By O. Marinho, M. Ogunyemi, A. Gbogboade, M. Adeyemi & S. Asokere
The Managing Director of SecureID Limited, Mrs. Kofo Akinkugbe, has called for urgent and coordinated action to reposition Nigeria as an innovator, rather than a consumer, in the global manufacturing space.
Speaking at the ongoing NME-NIRAM Expo, Mrs. Akinkugbe commended RMRDC and MAN for convening a critical and timely gathering focused on Enhancing Sustainable Innovation and Technology Transfer in Manufacturing.
In her address, she raised some pertinent questions. “Do we continue to rely on external ideas and technologies, or do we rise to become producers and exporters of innovation that drive inclusive growth and industrial sustainability? Nigeria must make a deliberate choice,” She said.”
Citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Mrs. Akinkugbe expressed concerns over the sector’s performance, noting that manufacturing contributed just 8.4% to Nigeria’s GDP in 2024, a significant drop from 10% five years ago. By contrast, Vietnam and China have reached 25% and 28%, respectively. Despite housing nearly 20% of the world’s population, Africa contributes a mere 1.9% to global manufacturing output, which she described as both a missed opportunity and an urgent crisis demanding strategic intervention. Nonetheless, she acknowledged the entrepreneurial resilience of Nigerian industrialists and pockets of progress made in collaboration with the government. However, she stressed that “modest gains are not enough,” and, therefore, challenged stakeholders to use the Expo as a springboard towards full industrial transformation.
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Mrs. Akinkugbe also outlined four key pillars to reposition Nigeria’s manufacturing sector to include driving innovation across the sector, maximising local utilisation of raw materials, enhancing indigenous production of equipment and spare parts and prioritising leadership and human capital as enablers of technology transfer.
On innovation, she pointed to the untapped potential within Nigeria’s youthful population and highlighted the success story of SecureID. Founded two decades ago, the company pioneered smartcard production in Sub-Saharan Africa, an industry previously deemed impossible to establish locally. She noted that presently, SecureID exports secure ID products to over 20 African countries.
Mrs. Akinkugbe emphasised the country’s abundant natural resources from lithium and cobalt to oil and gas, but lamented the lack of local value- addition. “We continue to export raw materials in their basic form and import the finished products at great economic cost. That must change,” she said.
She urged the government to revitalize and adequately support agencies like RMRDC, NOTAP and NASENI, which are mandated to support innovation and technology transfer. “We do not need more agencies,” she argued. “We need the current ones to work better, be visible and be accessible to the businesses they were created to serve.”
Addressing the critical issue of machinery and spare part imports, Mrs. Akinkugbe drew lessons from China and India, which have evolved from importing machines to becoming global original equipment manufacturers (OEM) leaders. She called for similar strategies in Nigeria, including reverse engineering, incentivising local machine building and strengthening industrial research.
In her closing remarks, she emphasised that people and leadership remain the most crucial drivers of sustainable technology transfer. Drawing inspiration from China’s long-term investment in STEM education, engineering talent and strategic foreign partnerships, she urged Nigeria to adopt a similar, tailored model.
“We can replicate the industrial transformation seen in other nations,” she concluded. “With the right investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure, Nigeria can move from spare-part production to full ownership of industrial solutions. We can start small, but we must start now.”
