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Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has called on African nations to stop exporting raw materials and instead develop industries that process them into higher-value products, enabling the continent to take control of its resources and strengthen its position in global trade.
Speaking on Friday during an official tour and assessment of the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) in Cotonou, Benin Republic, Shettima stressed that Africa must maximise its vast natural endowments through industrialisation and local value addition.
“It is time for African nations to take their rightful place in the control of global resources and trade by taking advantage of the natural endowment with which the continent is blessed,” he said. “This can only be possible if nations on the continent brace themselves and maximise the potential of the resources the region harnesses.”
Shettima highlighted that Africa currently benefits from only about one per cent of the global cotton industry, valued at $370 billion. He noted that reviving Nigeria’s textile value chain could create millions of jobs, boost non-oil exports, and stimulate economic activity nationwide.
Accompanied by governors from Kwara, Imo, Katsina, Plateau, Zamfara, and Jigawa states, the Vice President inspected facilities for cotton, textile, cashew, and soya bean oil production. He described the GDIZ as “an African success story where there is a whole chain of value addition in cotton, cashew and soya bean value chains.”
Shettima linked the visit to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, emphasising that Nigeria’s industrialisation drive would leave no region behind. The Federal Government is collaborating with state governments to establish eight agro-industrial zones across the country.
“We are here essentially at the behest of President Tinubu, in the spirit of his Renewed Hope Agenda, to see and peer-review global best practices,” Shettima stated. “Be rest assured that we have learnt a lot of lessons through this visit and we are going to replicate a lot of that in Nigeria, as we are focused on becoming one of the industrialised nations in the world.”
The visit forms part of Nigeria’s broader efforts to attract private investment, convert raw materials into finished products, and build integrated value chains that drive sustainable economic growth and job creation across the continent.