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Nigeria in Davos, rues Africa’s low domestic output, poor trade balance
A situation where the whole of Africa is posting just three per cent in both Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the same percentage in its share of world trade, must be reversed, Vice President Kashim Shettima, demanded on Thursday, stating that time had come for African economies to start adding value to their commodities by stepping up to the secondary scale, of turning raw materials into manufactured goods.
Shettima, who emphasised at the African Economy of Scale Plenary on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, regretting that African trade was still hovering around three percent of world trade, implored African leaders to work towards ramping up the total $3.1 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of countries on the continent, amounting to a paltry three percent of the overall global GDP.
His presentation at the forum, captured by Stanley Nkwocha, his spokesman said: “The total Gross Domestic Product of African countries taken together is barely $3.1 Trillion, which is less than 3% of world GDP.
“African trade still hovers at 3% of world trade. These indices must be reversed and ramped up. I believe this is one of the key concerns of Africa’s Economy of Scale. It must be borne in mind that African economies are still largely primary and basic, with considerable dependencies on the global economy. Most countries on our continent are still known for their export of raw materials, minerals, and food crops. African economies understand that we must begin to add value to primary products like cash crops and step up to secondary and tertiary product manufacturing.”
In his brief remark at the event which was held at Kurpark Village, Davos-Klosters, Shettima pointed out that it is for this reason Africa is considered by top analysts the world over as a growth economy in dire need of investments and infrastructure.
He however told African leaders that economies of scale “portend the ability to do more” by coming together and forming “a more formidable unit, with a bigger voice and stronger negotiating abilities.”
He urged them to run faster and purposefully to catch up with the rest of the world in eradicating crass poverty on the continent and prove that the continent could be a significant contributor to world productivity that can “integrate better with the rest of the world in an age when Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are redefining human interactions and existence.”
He continued: “Size matters in negotiations and scalability. And African nations need more productivity to improve our people’s standards of living. We need more food, more affordable housing, a burgeoning textile sector to clothe our people, more energy/power, more social services for our poor and disempowered people, and cheaper, better transportation systems. Our work is well cut out for us.
“Pooling resources together as African nations allows us to cut the cost of producing many of those necessities for our peoples. We need to achieve higher levels of efficiency both in our public and private sectors.”
The Vice President noted that while the African trade agreement is projected to boost the continent’s GDP by $450 billion in the next decade, the urgency to actualise an African economy of scale is the reason behind the continent’s trade cooperation as demonstrated by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
He applauded the idea of economy of scale for Africa, describing it as timely because the continent is seen as the last frontier for development, with many opportunities presenting themselves.
Shettima observed that the challenges dogging Africa face are not drawbacks, but opportunities for engagement, productivity, and profitability, even as he pegged the continent’s infrastructure deficit at trillions of US Dollars.
Highlighting some of the deficit, he said: “51 new housing units have to be built in the very minimum. We need schools, stadia, community centres, roads, rail networks, airports and water transport, technology enablement, and major interventions in the energy sector, among others.
“Viewed from space, Africa still presents as the darkest continent. This narrative can be changed by a combination of efforts and deep collaborations among ourselves and the global community. I aver though, that the greater challenge is within ourselves.
“The concept of Africa Economy of Scale is therefore a wakeup call to all of us here seated, to embrace a major leap of faith, away from the usual sordid monikers with which we have been identified, as a people and as a continent. There is a need to prepare a much better Africa for our children and those unborn. In an Information Age, we can no longer hoard information and set small dreams that will not impact our world.”
Shettima further acknowledged the efforts made by African youths in repositioning the continent, saying they, “have created major tech-driven private-sector organizations, some of which are unicorns – with over $1 billion in terms of capitalization.
He added: “The Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS) is a product of the technological prowess of our young professionals, working within the larger organizational structure. In the creative and arts sectors, African youths are making a profound impact on and outside the continent. There has also been a major push in the outsourcing industry, for African youths to show more relevance by targeting remote work all over the world. The terrain is being redefined.”
Fuel marketers across Abuja on Wednesday continued to sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, at old prices more than 24 hours after Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a reduction in its ex-depot price, Vanguard is reporting.
The paper reported that its investigation, showed that major retail outlets were yet to adjust their pump prices despite the N75 per litre reduction announced by the refinery on Monday.
At the retail stations visited in Abuja, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Retail and TotalEnergies dispensed petrol at N1,335 per litre, while AA Rano sold at N1,350 per litre. AYM Shafa and Conoil outlets sold the product at N1,330 per litre.
The development comes amid growing public expectations that the reduction in Dangote Refinery’s gantry price would quickly translate into lower pump prices nationwide.
Explaining the delay, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, said retail prices are influenced by several factors beyond refinery gate prices.
Speaking to Channels TV, Gillis-Harry said: “Prices reflecting at the pump are dependent on availability of the product, the other is the cost. The cost of purchasing the product and cost in terms of logistics, and preparing the particular petroleum to be delivered to the people”.
According to him, downward price adjustments often take longer to reach consumers because marketers need to recover the cost of existing stock purchased at higher prices before restocking at lower rates.
When asked why increases in fuel prices are usually reflected immediately while reductions are delayed, Gillis-Harry said the dynamics of supply management play a significant role.
He explained: “It is mainly affected by whether the producer has additional resources or not at the time. Increases in prices are mainly caused by the need to restock. There must be that advantage pushing the price upward to be able to pay for new supplies.”
He further acknowledged that marketers generally seek to exhaust existing inventory before implementing lower prices.
“That’s the basic idea. But in petroleum, a mixture is involved, and loss is taken, though not in a way that affects the capital needed to restock,” he added.
Also speaking on the issue, energy analyst Olabode Sowunmi said fuel pricing in Nigeria is influenced by a combination of domestic supply arrangements and logistics costs, rather than crude oil prices alone.
He noted that although international crude oil prices remain an important factor globally, their impact on local petrol pricing is not always direct.
“Global price of crude oil is a factor internationally and not necessarily in Nigeria,” Sowunmi said.
Explaining that Dangote Refinery operates under arrangements that allow a portion of crude supply to be priced in naira, reducing the direct impact of international market fluctuations on local fuel prices, he said: “So basically the issue will have to be from the point of refinery to where it touches the final person. Logistics costs within the domestic supply chain remain a major determinant of the final pump price paid by consumers.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
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