Stakeholders urge shift to production economy to achieve $1trn GDP target

Stakeholders have emphasized the need for Nigeria to transition from a consumption-driven to a production-based economy to realize its $1 trillion GDP target by 2030.

This call was made during the 33rd Fellows Conference of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSChE) held in Abuja on Friday, with the theme “From Consumption to Production Economy in Nigeria — The Pathways.”

Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industrialisation at the African Development Bank (AfDB), said achieving the trillion-dollar target would require sustained annual growth driven by productive industrialisation and innovation.

He explained that for Nigeria to grow its economy from $243 billion to $1 trillion, it must accumulate an additional $757 billion, which would require an average growth rate of 14.7% over 10 years, 9.6% over 15 years, or 7.3% over 20 years.

“If Nigeria sustains a 7% annual growth rate, as aspired by the President, the country could reach a $1 trillion economy in about 23 years,” he noted.

Oyelaran-Oyeyinka stressed that economic growth is synonymous with industrialisation but lamented that Nigeria has been deindustrialising since the mid-1980s, with a preference for foreign goods over local products.

“It has become our habit to see ‘Made in Nigeria’ as inferior, fostering a ruinous dependency that weakens our economy,” he said.

He attributed the nation’s vulnerability to its overreliance on oil, which has entrenched a consumption economy that encourages imports and undermines domestic manufacturing.

To reverse this trend, he urged the government to prioritise sectors with strong growth potential such as agriculture, light manufacturing, textiles, leather, and petrochemicals, noting that they possess both natural and human resource advantages and can create extensive industrial linkages.

The AfDB official also decried the neglect of strategic industries like steel production, citing the decades-long failure to operationalise the Ajaokuta and Delta Steel complexes.

He highlighted lithium mining and processing as a major opportunity for industrial diversification, given Nigeria’s large deposits in Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti, and Cross River States, and urged the government to develop a framework for local processing rather than exporting raw minerals.

On his part, Bayo Olarewaju, President of the NSChE, expressed concern over Nigeria’s continued dependence on imports, calling for the establishment of a National Engineering Research Council to unify experts from various engineering fields to drive indigenous innovation.

He noted that sustainable development begins with self-reliance and local production, warning that dependence on foreign goods keeps Nigeria economically vulnerable and technologically backward.

“We must build and develop Nigeria for our children and grandchildren. It is not enough to complain — we must take action. Japan and China did it; Nigeria can too,” Olarewaju said, urging young engineers to embrace innovation, research, and collaboration to rebuild the nation.