It is unfortunate that the current political debate in Nigeria is not about how to mass produce goods we currently needlessly import

Ayo Akinfe

[1]Yesterday, the APC held primaries for National Assembly positions. Did the elections involve a discussion about how we are spending about $11bn importing products we can easily produce locally?

[2] Over recent years, the Central Bank of Nigeria has waded into the matter by drawing up a list of products for which foreign exchange will not be made available to importers but that is only one tenth of the battle.

[3] You can ban imports but such bans will become unenforceable unless you fill the vacuum with local production. If you do not, all that will happen is smuggling will thrive.

[4] It is pathetic that Nigeria is importing produce which she has in abundance. I look forward to the day we will have a trade and industry minister who actually sets production targets in Nigeria

[5] In somewhere like Delta State for instance where there is an abundance of wood, why has the state government not gathered all the industrialists in Government House and read them the riot act

[6] Can someone please tell me why the Delta State government has not set local industrialists a target to manufacture 10m tonnes of toothpicks annually

[7] In any developing economy, industrial targets are simply a must. Governments set targets for steel, forestry products, rubber, food crops, etc

[8] Setting industrial targets was one thing the Soviet Union gave the world. They delivered on this big time and Vladimir Putin has continued that tradition. As we speak, Russia’s oligarchs always meet investment and industrial targets set for them by the Kremlin

[9] Whether he likes it or not, President Tinubu has to introduce this kind thinking into his government’s policy formulation. For the APC gubernatorial primaries, candidates must give production targets for agricultural and industrial goods in their states

[10] Ideally, what I would love to see is the trade and minister declare that Nigeria has set herself the following export revenue targets for 2027:

[1] Steel nails -$35m

[2] Toothpicks - $18m

[3] Petrol - $6bn

[4] Fertilizer - $500m

[5] Brazilian hair - $400m

[6] Sugar - $406m

[7] Rice - $302m

[8] Fish - $170m

[9] Generators - $2bn

[10] Phone handsets - $745m

ayoakinfe@gmail.com

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