Vice President Kashim Shettima has said African countries must take greater control of their natural resources and global trade by prioritising value addition and industrialisation instead of exporting raw materials.
Shettima made the remarks on Friday during an official tour of the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, where he led a delegation of Nigerian governors to assess the country’s industrial development model.
He said Nigeria, under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is determined to become one of the world’s industrialised nations and assured that no region would be left behind in the administration’s industrialisation drive.
According to the Vice President, Africa must maximise the economic potential of its abundant natural resources to secure a stronger position in global trade.
He lamented that although the global cotton industry is valued at about $370 billion, Africa earns only about one per cent of that value due to limited local processing and manufacturing.
Shettima said reviving Nigeria’s textile value chain would create millions of jobs, expand non-oil exports and stimulate economic growth across the country.
“We are here at the behest of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda to review global best practices in value addition.
“We are establishing eight agro-industrial zones across eight states, and this is an African success story that demonstrates the complete value chain in cotton, cashew and soybean processing.
“We have learnt valuable lessons from this visit, and we intend to replicate many of them in Nigeria as we pursue our goal of becoming one of the world’s industrialised nations,” he said.
The Nigerian delegation was received by Benin’s Minister of Tourism and Foreign Trade, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, who briefed them on the industrial zone’s operations, production capacity and investment opportunities.
The delegation toured integrated textile and agro-processing facilities where locally produced cotton is transformed into yarn, fabric and finished garments, while cashew, soybean and other agricultural products are processed for local consumption and export.
The 1,640-hectare industrial zone, developed through a partnership between the Beninese government and ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms, hosts textile, garment, cashew, soybean and other manufacturing businesses and has created more than 25,000 jobs since production began in 2021.
Shettima said the visit was aimed at drawing practical lessons from Benin’s success in linking agriculture with manufacturing, attracting private investment and increasing the value of locally produced raw materials.
The governors who accompanied the Vice President included AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau) and Dauda Lawal (Zamfara).
The governors pledged to pursue similar industrial initiatives in their respective states through public-private partnerships, with a focus on job creation, technology transfer and stronger links between farmers and manufacturers.
To conclude the visit, Shettima and the governors planted trees within the industrial zone, underscoring their commitment to environmentally sustainable industrial development.
