…warns of export shocks, backs value-added production
African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina has urged Nigeria to industrialise around its abundant critical minerals, calling it a strategic imperative in the face of global trade headwinds and rising economic uncertainty.
Speaking at the 14th Convocation Lecture of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja recently, Adesina said Nigeria has a cost advantage that could position it as a competitive global hub for solar panel manufacturing if it moves beyond raw mineral exports and adopts a focused industrial policy.
“Nigeria… can become an important player in the production of solar panels, as its cost of production is estimated to be low compared to China,” Adesina said. “This is an important opportunity for the Nigerian government to have a clear critical minerals industrial manufacturing policy.”
Read also: AfDB approves $650m yearly funding for Nigeria’s economy
The AfDB president’s remarks come as African countries, including Nigeria, face new economic pressures from the global tariff war ignited by the United States.
According to Adesina, 47 of 54 African countries have been placed under new U.S. tariffs, effectively ending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade program that had allowed many African exports duty-free access to U.S. markets.
The loss of AGOA and new tariff barriers could reduce export revenues, weaken currencies, drive up inflation, and worsen debt burdens across African economies.
For Nigeria, whose economy remains largely dependent on oil and commodity exports, the need for value addition has never been more urgent.
Adesina emphasised that Africa’s traditional model of exporting raw materials has deepened poverty across the continent and made it more vulnerable to global economic shocks.
“The export of raw materials is the door to poverty. The export of value-added products is the highway to wealth. And Africa is tired of being poor,” he declared.
Read also:AfDB’s Adesina visits Buhari, expresses gratitude as tenure nears end
Drawing examples from countries like Indonesia and China, Adesina highlighted the benefits of domestic processing of strategic minerals. Indonesia, for instance, banned raw nickel exports and mandated local refining, an industrial move that catalysed its growth in stainless steel and battery material production.
In addition to policy, infrastructure and energy are central to unlocking the potential of Nigeria’s mineral resources. Adesina pointed to the recently launched “Mission 300” by the AfDB and World Bank, which aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, as a game-changer for industrialisation.
He also warned against Africa’s increasing dependence on aid, stressing that the continent must now chart its future through trade, investment, and regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In Nigeria, the AfDB is already investing in the country’s youth and innovation ecosystem. Through its $100 million Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank and the $614 million I-DICE program (Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises), the Bank aims to create millions of jobs and boost value-added sectors beyond extractives.
