2 weeks ago
8
Africa’s starring industrialist, Aliko Dangote, and different manufacturers pass that Nigeria’s concern trajectory is astatine hazard unless the national authorities swiftly enacts the projected ‘Nigeria First’ Policy, a determination they accidental is captious to reviving manufacturing, boosting GDP, and creating millions of jobs.
Dangote has passionately pleaded with the national authorities to urgently legislate and instrumentality the projected ‘Nigeria First’ Policy, describing it arsenic a captious lever for revitalising the nation’s manufacturing sector.
According to him, the authorities holds the keys to accelerating the nation’s economical maturation and creating sustainable employment opportunities.
Dangote stressed that existent manufacturing contributed little than 10 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP, a stock stubbornly unchanged for much than a decade, underscoring the urgency of argumentation enactment to reverse decades of import dependence and concern underperformance.
Speaking astatine the 5th Adeola Odutola lecture organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) with the theme, ‘Nigeria First: Prioritising Made-in-Nigeria’ held yesterday successful Lagos, Dangote said, the ‘Nigeria First’ argumentation was forward-looking and an entreaty for concern self-sufficiency, economical resilience and greater competitiveness successful the planetary market, saying, “it is simply a telephone to enactment for sustained improvement and translation led by our manufacturers.”
Dangote stated, “If implemented effectively, it tin boost GDP, trim import dependence, and make jobs crossed the country.”
He emphasised that the argumentation represented a transformative model susceptible of propelling Nigeria toward concern self-sufficiency and planetary competitiveness.
Drawing parallels with planetary economical powerhouses specified arsenic China, India, and the United States, Dangote underscored the value of adopting a locally tailored concern argumentation to support and beforehand home industries.
Dangote outlined immoderate strategical priorities that manufacturers expected from the Nigeria First model among which is: to legislate the Nigeria First Policy by enacting it into instrumentality with enforceable compliance mechanisms; Ensure Policy Stability and Long-Term Commitment – Avoid argumentation reversals to foster capitalist confidence; Develop a National Supplier Registry–Create a verified database of section manufacturers for authorities procurement; Drive Consumer Engagement and National Pride–Launch a robust ‘Buy Made successful Nigeria’ run and Incentivise Backward Integration-to enactment companies investing successful section earthy materials and Research and Development.
As portion of the strategy, Dangote besides urged the authorities to code Infrastructure and Energy Deficits by improving entree to affordable powerfulness and businesslike logistics, enhancing entree to Finance by lowering involvement rates and expanding backing for manufacturing enterprises, and leveraging AfCFTA Opportunities by strengthening export capableness to boost determination competitiveness.
The Industrialist besides cited the illness of Nigeria’s once-thriving textile industry, which employed implicit 500,000 radical crossed 180 mills astatine its peak, arsenic a cautionary communicative of the dangers of unchecked importation and anemic argumentation support.
He stressed that the Nigeria First Policy indispensable transcend governmental cycles and rhetoric to go a binding nationalist strategy.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment successful Nigeria, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, urged the full manufacturing and concern sectors to clasp the African Continental Free Trade Area arsenic a cardinal priority.
She stated that “we are actively negotiating to guarantee that your products person entree to markets passim the continent. This committedness aligns with the imaginativeness of President Bola Tinubu’s medication to enactment your maturation and alteration you to execute important standard crossed Africa.”
The president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Otunba Francis Meshioye, said, “The taxable is of large value to us. It speaks straight to the prime we indispensable marque arsenic a nation. The ‘Nigeria First’ argumentation is not simply an concern ambition. It is simply a substance of nationalist economical survival.
“For decades, we person relied connected a improvement exemplary built astir import dependence and anemic enforcement of section patronage obligations.
This exemplary has delivered neither resilience nor inclusive growth. Instead, it has contributed to the systemic underperformance of our industries.”
Meshioye pointed out, “If we bash not intentionally enactment our manufacturers, we volition not beryllium capable to vie globally. It is unsustainable for Nigeria to proceed subsidising the accumulation and employment of different nations done unchecked imports. In contrast, our factories ...
English (US) ·