Industry experts in the field of commerce have identified creation of a monopoly by developed economies, constant aids to African countries and one sided trade as major challenges stifling competitiveness of Nigeria and indeed Africa.
They observe that aside these identified challenges, the ploy by western world to convince Africa that their wealth lies in continuous production of raw materials, rather than finished goods have significantly contributed to Nigeria and Africa’s backwardness.
Bamidele Ayemibo, managing director, 3T Impex trade academy, Lagos observes that Nigeria and indeed Africa is fundamental to the development and prosperity of the western world.
Ayemibo opines that Africa must come to terms with the fact that its prosperity can never lie in the production of raw materials. It lies in the production of finished goods not as assisted by nature but production of complex products as assisted by the intellectual capacity.
Speaking at the 2019 graduation ceremony of trade professional development programmes under 3T Impex trade academy in Lagos said aside the export monopoly game by the west, another tool in the hand of the west to keep Africa small is aids and one sided trade.
According to him, “They ensure that the underdevelopment in Africa persist by giving aids to keep regimes that will do their bidding in power. Such aids are never given for infrastructure development that will aid intra African trade”
In his presentation on the topic ‘How the West Has Kept African Exports Under 3 percent’ Ayemibo observes that the strength of Africa is its people and the huge markets that this has created.
“This is the target of the Western world. Our misery is what defined their relevance. Their factories are running on the strength of the poverty and underdevelopment of Africa”, he said.
He further said one of the ways out of this economic slavery is for Africans to grow intra-African trade, adding that this is very important because it is going make a lot of difference in terms of growth and development among Africans nations if it is taken very seriously.
“If Africa can grow its current intra-African volume from below 20 percent to just about 40 percent, it would have succeeded in lifting hundreds of millions of its population out of poverty just the way China have lifted over 200 million of its citizens out of poverty in the last 7years”, he said.
Rufai Oseni, On Air Personality (OAP) with inspiration FM opines that Nigeria in particular and Africa in general cannot compete favourably in trade among the comity of nations without first addressing her infrastructure challenges.
KELECHI EWUZIE
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