Rev. Nicodemus Odolo (Trustee, Shippers Association of Lagos State)
We need to do a sort of brainstorming on this African Continental Free Trade Area. One thing about trade is that Nigeria has the population, and everybody wants to have their products coming into Nigeria because of this population. So, we have larger consumers and Nigeria has placed itself in a position that is not comfortable. If Nigeria wants to grow, we don’t throw our borders open to everything. Every country will be dumping their products on us, because we have made ourselves consumers. If we want to be involved in this trade, we should have a reasonable number of products we are dishing out that they are buying from us, then we can be talking about trade balancing. Our government have not done things right. The policies are not so healthy. We are having policies so messed up every time. We need to encourage local manufacturers, to manufacture and export to other African countries. This is how we can do it.
Gbolahan Adu (NISA Publicity Secretary)
I feel that fluctuation of our currency has a way of affecting our trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area, because the Naira is fluctuating and I am not sure all other African countries have agreed with Dollars related currency for everything. So we have a long way to go. I think to a point, we would have to agree on the currency to use which has to be the currency of probably the seller of the product to the buyer. Once these and many more are addressed, it will speed up the whole process.
Dr. Segun Musa (Deputy National President, Air and Logistics, NAGAFF)
It is quite unfortunate that despite all the sensitization and involvement in the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA), Nigeria is still foot-dragging. I think Nigeria is not serious with AfCFTA. We do not have any framework to propel the trade nor do we have a market to trade. We hope that the government does the needful by making sure all the necessary infrastructures to benefit from this initiative are put in place.
Rev. Alex Nwokedi (National Financial Secretary, AREFFN)
Other African countries are now prepared. It’s only Nigeria that is left out because of the way we do things. We cannot deny that there are lots of problems and issues in this country. It is those issues that are resulting to the economic crisis we are having today. If well organized and if the country has heeded, it would have been one of the best things that have happened to Nigeria. But the sad thing remains. There are still opportunities. Other countries like Ghana are already in there and they’re doing great. Our structures are nothing to write home about. So, we have a lot of things to do. These are the problems and if we leave them unchecked, the problem will continue to escalate.
Raji Adesina (AMATO Chieftain)
I think the major challenge is our mindset. We don’t have a positive mindset. That is one of the basic challenges. The poverty level in the country is too high and there is nobody checkmating the trades. Our perception towards doing things in this country is not encouraging and we hope the incoming generation will sanitize everything. We are still roaming around the same problems we have in the country and people just want to exploit others. There is corruption everywhere.
Comrade Ifeanyi Abel Chukwu (Admin/Asst. Secretary, Merchant Navy)
Nigeria’s sluggish trade performance under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement can be attributed to several factors. Key among these are: Over-reliance on commodity. Nigeria’s economic dependence on commodity production and exports has hindered its ability to diversify and explore other trade opportunities under the AfCFTA. Also, the lack of economic diversification is another issue. The country’s failure to diversify its economy has resulted in a limited range of tradable goods and services, thereby restricting its participation in the AfCFTA. Also, the absence of robust digitalization and technological infrastructure in Nigeria and other African countries pose a significant challenge to facilitating trade under the AfCFTA, underscoring the need to bridge the digital divide and ensure equitable access to technology.
David Etim (Deputy President, Calabar Chamber of Commerce)
It is not that Nigeria is foot-dragging. There is a lot of work to be done before you continue to do things. So in terms of value addition which is really what AfCFTA is about, Nigeria has the opportunity of becoming a major stakeholder in African trade. But we also have to put our house in order and putting our house in order requires a lot of things which include physical infrastructures and invisible infrastructure. These are all the factors militating against Nigeria taking full advantage of the situation. It is a web of activities. A lot of things have to happen the right way.
