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By Merit Ibe
The need for Nigeria to identify and develop sectors where it has a clear comparative advantage if it hopes to compete successfully under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), has continued to take the front burner, as experts have warned that the country risks losing out to better-prepared African economies without a deliberate export strategy.
The AfCFTA offers significant opportunities to expand intra-African trade, but countries that fail to strengthen their most competitive industries will struggle to benefit from the continent’s largest free trade agreement.
According to the experts, Nigeria’s strengths lie in agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, the creative economy, digital services and its youthful workforce, stressing that these sectors should form the foundation of the country’s export drive rather than continued dependence on imports and crude oil revenue.
They noted that comparative advantage allows countries to specialise in producing goods and services more efficiently than others, adding that government must support priority sectors through improved infrastructure, stable electricity, access to finance, lower production costs, technology adoption and compliance with international quality standards.
The stakeholders also called for stronger collaboration between government and the private sector to develop competitive value chains, improve logistics, simplify cross-border trade procedures and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), saying these measures would increase exports and create jobs.
Commenting, a trade expert and former director general of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), John Isemede, said Nigeria cannot compete effectively under AfCFTA without first identifying products in which it enjoys a genuine comparative advantage.
While agriculture and manufactured goods have received considerable attention, he described solid minerals as one of Nigeria’s most strategic export opportunities.
According to him, exporting raw minerals will not deliver meaningful economic transformation. Instead, he advocated value addition through beneficiation, processing and manufacturing before export.
“The real opportunity lies in processing our mineral resources into higher-value products. Free Trade Zones can serve as industrial hubs where minerals such as lithium, barite, limestone, tin and iron ore are refined and processed before export, creating jobs, increasing export earnings and improving Nigeria’s competitiveness,” he said.
Isemede also called on relevant government agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, to make AfCFTA tariff schedules, product listings and rules of origin more accessible to exporters.
“Without this information, many exporters will simply be operating in the dark,” he said.
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He argued that Nigeria’s long-term success under AfCFTA would depend on building industrial capacity through properly managed Free Trade Zones capable of transforming the country’s abundant natural resources into globally competitive products.
The trade expert questioned what export products Nigeria has prioritised under AfCFTA and expressed concern over the limited contribution of the solid minerals sector to the economy.
According to him, the sector contributed only about 0.03 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023, compared with about 30 per cent in South Africa, despite Nigeria’s vast mineral deposits.
He further criticised the implementation of AfCFTA since Nigeria signed the agreement, saying the country has yet to develop a clear strategy for generating foreign exchange earnings through the trade pact.
He identified several gaps, including inadequate export infrastructure, weak logistics systems, insufficient trade financing, poor port configuration, limited market development, lack of coordinated documentation processes, inadequate trade policies and poor connectivity between production centres and export corridors.
Isemede also stressed the need to develop border infrastructure, container collection centres, pre-shipment inspection facilities, multimodal transport systems and transit arrangements to support trade with landlocked countries in West and Central Africa. He added that stronger integration between Nigeria’s industrial and agricultural sectors would help maximise the benefits of AfCFTA.
The expert expressed concern over what he described as poor coordination among government agencies implementing the agreement, noting that many institutions continue to operate independently instead of pursuing a common national strategy.
Isemede questioned the country’s progress six years after joining AfCFTA, asking for measurable evidence such as import and export volumes, export earnings and trade performance under the agreement.
“We should be able to point to concrete achievements after six years. If we cannot show the level of exports, imports and trade growth under AfCFTA, then it is fair to ask whether we are truly on track,” he said.
Another stakeholder, Chief Executive Officer, Rimax Group, Linus Okwara also criticised Nigeria’s implementation of the agreement, arguing that the process has been driven largely by government officials with limited participation from the organised private sector.
Okwara said the country has yet to establish critical institutions, develop export markets, strengthen infrastructure or create the enabling environment needed to compete effectively under AfCFTA.
He warned that unless these structural challenges are addressed, Nigeria risks becoming a dumping ground for foreign products rather than emerging as a major exporter within the African market.
The experts therefore urged the Federal Government to engage experienced trade professionals, strengthen collaboration with the private sector and move beyond signing trade agreements to implementing practical policies that will position Nigeria as a competitive export-driven economy.
