Nigeria primed to be Africa’s industrial powerhouse— Ex-UNIDO DG

A former Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Dr Kandeh Yumkella, has said Nigeria has the essential foundations to become Africa’s industrial powerhouse but must translate its huge market, natural resources and entrepreneurial capacity into competitive production and exports.

Yumkella, who identified Nigeria’s financial depth and strategic position within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as additional advantages, said the country’s industrial challenge was not a lack of ambition or enterprise, but the failure to convert its potential into measurable economic performance.

He stated this in Lagos while delivering the 6th Adeola Odutola lecture with the theme, “Leveraging National Industrial Policy to Position Nigeria as Africa’s Industrial Hub”, organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

“Nigeria has the essential foundations for an industrial powerhouse. It has scale, resources, vibrant entrepreneurs, financial depth and strategic positioning to win equity in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“Countries industrialise when policy translates into productive capacity, investment, technology, competitiveness and value addition to create jobs,” he said.

Yumkella, however, noted that the country’s industrial performance remained below its potential, with manufacturing contributing about seven to eight per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while manufactured exports generated only about three per cent of total export revenue.

According to him, Nigeria’s exports of goods and services accounted for just 10.7 per cent of GDP, underscoring the urgent need to strengthen domestic production and expand access to international markets.

“Nigeria’s 41 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) testify to the energy and resilience of the private sector. But potential is not performance,” he said.

Yumkella identified unreliable electricity supply as a major obstacle to industrial competitiveness, noting that the national grid delivered about 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts against estimated demand exceeding 20,000 megawatts.

He said manufacturers spent an estimated N1.34 trillion on self-generated electricity in 2025, compared with N781.68 billion in 2023, adding that energy accounted for between 35 and 40 per cent of production costs.

He urged the government to harness the country’s abundant natural gas, hydropower and solar resources to provide reliable and affordable electricity for industries, while promoting regional energy markets across West Africa.