
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He continued: “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with the challenge of industrial stagnation, where once-thriving industries have succumbed to inefficiencies and outdated policies.”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 stated that “Nigeria currently sits on 84 million hectares of land where everything may grow and be fertile, but over time, we refused to add value and be a net exporter; as a result, we must ensure that manufactured in Nigerian products are worldwide available and also revitalize our businesses. Also, the IRWG will be given a tremendous opportunity to rebuild industries that once contributed significantly to our GDP,” he stated.
Senator John Enoh, Minister of State for Industries, also stated in his remarks that the IRWG was founded to define, champion, and implement industrial policies to revitalize moribund industries and empower the next generation of manufacturers.
Enoh went on to say that the group’s responsibilities include “streamlining policy reforms and streamlining bureaucratic bottlenecks, and will be looking at short, medium, and long term implementation.”