Nigeria was obviously absent in Kagali on March 21, 2018 where
African leaders signed the Largest Free Trade Agreement since the creation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
African leaders signed the Largest Free Trade Agreement since the creation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
President
Muhammadu Buhari cancelled his trip to Rwanda due to pressure by Labour
union not to participate in signing the agreement.
Muhammadu Buhari cancelled his trip to Rwanda due to pressure by Labour
union not to participate in signing the agreement.
The spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Tope Adeleye Elias-Fatile,
said the president cancelled his trip to Kigali, Rwanda
to allow more inputs from Nigerian Stakeholders.
said the president cancelled his trip to Kigali, Rwanda
to allow more inputs from Nigerian Stakeholders.
The
trade agreement deal created a continental market of 1.2 billion
people, with a combined gross domestic product of more than 3.4 trillion
dollars.
trade agreement deal created a continental market of 1.2 billion
people, with a combined gross domestic product of more than 3.4 trillion
dollars.
A
major goal in the agreement is to boost intra-African trade and rely
less on the volatility of commodity prices that affect many exports.
major goal in the agreement is to boost intra-African trade and rely
less on the volatility of commodity prices that affect many exports.
The
aim is to have agreement, signed by 44 of the African Union’s 55 member
states, enter into force by the end of this year, said the chair of the
AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
aim is to have agreement, signed by 44 of the African Union’s 55 member
states, enter into force by the end of this year, said the chair of the
AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
But some of the continent’s strongest and fastest-growing economies, including Ghana and Ethiopia, signed the deal.
The
major concerns remained that the president of Nigeria, one of Africa’s
largest economies, skipped the summit, thus throwing up comments by
Nigerian stakeholders.
major concerns remained that the president of Nigeria, one of Africa’s
largest economies, skipped the summit, thus throwing up comments by
Nigerian stakeholders.
Punch carried out an opinion on some major stakeholders, largely in Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture.
Mr. Olalekan Ayodimeji (Vice President, Kwara Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture)
Yes,
President Muhammadu Buhari should sign the African Continental Free
Trade Agreement. There is no doubt that the AfCFTA, otherwise called
‘The Kigali Declaration,’ is good for Africa and indeed Nigeria
as it will give rise to one of, if not, the world’s largest free trade
area given the population of the continent and her business activities.
AfCFTA is a trade agreement aimed at creating a single market to ensure a
free movement of goods and services among
African Union member states. However, for Nigeria the issues have
always been the various previous bi-lateral trade agreements of the
other African countries, the state of our industrial and infrastructural
development and import tariff, among others. The
above issues are germane as they have the potential of making Nigeria a
dumping ground due to our non-competitive manufacturing activities, our
market size and our population. There is therefore the need to develop
our export market which is presently comatose.
We do not have specialty in any exportable product. Importantly, there
is also the need to carry along all stakeholders – the Nigerian
Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture;
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, among others. Having
recognised these challenges, Nigeria should set up a committee that will
fashion out ways to tap into the advantages inherent in what is going
to be the world’s largest free trade area. I will
therefore advise President Buhari to sign the AfCFTA and let Nigeria
take the lead in the various discussions and processes leading to the
formulation of modalities for the implementation of the agreement. The
Nigerian negotiation team should be guided by
our own peculiar situation. Already, 44 out of 55 member states of the
African Union have signed the agreement and only 22 countries are
required to make it effectual. Thus, delaying the signing may in future
make us operate from ‘outside the box. If Nigeria
signs, it gives us the opportunity of being part of the decision-making
process. It is better that we operate from ‘within the box’ as there is
enormous potential in the AfCFTA that can be of immense benefit to us.
This is also the time for all stakeholders
to come together with a common front to assist the negotiation team in
piloting the country’s position to convince other AU member states.
