Nigeria Has Potential to Become Africa’s Industrial Powerhouse — Ex-UNIDO DG
A former Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Dr Kandeh Yumkella, has said Nigeria has the resources, market size and entrepreneurial capacity to become Africa’s industrial powerhouse but must translate its potential into competitive production and exports. Speaking at the 6th Adeola Odutola Lecture organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos, Yumkella identified Nigeria’s financial depth and strategic position within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as key advantages. He said the country’s industrial challenge was not a lack of ambition or enterprise but the failure to convert its potential into measurable economic performance. Yumkella noted that manufacturing contributes about seven to eight per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while manufactured exports account for only about three per cent of total export revenue. He added that exports of goods and services represent just 10.7 per cent of GDP, highlighting the need to strengthen domestic production and expand access to international markets.
Yumkella, who spoke on the theme, “Leveraging National Industrial Policy to Position Nigeria as Africa’s Industrial Hub”, also cited the country’s 41 million micro, small and medium enterprises as evidence of private-sector resilience, stressing that potential alone does not guarantee economic progress. He identified unreliable electricity supply as a major obstacle to industrial growth, noting that the national grid delivers about 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts against estimated demand exceeding 20,000 megawatts. According to him, manufacturers spent an estimated ₦1.34 trillion on self-generated electricity in 2025, up from ₦781.68 billion in 2023, with energy accounting for between 35 and 40 per cent of production costs. He urged the government to harness Nigeria’s natural gas, hydropower and solar resources to provide reliable, affordable electricity for industries while promoting regional energy markets across West Africa. Yumkella stressed that effective industrial policies must drive investment, technology adoption, competitiveness and value addition to expand production and create jobs.
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