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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.”
I’m willing to go to the firing squad if it will stop the mess in Nigeria. I assure you, I’m willing to do that,” were the words with which Pat Utomi, Nigeria’s foremost political economist stretched the extent of his desire to help Nigeria recover itself from the current parlous situation it has found itself in recent years.
A guest of Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television, Utomi, told his host, on Wednesday that he was doing everything, including bringing together a coalition of Nigerians in the Diasporas to help in the task of redeeming the country today.
Arguing that Nigeria still had one of the highest human and natural resources in the world, he said Nigeria’s problem remained that of poor leadership, adding for instance that instead of harnessing potentials of the diversity of the country, those on the driving seat, were more interested in dividing the country.
Hear him: “We have converted what we have as our greatest strength into our weakness, which is our diversity. You take that diversity and look at our selling culture from different parts of Nigeria, what that means. Nigeria has a huge strength in its diversity, but weak, horrible politicians have chosen to exploit it in a manner where emotions have trumped reasons and the gap between we and them is widening everyday.
“If you look at the American melting pot, why don’t they say, you’re a Korean, you’re a Vietnamese, you’re an Italian-American, you’re Irish-American? Because those who led America, its founding fathers, had such great vision, and wrote one of the greatest constitutions in human history and built institutions that allowed that melting pot culture to enable America become almost the greatest people on the planet. I think leadership can help to turn this around.
Dwelling on how poor leadership had aided in stunting Nigeria’s development, Utomi, who claimed to have been integrated into national politics at the age of 27, because of how passionate and vocal he became over national issues even at that young age, blamed Nigerian youths for not expressing the same zeal in taking their country back.
Instead, he accused them of complicity, by becoming complacent while the older generation remained at the driving seat of national affairs and controlling their emotions at the same time, adding that the value system must change in which the future must matter to people than the immediate gains.
Hear him: “Ultimately, values shape human progress. When we have values and people of character and commitment to service are in positions of public authority, our country will turn around. We have the ingredients, the human capital that it takes to show the way.”
“The biggest challenge we have is that culture is in collapse in Nigeria, values shape human progress. How do we get a values revolution? Institutions are critical for human progress if we can commit to building stronger institutions that push back on people who do not do right and the rule of law is fully in place.
“Look at our judiciary, it is a laughing stock – no country can make real progress without a judiciary that you can rely on. Look at our other institutions whether it is INEC or others, they are weak.
“How do we ensure that we have strong institutions and that we have values that really ensure that character matters and that people of character can show a light? We can do it, I am absolutely confident because I have seen it happen in human history.”
“Over the past year, the ICPC has made significant progress in discharging its mandate; for example, we recovered over ₦13 billion in diverted public funds in September 2024 alone. This is just one of the many ways we have worked tirelessly to fulfil our mandate.”
These were the words with which Musa Aliyu, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), summed up the immensity of the work the anti-graft agency has been doing in the country towards dealing with official graft in the Nigerian system.
Though he was not definite on those involved in the various scams from which the moneys were recovered from Aliyu, who made the disclosure during the launch of the commission’s 2024-2028 strategic action plan in Abuja on Wednesday, emphasised that the feat resulted from the relentlessness of the agency towards fulfilling its mandate.
It was also a day the ICPC boss disclosed the body’s new focus on digitalising its operations, which he said will position it as a leader in leveraging technology to combat corruption, adding: “We are also embarking on ICT reforms that will digitalise our operations and enable more efficient investigations, case management, and internal processes.
“This transformation will position the Commission as a leader in leveraging technology to combat corruption, keeping us one step ahead of criminal activities in the digital age. The commission is developing a specialised curriculum aimed at enhancing the enforcement capacity of its personnel.
“This initiative equips our officers with the skills and expertise needed to address the complexities of corruption cases with the highest standards of professionalism and efficiency.
“Additionally, we are decentralising the anti-corruption effort by empowering state governments through the mobilisation of State Attorneys General. This approach ensures that state governments are equipped with the tools, knowledge, and resources necessary to effectively combat corruption at the local level.
“Because we believe prevention is better than cure, we have intensified efforts to identify institutional and administrative vulnerabilities through System Studies and Corruption Risk Assessments. We have also continued to engage with the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs) in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), reinforcing our grassroots monitoring mechanisms.”
Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command are combing around to ascertain whether Abayomi Oshoke, a 45-year-old, a resident of Mango Oke-Ata, actually took his own life because he could no longer continue with the present hardship in Nigeria or there are other factors to it.
This was after confirming the incident, which reportedly took place around 6:00am on September in the suburb of Abeokuta, the state capital, through Omolola Odutola, the command’s spokesman, on Tuesday.
Odutola, who confirmed that the deceased consumed an insecticide to end it all due to the hardship he was allegedly facing, explained that his sister, identified as Funmilayo, reported the incident to the Lafenwa Police Division after discovering her brother’s lifeless body in his room, with a bottle of insecticide found beside him.
She said: “A friend of the deceased visited his home and asked to see him. Upon entering the room, he discovered the victim’s body on the floor and raised the alarm after finding that the victim had ingested a mixture of insecticide and herbal concoction.
“He left a note written in Yoruba language, explaining the reasons behind his decision. In the note, he expressed frustration with his life and stated that he felt he had no choice but to end it. A discreet investigation is currently underway.”
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