By Adaora Adibe /Nafisat Abdulrahman
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has continued to spotlight the critical need for Nigeria to diversify from Oil dependency through its bi-weekly Zoom webinar series, drawing attention from key industry stakeholders.
The virtual event held on Thursday 3rd October 2024, brought together economists, stakeholders, business leaders, etc. to discuss strategies for moving the country away from its overreliance on crude oil building a more resilient and diverse economy.
This event titled, “Promoting Revenue Diversification In Nigeria Through Strategic Investments In Non-Oil Sectors; The Way Forward”, was discussed during the Zoom meeting moderated by the Director of Corporate Affairs (DCA) of the RMRDC, Mr. Chukwuma Ngaha, who opened the session by reiterating Council’s mission to identify and promote alternatives to oil-based revenue generation.
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Speaking on the matter, a Geo-Environmental Researcher and Development Expert, Prof. Hilary Inyang highlighted the need to expand Nigeria’s economy for diversification including agriculture, technology, the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, Iron and steel, mineral resources sectors, and the publishing industry to boost education and enhance resilience in an unpredictable global market.
“No country can advance without advancement in iron and steel, very important the iron and steel industry, because this is where you can fabricate machines, tools and so on that people even at the technical level need to do their jobs; so Nigeria has to diversify to that sector. One of the things that China did was to go to that sector, one of the things that India did was to also go to that sector and Egypt is doing that today”.
Prof Inyang listed the following as warrants for entrepreneurship in Nigeria; need to increase Nigeria’s GDP with greater role by developing small and medium enterprises, provide more employment opportunities for Nigerians, acquire and conserve foreign exchange and external reserves through the increase in exports and reduction in imports through domestic entrepreneurship activities, to provide opportunities in rural areas for residents, thereby reducing rural-to-urban migration and crime rates in the cities hence, build national pride and stealth.
Mr. Chukwuma Ngaha pointed out that the federal government has proactively addressed the economic challenges. He highlighted that several initiatives have been launched to tackle these issues, with particular emphasis on the Economic Recovery Plan of 2017, which aims to diversify the economy, promote investment, and create jobs. He said, however, a lot more needs to be done to strengthen Nigeria’s revenue generation.
“We also have the National Industrialization Revolution Plan as one of those measures that seek to promote industrialization and manufacturing, we have the Nigerian content development monitoring board which of course looks at the efforts that should be made to encourage local content development, especially in the oil and gas sector”, he stated.
A senior management staff of RMRDC Engr. Ettu Obassi stressed the importance of capacity building to foster the skills required for transforming Nigeria’s abundant resources into products that will support economic diversification and stability.
“There cannot be really any national development unless there is a National will to development. Nigeria as a nation is indeed heavily reliant on oil revenue and this accounts for a substantial proportion of the GDP but you know that with the volatility of oil prices in the international market, we stand a risk of receiving this shock every time the oil prices turn and mutilate themselves and that makes diversification very relevant”.
He added that “the key areas RMRDC has always looked at to make its input for diversification of the economy is the raw materials and you know there are two broad classes of raw materials; Agro and then the mineral”.
“It has also become necessary to look at the area of energy both conventional and renewable”.
All stakeholders pointed to agriculture as a promising sector for diversification. They observed that Nigeria with its vast arable lands has the potential to become a major food producer. However, challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, insecurity, etc remain barriers. They therefore called for increased investment in agricultural technology and improved supply chains.
As Nigeria begins its journey toward economic diversification, prioritizing strategic investments in non-oil sectors is essential. By implementing effective initiatives and committing to sustainable growth, the country can cultivate a more resilient economy that can succeed in an evolving global environment.
As the session concluded, Mr. Ngaha, encouraged participants to take the insights shared in the webinar back to their respective industries and urged them to collaborate on turning the dialogue into actionable steps.
