By Akinnodi Francis, Ondo
Economic experts have urged the Federal Government to shift from a consumption-based model to a production-driven economy if Nigeria must meet its $1 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) target by 2030.
The stakeholders, who spoke separately with Weekend Hope, stressed that the target can only be realised through sustained industrialisation, innovation, and a strong manufacturing base.
An economist, Professor Taiwo Owoeye, said Nigeria would need to accumulate an additional $757 billion to move from its current $243 billion GDP to the $1 trillion mark.
He explained that attaining this milestone would demand consistent annual growth, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s goal of achieving a seven per cent annual growth rate could make Nigeria’s economy hit $51 trillion in about 23 years if sustained.
“Growth is synonymous with industrialisation,” Owoeye said, lamenting that since the mid-1980s, Nigeria has been deindustrialising due to overdependence on oil revenue.
He described the country’s economic structure as a “consumption economy” that rewards imports, neglects local manufacturing, and leaves the nation vulnerable to global market shocks.
To reverse the trend, the economist urged the government to focus on sectors with high growth potential, such as agriculture, light manufacturing, leather, textiles and petrochemicals, areas he said possess both natural and human resource advantages capable of driving sustainable development.
A financial consultant, Emmanuel Adenegan, also expressed concern over the nation’s reliance on a consumption economy, calling for the creation of a unified engineering research council to coordinate experts across various fields and boost indigenous innovation.
He said, “Sustainable development must start with self-reliance and local production. Our dependence on foreign products has kept us economically fragile and technologically backward.”
Adenegan urged young engineers to take the lead in rebuilding the nation through research, innovation and collaboration.
“It is not enough to complain. We must act. Japan and China did it; we can too. Nigeria must rise again through the work of its engineers,” he said.
The stakeholders further identified lithium mining and processing as a strategic opportunity for industrial diversification, noting that Nigeria holds high-grade lithium deposits in Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti, and Cross River states.
They, therefore, called on the Federal Government to establish a clear framework for local lithium processing instead of exporting the raw mineral, insisting that value addition reemains the key to economic transformation.