I have wracked my brains over this non-stop over the last few days and Nigeria has no choice but to follow up the opening of the Lekki refinery with the launch of Dangote Steel

Ayo Akinfe

[1] As an economy, Nigeria’s woes basically stem from the fact that we simply do not manufacture enough and as a result, import too much. This leads to balance of trade and balance of payment deficits. Once we start manufacturing, we will be on the road to recovery

[2] To become a manufacturing nation you need a large pool of workers, crude oil , steel and electricity. The first two we have in abundance, so need to work on the other two vigorously

[3] One area where we are totally lacking is in steel production, as our Ajaokuta, Aladja and Oshogbo mills are not producing one tonne of steel at the moment. Bola Tinubu needs to declare a state of emergency in the sector and make it an urgent national priority

[4] Basically, Nigeria needs to set an annual target of producing 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

[5] We need to follow up the opening of the Lekki refinery with the launch of Dangote Steel. It should take over the Ajaokuta, Aladja and Oshogbo steel mills and among other things launch a radical scrap metal collection programme

[6] Under this scheme, any local government that hands in up to 100 tonnes of scrap metal a year should get a technical college located within its domain to train its youth

[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

[8] 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 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 and confer national honours on them

[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