President Muhammadu Buhari should sign the African Continental Free
Trade Agreement. There is no doubt that the AfCFTA, otherwise called
‘The Kigali Declaration,’ is good for Africa and indeed Nigeria
as it will give rise to one of, if not, the world’s largest free trade
area given the population of the continent and her business activities.
AfCFTA is a trade agreement aimed at creating a single market to ensure a
free movement of goods and services among
African Union member states. However, for Nigeria the issues have
always been the various previous bi-lateral trade agreements of the
other African countries, the state of our industrial and infrastructural
development and import tariff, among others. The
above issues are germane as they have the potential of making Nigeria a
dumping ground due to our non-competitive manufacturing activities, our
market size and our population. There is therefore the need to develop
our export market which is presently comatose.
We do not have specialty in any exportable product. Importantly, there
is also the need to carry along all stakeholders – the Nigerian
Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture;
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, among others. Having
recognised these challenges, Nigeria should set up a committee that will
fashion out ways to tap into the advantages inherent in what is going
to be the world’s largest free trade area. I will
therefore advise President Buhari to sign the AfCFTA and let Nigeria
take the lead in the various discussions and processes leading to the
formulation of modalities for the implementation of the agreement. The
Nigerian negotiation team should be guided by
our own peculiar situation. Already, 44 out of 55 member states of the
African Union have signed the agreement and only 22 countries are
required to make it effectual. Thus, delaying the signing may in future
make us operate from ‘outside the box. If Nigeria
signs, it gives us the opportunity of being part of the decision-making
process. It is better that we operate from ‘within the box’ as there is
enormous potential in the AfCFTA that can be of immense benefit to us.
This is also the time for all stakeholders
to come together with a common front to assist the negotiation team in
piloting the country’s position to convince other AU member states.
Dr Chijioke Ekechukwu (Economist )
The
African Continental Free Trade Agreement is aimed at creating a single
continental market for goods and services. It also will enhance free
movement of business persons, investments and investors. It
is also aimed at expanding intra-African trade through trade
liberalisation policies. It removes business and import restrictions
within the continent. My opinion is that as far as Nigeria is a net
importing country of goods and services;
as far as we are not technologically advanced; as far as we
have a large population, as far as our cost of production remains
high; Nigeria will be a dumping ground for goods and services. The
ACFTA will benefit all the smaller countries in Africa looking for
markets for their products. Companies from Europe,
Asia and America will take advantage of this agreement to bring their
production lines to neighbouring African countries with steady power
supply and dump their products on Nigeria. It will undermine our
emerging SMEs and exporters and indeed local manufacturers
whose products will compete unfavourably with the imported ones under
the canopy of ACFTA. However, because of our economic size and
population, it is likely to attract investors in many sectors of the
economy.
African Continental Free Trade Agreement is aimed at creating a single
continental market for goods and services. It also will enhance free
movement of business persons, investments and investors. It
is also aimed at expanding intra-African trade through trade
liberalisation policies. It removes business and import restrictions
within the continent. My opinion is that as far as Nigeria is a net
importing country of goods and services;
as far as we are not technologically advanced; as far as we
have a large population, as far as our cost of production remains
high; Nigeria will be a dumping ground for goods and services. The
ACFTA will benefit all the smaller countries in Africa looking for
markets for their products. Companies from Europe,
Asia and America will take advantage of this agreement to bring their
production lines to neighbouring African countries with steady power
supply and dump their products on Nigeria. It will undermine our
emerging SMEs and exporters and indeed local manufacturers
whose products will compete unfavourably with the imported ones under
the canopy of ACFTA. However, because of our economic size and
population, it is likely to attract investors in many sectors of the
economy.
Adetokunbo Kayode, SAN, (President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
The
Federal Government should sign African Continental Free Trade Agreement
in order to enable Nigerians working in other African nations to
repatriate their wealth to the country. We have nothing to lose
by signing this all-important document. We only have a lot to gain.
Nigerians are competitive and the Federal Government should add impetus
to their drive by signing this agreement to enable them trade in goods,
services and skills all over the continent.
