By Oluyinka Onigbinde
The Lead Coordinator of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) National Coordination Office, Mr. Segun Olutayo, has affirmed that Nigeria is on its way in implementing the AfCFTA agreement, but he cautioned that the country is not yet at cruising altitude. In his words: “Nigeria has taken off, but is “not yet airborne,” describing the implementation journey as “a marathon, not a sprint.”
In an exclusive interview, with our correspondent, Olutayo offered a candid assessment of Nigeria’s role in Africa’s bold push toward economic integration through the AfCFTA, stating that while commendable progress has been made, the work ahead remains daunting.
“Under the leadership of the National Coordination Office and with the firm backing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria has not been sitting idle,” Olutayo said. “We have signed and ratified the AfCFTA Agreement, joined the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), gazetted our tariff offers, and we are actively involved across all eight AfCFTA protocols. This shows our commitment, not just in principle, but in action.”
He highlighted that Nigeria’s engagement with AfCFTA has moved beyond rhetoric, citing the country’s pioneering role in the adoption of the Digital Trade Protocol. According to him, Nigeria had already organized twin workshops in Lagos and Abuja, in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat, even before the formal adoption of the protocol — a move that placed the country at the forefront of digital trade readiness on the continent.
“More than that, we launched the first-ever AfCFTA Hackathon, a groundbreaking initiative that attracted the endorsement of the AfCFTA Secretariat. That project will be returning bigger and better in 2026. This kind of innovation positions Nigeria as a thought-leader within the AfCFTA ecosystem,” he said.
However, Olutayo was quick to temper this optimism with realism. He admitted that despite all the high-level engagements and initiatives, the real challenge lies in increasing actual trade volumes among African nations.
“Intra-African trade is still below 20 percent. That’s unacceptable for a continent with so much to offer each other. We must push that figure to at least 40 or 50 percent in the medium term and even beyond that in the long term. But to get there, we must harmonize regulations, align standards, reduce red tape, and remove tariff and non-tariff barriers,” he said.
Olutayo stressed that the success of the AfCFTA is not merely about signing protocols or attending summits, but about real, tangible impacts that improve livelihoods, deepen market integration, and create jobs.
“The agreement must work for the Nigerian entrepreneur, the small manufacturer in Aba, the exporter in Kano, and the tech innovator in Lagos. It must translate to prosperity, not just policy,” he noted.
When asked about the status of Nigeria’s domestication of the AfCFTA agreement, Olutayo said the process is nearing completion. “We are only a few steps away from full domestication. A couple of final domestic alignments need to be completed, and then Nigeria will be fully- positioned to trade under AfCFTA with the legal and institutional frameworks fully in place.”
He also dismissed any notion that the implementation timeline was dragging. “This isn’t something you rush. AfCFTA is not an omelette that you whip up in five minutes. It is a complex, layered, and long-term economic integration project. We are focused, we are moving, and we are learning as we go. The important thing is that we are on track.”
Reflecting on the bigger picture, Olutayo said the AfCFTA represents “opportunity, opportunity, opportunity” — a repeated phrase that underscored his belief in the transformative potential of the agreement for Nigeria and the continent.
“We are not just implementing a trade agreement, we are rewriting Africa’s economic future. We must get it right,” he concluded.
The African Continental Free Trade Area, which officially commenced in January 2021, aims to create a single market for goods and services across 54 African countries, covering a population of over 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of over $3.4 trillion. Nigeria, as Africa’s largest economy, is expected to play a central role in the success of the agreement.
The Nigerian AfCFTA National Coordination Office, under Olutayo’s leadership, continues to spearhead national-level engagements, capacity-building programs, and policy alignments aimed at ensuring Nigeria does not just participate in the AfCFTA, but thrives within it.
