Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has declared that the country is once again charting a clear path toward industrialisation, after decades of economic stagnation following independence.
He made this known while speaking at the African Sovereign Investment Forum (ASIF) hosted by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) in Abuja on Monday.
Edun declared: “We all know our founding fathers at independence had a vision. They moved from politics to focus on the economy. But it stalled — that’s the word I’ll use. In Nigeria, industrialisation had stopped. But today, we are about to have 1.2 million barrels per day of crude refining capacity. We again have petrochemical complexes producing raw materials for the chemicals, paints, textiles, rubber, and building materials industries, and of course fertiliser for agriculture.”
“This is the road to industrialisation,” he added, “the road to value added domestically that will make building factories and investing in Nigerian and African production attractive — not just to local producers, but also to the rest of Africa,” the Minister stated.
Capital is the key, says Edun
Edun emphasised the need for capital mobilisation at scale, regional and continental collaboration, and human capital and policy alignment as the three key pillars for Africa’s future prosperity.
“You can’t do anything without capital — capital is the key,” he said. “We must reach scale in mobilising blended capital platforms that can absorb institutional funding from across the world.”
He stressed the need to create the right environment for private sector participation:
“One of the particular aspects we must succeed in is convincing even ourselves, our authorities, that the private sector is where the real money is. And if you are going to attract private sector investors, then you have to meet their terms. You have to have the philosophical mindset that makes conditions amenable for the private sector.”
FG lauds NSIA
During his speech, he also took out time to praise the efforts of NSIA.
He stated:
“I’m very proud of our own Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. It has played a crucial role in capital mobilisation, positioning itself as a leading capital provider and a trusted gateway for global investors seeking high-impact opportunities in Nigeria and across Africa.”
Praising Nigeria’s innovative approach to development finance, Edun highlighted several groundbreaking projects spearheaded or supported by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). These include the Green Guarantee Company, the world’s first climate-focused guarantee institution, co-founded with the Green Climate Fund, FCDO, and USAID, which has already unlocked about $1 billion in guarantees for climate-related projects. He also pointed to the Chapel Hill Denham Nigerian Infrastructure Debt Fund, Nigeria’s first and largest infrastructure debt fund, which mobilises long-term capital from institutional investors to drive critical infrastructure development.
In addition, Edun cited collaborative initiatives such as the World Bank’s 300 Initiative, developed alongside Africa50, the International Solar Alliance, and the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All, which aim to direct substantial capital into underserved communities through distributed renewable energy platforms.
Yes, the minister is right. Energy sufficiency is the bedrock of industrialization.
That’s why, MBuhari is a legend. He is largely instrumental to the industry that the minister is promoting today.
Supporting Dangote with cash investments and forex support, contracts to NNPCL refineries, bringing modular refineries to life.
These were all visionary ideals for an industrialized Nigeria.
That quiet man pursued these aims relentlessly even in the face of leading global entities such as JP Morgan who said it was impossible to achieve or people like OBJ who said it will fail.
He kept focused at a time when commentators said nothing was happening in Nigeria. They even said it was “the lost decade.”
That’s the same decade when Nigeria built its biggest industrial capacity ever