…say it’s time to stop raw mineral exports
Africa’s long-promised economic rise will remain an illusion unless Nigeria confronts its structural failures and assumes continental leadership, economists and policy thinkers who spoke in Abuja at the 2025 Paul Alaje Colloquium have said.
What emerged across hours of debate at the event was a shared urgency that Africa’s future hinges not on its abundance, but on its ability to convert that abundance into prosperity — and Nigeria, the continent’s largest market, must lead that quest.
Opening the session, Paul Alaje, chief economist and partner at SPM professionals, argued that Africa’s struggle has never been that of scarcity.
“Our poverty is not simply a failure of resources. It is a failure of systems. It is a failure of conversion — converting potential into productivity, converting ambition into action,” he said. “Our greatest enemy is not lack. It is underutilisation.”
Alaje, who is also convener of the colloquium said it was time for Nigeria — and, by extension, Africa — to stop exporting crude minerals and agricultural commodities without value addition, describing the decades-long practice as a self-inflicted obstruction to prosperity.
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“For many decades, our economy has depended on the exportation of resources in their crude forms. We export crude oil to other countries and import refined products. We export cocoa and import chocolate,” he said. “We cannot continue in that trajectory. Every import of finished products is an indication that we create jobs for foreigners and expand unemployment back home.”
He argued that poverty in Africa is a system — deliberately constructed and continuously reinforced by weak or captured institutions, fragile governance, low productivity and chronic underemployment.
In his view, poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa is “a continental crisis of income, investment, and integration,” worsened by exclusion from innovation and technology. Even basic mobility, he noted, remains constrained. “Visa restrictions, high costs, and poor transport infrastructure make cross-border travel a daily struggle. Many flights between African capitals remain expensive, long, and inefficient.”
Alaje presented a four-pillar blueprint — production-driven growth, institutional reform, integrated security architecture, and expanded technological capacity — urging African governments to scale up technical and vocational skills to feed future industries.
He called on customs, migration and regulatory bodies to “become facilitators of pan-African trade and movement, not gatekeepers of exclusion.”
Peter Obi, former Anambra state governor and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, reinforced the central thesis that Nigeria holds the master key to Africa’s economic prospects.
Joining the colloquium virtually, Obi described Africa as “a continent brimming with potential yet struggling to achieve outcomes that reflect that promise,” adding that Nigeria sits at the centre of that struggle.
Obi, however, said that despite the country’s socioeconomic setbacks, his optimism remains anchored in Nigeria’s human capital and natural endowments. “I remain hopeful because I firmly believe in Nigeria’s potential to rise — not only for our own sake but for the sake of Africa as a whole,” he said.
He argued that prosperity is engineered through deliberate choices, not chance. “Prosperity does not occur by chance, nor is poverty an unavoidable fate. Nations chart their paths to prosperity through thoughtful choices, steadfast discipline, and accountable leadership.”
He outlined five foundational pillars that must guide Nigeria’s turnaround, including a shift from consumption to production; prioritising human capital; strengthening governance and institutions; building an innovation-driven 21st-century economy; and fostering national unity. Other nations, he noted, have overcome deeper crises through “visionary leadership, disciplined strategies, and a united populace.”
Obi was of the opinion that “Nigeria can indeed shine as a beacon of hope for Africa — if we prioritise production over consumption, invest in our people rather than patronage, and build a government that serves rather than extracts.”
The colloquium, held under the theme “Breaking the Cycle: How Nigeria Can Lead Africa from Poverty to Prosperity,” assembled leading development thinkers who cautioned that Africa will advance only when entrenched systemic obstacles are dismantled and regional actors commit to unified action.
Delegates repeatedly returned to the persistent failure of African nations to trade among themselves. Intra-African trade still hovers between 14 and 16 percent of total trade — a statistic speakers described as both embarrassing and economically suicidal. Visa bottlenecks, fragmented markets and the high cost of air travel continue to block integration.
Wallace Williams, Global Board Chairman, Africa International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AICCI), said Africa must stop acting like “54 disconnected markets” and unlock the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Representing Patrick Lumumba, Pan-African thinker, he described the AfCFTA as “one of the greatest opportunities in our history.” He added, “Africa cannot continue to function as 54 disconnected markets. We must build interconnected regional value chains driven by innovation, production, and trade.”
Williams insisted Nigeria must shoulder a central role in the AfCFTA’s success. “Africa’s progress depends on our ability to collaborate, coordinate, and act collectively,” he said. “Africa’s prosperity is a shared project — one that requires patience, courage, vision, and continental solidarity.”
Uche Uwaleke, a professor and president, Capital Market Academics of Nigeria highlighted power deficit as the most debilitating factor as he spoke of the structural constraints facing the country and continent.
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“A nation of more than 200 million people still produces less than 5,000 megawatts of power,” he said, contrasting it with South Africa’s 40,000 megawatts for just 65 million people. Until institutions are strengthened, productivity improved and social spending deepened, he argued, inclusive growth will remain out of reach.
Adding a gender lens to the debate, Alice Obasanjo — advocate and wife of Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian president — stressed that Africa cannot hope to rise while sidelining women.
She described women as the “anchor of families, drivers of informal economies and the backbone of communities,” warning that no country achieves sustained development while ignoring half its population.
Echoing the shared sentiment in the room, she noted that Africa possesses abundant resources, a young population, fertile land, and a vast market. However, without Nigeria at the forefront, she argued, the continent will remain stuck exporting raw assets while importing refined prosperity.
