Driving Nigeria’s Economic Diversification through Resilience Of The Tinubu Administration

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation. Known as the giant of Africa, the country also earned the place as Africa’s largest economy.

As the seventh crude oil producer in the world, Nigeria has over the years depended on fossil fuel as its main source of revenue.

However, with the fluctuation in global price of oil, as well as the effects of insecurity, which affects oil production, Nigeria has been forced to think outside the box by considering other sources of revenue.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration started with the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, where trillions of naira had been spent by previous administrations as payment for subsidy.

On assumption of office, the administration was greeted with lots of challenges like oil theft, devaluation of the naira, high inflation rate and unemployment. With these challenges eating deep into the country’s meagre resources, it was necessary to look at other sources of revenue to shore up government’s income.

Therefore, diversification of the country’s economy to non-oil sectors became a major policy thrust of government. With deliberate interventions in such sectors as agriculture, manufacturing, technology, entertainment, ICT, the administration is working to reduce Nigeria’s total reliance on crude oil.

In agriculture, the Tinubu administration has invested a lot in the sector to ensure the restoration of food security. This has been done through the provision of tractors and other farm implements worth billions of naira, geared towards boosting food production and ensuring economic growth.

The government also launched the first phase of special agro-industrial processing zones across the country with each of the centers capable of creating between 3000-5000 jobs in the value chain.

The processing zones were established under a special programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, in partnership with the African Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Islamic Development Bank, state governments and private investors.

The second phase of the programme will be introduced in 2025, with 26 States already showing interest to participate. Already, the African Development Bank pledged a one billion dollar support for the implementation of the 2nd phase of the agro-industrial processing scheme.

In the manufacturing sector, Nigerian government has adopted policies that will encourage local manufacturers by providing tax relief, improving the ease of doing business as well as granting credit facilities for the take off.

Special Economic Zones have also been introduced to attract foreign investment through the provision of the required infrastructure and regulatory support for local manufacturers.

The government recognizes the provision of infrastructure as a driver of economic growth with the introduced of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy to enhance internet connectivity penetration and nurturing technology startups to accelerated innovations development in Nigeria.

Furthermore, to enhance foreign exchange earnings from non-oil sectors, the Nigerian government introduced policies aimed at boosting exportation of agricultural products and promoting locally manufactured goods. This initiative secured the bye-in of the Saudi Arabian businesses for exports from Nigeria

The steps taken by government are already yielding the desired results, as Nigeria’s revenue generation has improved as the three tiers of government now receive more monthly allocation, resulting into more funds for development across the country.

It is, however, worthy of note that in the midst of the progress being recorded in revenue drive, the government still contends with challenges like insecurity, corruption and inadequate funding for small businesses that should continue to expand to achieve the set goals.

The Tinubu administration has shown the political will in the implementation of these policies, programmes and projects, it’s expected that the target beneficiaries and stakeholders would continue to show the required commitment to guarantee the success that will make Nigeria a force to be reckoned with on the global business pedestal.