Africa must stop exporting raw materials, add value locally — Shettima

Nigeria's Vice President Kashim Shettima is urging African nations to move beyond exporting raw materials and instead develop industries that add value locally. During a visit to Benin's Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ), Shettima emphasized the need for the continent to control its resources and global trade.

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Africa must maximise its vast natural endowments by developing industries capable of processing raw materials into higher-value products.

"Africa must maximise its vast natural endowments by developing industries capable of processing raw materials into higher-value products," Shettima stated. He expressed satisfaction with Benin's efforts in mass production and export of locally sourced resources, noting that Africa currently benefits from only about one percent of the global cotton industry, valued at $370 billion. He believes reviving Nigeria's textile value chain could generate millions of jobs and boost non-oil exports.

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We are here essentially at the behest of President Tinubu, in the spirit of his Renewed Hope Agenda, to see and peer-review global best practices.

Shettima's visit, undertaken at the behest of President Bola Tinubu's "Renewed Hope Agenda," aimed to study Benin's integrated value chains for cotton, cashew, and soya beans. He observed firsthand how locally produced cotton is transformed into yarn, fabric, and finished garments, and how agricultural commodities are processed for domestic consumption and export.

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We are setting up eight agro-industrial zones in eight states in our country.

"We are setting up eight agro-industrial zones in eight states in our country," Shettima announced, expressing his intention to replicate Benin's successful model in Nigeria. He highlighted the GDIZ as an "African success story" and assured that Nigeria has learned valuable lessons from the visit. The Federal Government remains committed to industrializing Nigeria under President Tinubu's administration.

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an African success story where there is a whole chain of value addition in cotton, cashew and soya bean value chains.