The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged the Nigerian government to deliberately target global investors and supply chain relocations to reduce import dependence, deepen manufacturing, and create jobs.
The former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy made the call on Wednesday at Nigeria House on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
She noted that the rising geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and China, have accelerated the diversification of global supply chains.
She stressed that companies are increasingly adjusting their sourcing strategies in response to trade disruptions and protectionist policies.
“Firms are increasingly adopting China+1 sourcing strategies to reduce single-country risk, although China remains deeply embedded in many global value chains.
“In addition, tariffs and trade restrictions have incentivised companies to reconsider reliance on dominant suppliers, prompting the relocation or diversification of production hubs”, Okonjo-Iweala said.
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The WTO DG believes that the developments present an opportunity for Nigeria to position itself as a destination for investment linked to global supply chains.
She, however, urged the Nigerian government to actively market the country to prospective investors to take advantage of the shift.
“As you said, some good reforms are being pursued right now. I think they need to yield to job creation. That was what I said to His Excellency—that we need to move from stabilisation to job creation, because that is where we are lacking. It is not going to be overnight, but they are moving in the right direction. What I think they need to do is map where the opportunities are.
“What I would like to see is a continued effort to attract investment into the country, because there is an opportunity now to attract these supply chains. If there is one thing I would say, it is that everything we can do to showcase Nigeria as a country worthy of investment is what we should be doing,” Okonjo-Iweala urged.
She maintained that the country should deliberately have strategies to go after those investments and investors—to go to China, the US, whatever it takes—to come and invest in our country.
“As companies seek to diversify supply chains, a lot of that movement is still within Asia. Diversification is moving from China but still within Asia, and India is another destination. We should attract a sizeable chunk of that. I’m not saying all.
“Let’s build solar panels in Nigeria. We are importing, but we can also manufacture. We have the renewable capacity. In fashion, let them come to invest. Every time I buy a piece of wax (textile), I check to see where it’s made. Let’s attract investment to make it at home rather than elsewhere. Many of the shiny new textiles we are wearing now are not made in Nigeria; a lot of them are imported,” Okonjo-Iweala added.
Pinnacle Daily earlier reported that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, hinted at the federal government’s plans to pursue a strategy to scale back borrowing to reduce debt risks to woo investors.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
