Nigeria's government has set its sights on a $1 trillion economy by 2030, and the plan hinges on one key condition: adding value to at least 30 percent of the country's raw materials before they leave its shores.
Right now, Nigeria exports a significant portion of its natural resources in their rawest form, leaving the bulk of the profit potential with processing countries overseas. The government's argument is straightforward. If more of that refining, manufacturing, and finishing work happens at home, the economic returns stay home too.
The 2030 target is ambitious, but the logic behind it is sound. Value addition creates jobs, builds local industries, and reduces the country's vulnerability to the price swings of raw commodity markets. For a country as resource-rich as Nigeria, the gap between what it earns and what it could earn has long been a painful conversation.
Whether the policy machinery exists to make this happen at scale is the question worth watching.
Originally published by AllAfrica.