Trade stakeholders have raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s inability to capture data on export services, warning that the persistent gap in record-keeping could undermine the country’s competitiveness and potential benefits under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Speaking on the issue, trade expert and export consultant, Dr. Obiora Madu, lamented that despite over a decade of discussions, Nigeria still lacks a proper system for tracking export services, even as the global trade landscape increasingly shifts toward service-oriented exports.
Dr. Madu, who authored Services Export in Practice in Nigeria, noted that while the public continues to associate exports mainly with commodities, the global economy is now driven more by services such as information technology, business consulting, finance, transport, and education. He emphasized that without reliable data, policymakers and investors cannot effectively measure progress or design informed strategies to grow the services sector.
Recounting his experience moderating a session at the last Services Export Programme organized by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in Abuja, Dr. Madu said he had again raised questions about the country’s failure to document service exports.
Highlighting the potential of the sector within AfCFTA, he stated that Nigeria stands a greater chance of generating higher revenue from services than from commodities if the sector is properly developed and supported.
Dr. Madu however called on the government and relevant agencies to develop a robust framework for data collection, capacity building, and marketing of Nigerian professionals in the global services market.
“You may not find figures for export services in the annual report of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). We don’t have any way of capturing that very particular item. For more than a decade, we have been talking about this thing. In fact, I’m tired of talking about it.
“In commodities, we are doing raw materials without value addition. But services — including IT, business, financial, transport, and educational services — are gaining more traction in international trade. Unfortunately, we have no proper records of the transactions happening in these sectors from Nigeria to the outside world.
“In my opinion, if we attend to services, we will make more money from services than from products under AfCFTA. People in AfCFTA negotiations knew that services are key, so they included them alongside commodities.”
“You have to build the capacity of the people, create the market, and position Nigeria as a destination for quality services and trusted professionals,” he stressed. “It’s not as if it’s a free lunch — a lot is already going on, but it could multiply many times over if we take the right steps.” Madu said.
Supporting his position, Mr. Bamidele Adegoke, a trade policy analyst and member of the Export Group of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), said the neglect of the services export sector poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda.
Highlighting the potential of the sector within AfCFTA, Mr. Adegoke added that Nigeria stands a greater chance of generating higher revenue from services than from commodities if the sector is properly developed and supported.
According to him, “Nigeria’s over-reliance on crude and commodity exports is outdated. We are sitting on a goldmine in creative, digital, and professional services, but we cannot optimize what we cannot measure. If the government fails to institutionalize service export data collection, we will continue to trail behind other African countries that are already positioning themselves strategically under AfCFTA.
