Nigeria Will Start Producing What Africa Needs, Export Them With Pride – Tinubu Declares

President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria must move away from exporting raw materials and importing finished goods as the country works towards becoming Africa’s industrial workshop.

Tinubu said the government was determined to expand manufacturing, increase local value addition and position Nigerian businesses to take a larger share of the African market.

The President spoke through the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Enoh, at the 6th Adeola Odutola Lecture and Presidential Luncheon organized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos on Wednesday, Naija News reports.

The event had the theme, “Leveraging National Industrial Policy to Position Nigeria as Africa’s Industrial Hub.”

Tinubu said Nigeria could no longer afford to remain a market for products made by other countries when it had the population, resources and business capacity to manufacture for Africa.

“Nigeria will not be Africa’s warehouse, storing what others make. Nigeria will be Africa’s workshop, making what Africa needs, and sending it with pride across the continent and beyond,” he said.

The President said the decline in the contribution of manufacturing to Nigeria’s economy must be reversed.

He noted that the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product had fallen from more than 20 per cent in the early 1990s to below 10 per cent by 2024.

According to him, manufacturing grew by 3.29 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 and 3.24 per cent in the second quarter, but the sector continued to face major financing and operating challenges.

Tinubu said the Nigerian Industrial Policy, unveiled in February, was designed to raise manufacturing’s contribution to GDP to between 20 and 25 per cent by 2030.

He added that the target would be supported by industrial financing of up to five per cent of GDP.

The President said the government would prioritize reliable energy, affordable long-term capital, fair markets, improved security along industrial corridors and stronger accountability in the implementation of industrial policies.

He also disclosed that the Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG) would hold quarterly delivery meetings with manufacturers to monitor progress and address challenges affecting the sector.

Tinubu said the African Continental Free Trade Area, with a market of 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of about $3.4 trillion, offered a major opportunity for Nigerian manufacturers.

He urged businesses to take advantage of Nigeria’s large population, entrepreneurial strength, natural resources and strategic location to produce goods for markets across Africa.

“The government will clear the road. You must drive the trucks,” he told manufacturers.

The President challenged manufacturers to invest in production capacity, deepen backward integration, meet export standards and train young Nigerians.

He also urged them to see Africa as their home market rather than focusing only on Nigeria.

Tinubu said the country must end the practice of exporting cocoa, crude oil and cotton while importing products such as chocolate, fuel and clothing.

“We are writing a new chapter, and we are writing it in factories,” he declared.