The world cannot wait for us. It is moving on and there is no need for
the giant of Africa to be dragging its feet over signing this document,
which has so much to offer the people by enhancing their socio-economic
wellbeing. It is sad enough that other smaller
African countries that are far less endowed with natural and human
potential have strategically positioned themselves to benefit from the
initiative. But I am optimistic that we will sign it in the end. In any
case, it is always better to negotiate from within
than to remain on the sideline.
Federal Government should sign African Continental Free Trade Agreement
in order to enable Nigerians working in other African nations to
repatriate their wealth to the country. We have nothing to lose
by signing this all-important document. We only have a lot to gain.
Nigerians are competitive and the Federal Government should add impetus
to their drive by signing this agreement to enable them trade in goods,
services and skills all over the continent.
The world cannot wait for us. It is moving on and there is no need for
the giant of Africa to be dragging its feet over signing this document,
which has so much to offer the people by enhancing their socio-economic
wellbeing. It is sad enough that other smaller
African countries that are far less endowed with natural and human
potential have strategically positioned themselves to benefit from the
initiative. But I am optimistic that we will sign it in the end. In any
case, it is always better to negotiate from within
than to remain on the sideline.
Bisi Sanda (Economist/former Senior Partner, Ernst and Young)
We
must be sincere with ourselves; trade agreements have a lot of
technicalities around them. One thing for sure is that even at the level
of the West African states, there is this allegiance by African
states to some superpowers. For instance, Francophone states in West
Africa serve as trans-shipment for manufacturers from France to dump
goods in their countries which then find their way into Nigeria through
these trade deals. This will make nonsense of
our own industrial policies. There is no much going on in Africa in
terms of manufacturing. We are only out for self-deception.
African states are still basic commodity exporters. Whatever
minerals or resources we have are sold at their basic form without any
value or production activity. The Nigerian economy, most unfortunately,
is not ripe for all these trade deals. The economy
has suffered a lot of reverses from 1986 till date. We had the
Structural Adjustment Programme introduced in the September of that
year, which made our economy to lose its structure. In analysis, you
could talk about 17 sectors of the economy where Nigeria
was actively present before 1986. Our economy was represented in many
modern economic structures. But since then, what happened is that we
have exited most of the sectors and we are not adding value. For
example, look at the tyre industry; at that time, three
big tyre companies were manufacturing tyres in Nigeria. Today, they are
importing the tyres. You can see this trend of excessive importation in
other sectors of the economy too. So, today we are not structurally
strong to participate in any regional or continental
trade agreements. Our industrial base is very weak. If we don’t build
our industries, the inevitable side effect is for our country to become a
dumping ground for all manner of products from other African states.
The federal and state governments must ensure
that rapid industrialisation is paramount so that we can exit our
economic misery.
must be sincere with ourselves; trade agreements have a lot of
technicalities around them. One thing for sure is that even at the level
of the West African states, there is this allegiance by African
states to some superpowers. For instance, Francophone states in West
Africa serve as trans-shipment for manufacturers from France to dump
goods in their countries which then find their way into Nigeria through
these trade deals. This will make nonsense of
our own industrial policies. There is no much going on in Africa in
terms of manufacturing. We are only out for self-deception.
African states are still basic commodity exporters. Whatever
minerals or resources we have are sold at their basic form without any
value or production activity. The Nigerian economy, most unfortunately,
is not ripe for all these trade deals. The economy
has suffered a lot of reverses from 1986 till date. We had the
Structural Adjustment Programme introduced in the September of that
year, which made our economy to lose its structure. In analysis, you
could talk about 17 sectors of the economy where Nigeria
was actively present before 1986. Our economy was represented in many
modern economic structures. But since then, what happened is that we
have exited most of the sectors and we are not adding value. For
example, look at the tyre industry; at that time, three
big tyre companies were manufacturing tyres in Nigeria. Today, they are
importing the tyres. You can see this trend of excessive importation in
other sectors of the economy too. So, today we are not structurally
strong to participate in any regional or continental
trade agreements. Our industrial base is very weak. If we don’t build
our industries, the inevitable side effect is for our country to become a
dumping ground for all manner of products from other African states.
