Growing Nigeria’s non-oil sectors has remained a call with justifiable variables as the pragmatic solution to the wobbles of the Nigerian economy, which recently has reflected the weaknesses of fatigue from the over-reliance on oil as its mainstay. The oil predomination of the Nigerian economy and the reliance on same, forming the mainstay of the economy, has most recently manifested the danger of such monocultural predominance.
The necessity for diversification has been one resounding call which has been put forward as the panacea to address the wobbling strains of the economy. While the government has acknowledged the fact in view of the prevailing realities, it is however unsatisfactory the level of commitment posed on the drive towards the quest to a formidable diversification of the economy.
Although, reports recently have shown rising records in the performances of some non-oil sectors, yet the value of such remain infinitesimal to the level of output desirable to have formidable deliverables from the non-oil sectors, upon which the economy can spread its base.
Recently, the Federal Government disclosed that the Nigeria’s non-oil sector recorded some growth as it exported products worth $2.593 billion in the first half of 2022. Data from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) show that this represents a 62.37 per cent increase from the $1.59 billion value exported within the same period in 2021. Executive Director of NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak at the presentation of the First Half Year Progress Report 2022 in Abuja, had said the Country’s non-oil export sector recorded a significant growth, as about 4.15 million metric tons of products were exported during the period, in spite of the global economic recession that affected most businesses in 2021. He had also said 572 companies participated in exporting Nigerian products during the half-year period. The NEPC boss added that during the period under review, different Nigerian products were exported to 112 countries, adding that of the 15 top exported products, urea/fertiliser recorded 32.49 per cent of total exports while cocoa beans, sesame seed, and aluminum ingots contributed 12.65 per cent, 7 per cent and 5.07 per cent, respectively, within the period under review.
On the measures employed to boost the value of Nigeria’s non-oil exports, he mentioned that to facilitate the ease of doing business and seamless documentation processes, the council, during the first half of 2022, registered 2,000 companies under its fully automated online registration platform. He said, “I am also elated to inform you that processing time for applications is now 24 hours while 17.3 per cent of applicants were recorded to be women-owned businesses (WOB). The South-west recorded the highest figure of exporters’ registration of 851, while the North-central came second with 417 registered exporters. We have also commenced training and re-training of our personnel. This is intended to close identified skill gaps and improve capabilities/knowledge of employees for optimum output. This is germane considering our current efforts/campaign for massive investment in non-oil export. I am optimistic that our vision to make the world a marketplace for Nigerian non-Oil export is not just lip service but a commitment to the people of Nigeria. This commitment is borne out of the desire to build a prosperous future for our people through diversification of the Nigerian economy by increasing the basket of exportable products from Nigeria.”
Stating that the pre-shipment inspection data showed that half-year non-oil export performance was the highest since 2018, he disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved N375 billion to settle the backlog of claims for 285 beneficiaries under the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) Scheme. Insisting that the Country’s survival largely depended on its ability to boost non-oil exports, Yakusak maintained that the current devaluation challenges facing the local currency, Naira, could be simply resolved by strengthening non-oil exports in order to earn foreign exchange to beef up the external reserves.
While such measures as NEPC’s “Export4Survival” initiative has been in view, more is certainly needed as this all on its own is insufficient to drive a diversification revolution for a fortified virile economy. The Export4Survival campaign, which was unveiled by the council in February, is a strategic initiative to increase awareness of opportunities in the sector and to highlight the benefits of exporting Nigerian goods and services to the overall growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Encouraging value addition to raw material exports to earn foreign exchange is pertinent to revamping the fatigue economy, and it’s only by conscious and deliberate measures that such could be set in tune.
It is pertinent to build on quality control framework to ensure Nigerian products meet global best standards for acceptability. Cases of rejection of Nigerian products for not meeting standards are glitches that must be eliminated. While it has been disclosed that NEPC is currently working with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and other relevant agencies of government to end the narratives of rejection of Nigeria’s export products in the international market, the measures put in place must be well articulated and deliblately tailored with firm approaches for long term impacts and credible significance. In this light, Inter-agency working/fact-finding missions should be organised to provide Nigerian export regulatory/facilitating agencies the opportunity of observing the processes of agricultural commodities import procedures and to also interact with port health and food import regulatory agencies at the border control points in countries, which are current and prospective destinations of Nigerian products.
Economic challenges associated with the monocultural predominance status of the Nigerian economy such as overwhelming devaluation of the Naira, with the strings of inflation, erosion of purchasing power, and problems of revenue shrinking, among other related troubles, have placed the Nigerian economy at a disadvantage, despite the huge potentials of diverse natural resources, advantages of topography and population strength.
It is apparent that the insensitivity to growing non-oil sectors such as agriculture, optimising the benefits of agro-allied industries, mining, manufacturing, tourism sectors, among others where the country particularly stand at an advantage with huge potentials if well harnessed, have had damages of grave losses recorded against the country.
Against the profile of economic buoyancy, the narratives have been the paradox of ‘suffering amidst plenty’. The years of overdependence on oil has proven the threats of such incongruous disposition to building a virile economy. With the present challenges of the woes driving the economy to the mire of wobble fragility, it is only instructive that the government begin in earnest the developmental quest to set in order the growth course of critical sectors where the country is at advantage of huge potentials.
Coordinating veritable policies to develop mechanisms of growth impetus around these sectors is pertinent. Such policies should be those crafted in harmonised orientation with conscious and deliberate measures to build around these sectors frameworks to set in tune friendly environment suitable to attract investors. The harsh venture-killer environment of majority of the poor performing non-oil sectors demand conscious efforts to create, through policy measures, an ambiences suitable for investors to operate for sectoral growth.
Hence, in addition to the government itself investing in those sectors, the necessity of firm collaboration with the organised private sector is pertinent as the government alone may not have the monopoly of strength to drive the needed growth for this sectors to emerge competitive as bases upon which the economy can reliably spread its rest away from the overreliance on oil. In this regard, creating an architecture where the beauty of leveraging on public-private partnership (PPP) finds expression, is pertinent. The government at all levels has the role to set the ambience through decisive and deliberate policy measures, while private sector stakeholders key into the drive concertedly.