Yemisi Izuora
An economist and public affairs analyst Dr. Muda Yusuf has said that Nigeria has continued to mortgage its future by not investing in people and wasting public resources by promoting import policy where domestic production suffices.
Yusuf, in a policy brief titled, “IMPORT LIBERALISATION AND THE RISKS OF DEINDUSTRIALISATION IN NIGERIA” said the debate goes far beyond petroleum products.
He said, “Every imported petroleum cargo represents exported jobs, exported industrial opportunities, Additional pressure on foreign reserves, Weakening of local value chains, reduced domestic capacity utilization, and import dependence weakens national economic resilience.”
According to Yusuf, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), argues that domestic refining, on the other hand, strengthens Energy security, Foreign exchange conservation, Job creation, Industrial linkages, Backward integration, Balance of payments sustainability, and Macroeconomic stability. A nation that produces what it consumes builds resilience. A nation addicted to imports builds vulnerability.
He recalled that Nigeria’s recent experience with food importation clearly illustrates the dangers of excessive liberalisation.
According to him, Large-scale food imports disrupted local agricultural value chains, weakened incentives for domestic farmers and undermined investments in local production. Admittedly, imports helped moderate the prices of some food items, thereby providing temporary relief to consumers.
However, the experience underscores the imperative of balancing short-term consumer welfare with long-term domestic productive capacity. Many Nigerian farmers are yet to recover from the disruptions created by those policy measures. He advised that the refining sector must not be subjected to the same policy error, saying temporary import advantages should never be permitted to destroy long-term domestic industrial capabilities.
Yusuf, stated that Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful industrialisation without deliberate and sustained support for domestic production.
In his view Industrial transformation requires, Strategic protection, Policy consistency, Strong domestic value chains, Support for local investor and Reduction in import dependence
He said, “No economy becomes prosperous by importing what it can produce domestically. The future of Nigeria’s economic resilience lies in production, refining, manufacturing and value addition — not in the perpetuation of import dependence.”
He said Nigeria must therefore decide whether it wishes to build a production economy or remain trapped within a consumption economy, adding that “History has repeatedly shown that nations which neglect domestic production eventually weaken their currencies, compromise economic sovereignty and expose themselves to severe external vulnerabilities.”