The federal and state governments must ensure
that rapid industrialisation is paramount so that we can exit our
economic misery.
Odilim Enwagbara (Developmental Economist)
The
government should not sign the agreement because as a country we are
not competing efficiently. And so signing an agreement will open our
economy to all sorts of things.
Nigeria is a large economy and it has always been a great economy
without having to sign economic partnership with any country. The only
time we can sign an economic partnership with anybody is when we know
that if we do so it is to our benefit. We signed
the World Trade Organisation partnership in 1995 and China did not sign
it until 2000 and so Russia did not sign it too until early 2000. So we
have to make sure our house is in order before we sign any economic
partnership. We have an infrastructure deficit
and our economy is having difficulties competing because we only
produce raw materials and we don’t add value to our petroleum products.
So I completely agree with Mr President because if we open our borders
to them under the ACFTA, it will affect our industries.
government should not sign the agreement because as a country we are
not competing efficiently. And so signing an agreement will open our
economy to all sorts of things.
Nigeria is a large economy and it has always been a great economy
without having to sign economic partnership with any country. The only
time we can sign an economic partnership with anybody is when we know
that if we do so it is to our benefit. We signed
the World Trade Organisation partnership in 1995 and China did not sign
it until 2000 and so Russia did not sign it too until early 2000. So we
have to make sure our house is in order before we sign any economic
partnership. We have an infrastructure deficit
and our economy is having difficulties competing because we only
produce raw materials and we don’t add value to our petroleum products.
So I completely agree with Mr President because if we open our borders
to them under the ACFTA, it will affect our industries.
Dr Sam Nzekwe, (A former president, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria)
My
worry about this is that we know that many Nigerian goods are not
traded outside this country and that the manufacturing industry in
Nigeria is not conducive to growth. So what this means is that if
he (Buhari) signs the deal, what is going to happen is that our borders
will be so open and goods within the African region will be coming in
unhindered. And because of the harsh operating environment for
manufacturers in Nigeria, you are going to discover
that goods produced in smaller African countries will be cheaper than
our own and as such these products will beat the locally-manufactured
ones when it comes to competing in the market. Hence, what will happen
is that you will see a situation where we are
going to stop buying our own goods and start buying the imported
alternatives. Mind you, the business environment in some of these
African countries is better than ours and so their goods stand the
chance of being cheap. Now if these goods flood our markets,
then you have succeeded in killing the manufacturing industry in
Nigeria. So if you study the environment, you will realise that it is
not yet okay and the next thing is to start getting people to come and
invest here to help improve the economy. Therefore
I will say that until we get things right, we should be cautious with
some of these deals.
worry about this is that we know that many Nigerian goods are not
traded outside this country and that the manufacturing industry in
Nigeria is not conducive to growth. So what this means is that if
he (Buhari) signs the deal, what is going to happen is that our borders
will be so open and goods within the African region will be coming in
unhindered. And because of the harsh operating environment for
manufacturers in Nigeria, you are going to discover
that goods produced in smaller African countries will be cheaper than
our own and as such these products will beat the locally-manufactured
ones when it comes to competing in the market. Hence, what will happen
is that you will see a situation where we are
going to stop buying our own goods and start buying the imported
alternatives. Mind you, the business environment in some of these
African countries is better than ours and so their goods stand the
chance of being cheap. Now if these goods flood our markets,
then you have succeeded in killing the manufacturing industry in
Nigeria. So if you study the environment, you will realise that it is
not yet okay and the next thing is to start getting people to come and
invest here to help improve the economy. Therefore
I will say that until we get things right, we should be cautious with
some of these deals.
