Even if it is just Nigerian steel alone President Tinubu manages to convince President Trump to invest in, it will make a huge difference to our economy and the quest for stability

Ayo Akinfe

[1] No nation can industrialise without steel and by my calculations, Nigeria needs an annual production target of about 35m tonnes of steel. This will match Brazilian output and put us on the same trajectory as sister developing nations like Mexico, Iran, Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam

[2] President Tinubu needs to exploit the leverage he has with President Trump by explaining that if some 2m jobs are created through industrialisation, it will go a long way to curtail religious tensions in Nigeria. Trump can protect Nigerian Christians by creating jobs and boosting prosperity

[3] Do you know that the US is the third-largest producer of raw steel in the world? In 2023, North America produced about 5.8% of global crude steel, with the US accounting for the largest share

[4] Approximately 25% of the steel used in the US is imported. This is where Nigeria needs to come in as we should aim to be one of those producers targeting that market

[5] Earlier this year, US Steel was acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel. We should be looking to merge the Ajaokuta, Oshogbo and Aladja plants into one company called Nigerian Steel and then getting it acquired by Nippon Steel too

[6] Just to put things into perspective, Russia’s Severstal Steel produces about 12m tonnes of steel. In 2014, Severstal sold its North American plants for $2.3bn. If they invest that kind of money in Ajaokuta, they will turn it into a modern and highly productive facility

[7] We should then woo car assembly plants with the promise that all the steel they need will be provided locally. Any company that creates in excess of 5,000 jobs should get an adjoining steel plant built on its facility in which the federal government will take a 25% stake. An agreement guaranteeing this should be sent to every automobile manufacturer this year

[8] As part of this plan, every one of our 774 local government areas must have at least one technical college where steel is a course. We need to make the point loud and clear that we will never get out of poverty unless we manufacture and you cannot manufacture without steel

[9] All our mega evangelical churches should also be encouraged to open metal collection points and steel furnaces on their premises. They should be given tax rebates if they do this. We can create the title of Steel Pastor for those who excel

[10] Fulani cattle herdsmen who insist on living nomadic lifestyles should be encouraged to go around the country collecting scrap metal. They should be provided with metal bins in exchange for their AK47s and livestock and asked to clear Nigeria of every abandoned vehicle and metal object

ayoakinfe@gmail.com