Victor Eburajolo: Mega employer who fought Nigeria’s deliberate de-industrialization, by Owei Lakemfa

Victor Eburajolo, a lawyer and business strategist, foresaw Nigeria's de-industrialization 40 years ago. As the nation embraced the IMF and World Bank's Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, Eburajolo recognized the dangers of unrestrained market forces and the dumping of foreign goods.

His concerns intensified with Nigeria's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995. Eburajolo actively engaged with industry actors, labor unions, and government officials, including the finance minister, to highlight the potential devastation to Nigerian industries. He argued for a phased implementation of WTO rules to allow for strategic planning.

Despite Eburajolo's warnings and proposals, the finance minister insisted on immediate WTO rule implementation. The consequences were dire, mirroring Eburajolo's predictions. Nigeria's industrial sector, particularly textiles, collapsed, with employment plummeting from over 750,000 to around 24,000 workers. Eburajolo likened the situation to a small shop competing directly with a large farm, highlighting the insurmountable disadvantage faced by local industries against unchecked international competition and smuggling.

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the Nigerian textile company competing with international ones was like opening a shop next to a farm and buying from the farmer to sell to the public; you cannot compete with the farmer.