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Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima has called on African countries to prioritise local processing of raw materials, saying the continent must take greater control of its resources and secure a stronger position in global trade.
Shettima made the call on Friday during a visit to the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) in Cotonou, Benin Republic, where he assessed the facility’s manufacturing and agro-processing operations.
He said Africa could create greater economic benefits by building industries that transform raw materials into finished products instead of exporting them in their raw form.
The vice president noted that Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda would involve collaboration between the federal government and state governments to ensure balanced development across the country. He commended the Benin Republic for developing industries that process locally sourced agricultural products for domestic use and export.
Shettima lamented that Africa currently accounts for only about one per cent of the global cotton industry, valued at about $370 billion, despite being a major producer of the crop.
According to him, reviving Nigeria’s textile value chain would generate millions of jobs, increase non-oil exports and stimulate economic growth.
The vice president inspected facilities involved in the processing of cotton, textiles, cashew and soya beans, describing the industrial zone as a model of value addition that Nigeria could emulate.
He said President Bola Tinubu’s administration was studying successful industrial models across Africa as part of efforts to implement the Renewed Hope Agenda. Shettima disclosed that the Nigerian government was establishing eight agro-industrial zones across eight states and said lessons from Benin’s integrated value chain would help shape the initiative.
“We are here essentially at the behest of President Tinubu, in the spirit of his Renewed Hope Agenda, to see and peer-review global best practices.
“We are setting up eight agro-industrial zones in eight states in our country,” he said.
During the visit, officials of the Beninese government briefed the Nigerian delegation on the industrial zone’s operations, production capacity and investment opportunities.
The delegation toured textile plants where locally grown cotton is converted into yarn, fabric and finished garments, as well as facilities processing cashew and other agricultural products for local and international markets.
The vice president was accompanied by the governors of Kwara, Imo, Katsina, Plateau, Zamfara and Jigawa states.
