Zacch Adedeji Seeks Value Addition to Raw Materials Export to Unleash Economic Prosperity

James Emejo in Abuja

Chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, yesterday, canvassed a paradigm shift from dependence on raw material exports to ideas, innovation, and production of complex products as a pathway to sustainable economic growth and national prosperity.

Adedeji spoke while delivering the maiden distinguished personality lecture of the Faculty of Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.

In the lecture entitled, “From Potential to Prosperity: Export-led Economy,” the NRS chairman stressed the need to rethink growth through the lens of complexity by not just producing more of the same stuff.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Dare Adekanmbi, Adedeji expressed concern that the country possessed a high-tech oil sector and low-productive informal sector, as well as lacked the “vibrant, labour-absorbing industrial base that serves as a bridge to higher complexity”.

The NRS boss stated that Nigeria witnessed stagnation in its export drive for three decades between 1998 to 2023, and only added six new products in its export basket between 2008 and 2023.

He said, “Because of our current position, the Harvard Atlas concluded that we are positioned to take advantage of very few opportunities to diversify using what we already know.”

Adedeji said Nigeria should learn from the world through comparative study of success and failure.

He said, “We are not just looking at numbers in a vacuum; we are looking at the strategic choices made by nations like Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brazil, and South Africa over the same twenty-five-year period.

“While there are many ways to underperform, the path to success is remarkably consistent: it is defined by a clear strategy to build economic complexity.

“When we put these stories together, the divergence is clear. Vietnam used global trade to build a resilient, complex economy, while the others remained dependent on natural resources or a single low-tech niche.”

According to him, “There are three big lessons here for us in Nigeria as we think about our roadmap. First, avoiding the resource curse is necessary, but it is not enough. You need a proactive strategy to build productive capabilities.

“Vietnam’s success came from integrating itself into Global Value Chains (GVCs). They positioned themselves as the assembly hub for the world’s electronics, importing high-tech parts and exporting finished products.

“This allowed them to ‘borrow’ technology and management skills from abroad to build their own know-how.”

Adedeji said, “Nigeria, on the other hand, remains a supplier of raw materials to these chains, not an active participant within them. We must realise that productive capabilities are not permanent.

“The examples of South Africa and Brazil show us that you can actually lose your industrial edge if you are not careful. Over-reliance on the easy path of resource extraction creates economic and political incentives that crowd out the difficult, long-term work of building an industrial base.”

He added that for Nigeria, which was at an even earlier stage of development and even less diversified than those nations, the warning was stark.

Adedeji stated, “Relying solely on our natural endowments isn’t just a path to stagnation; it’s a path to regression. The global economy increasingly rewards knowledge and complexity, not just what you can dig out of the ground.

“If we want to move from potential to prosperity, we must stop being just a source of raw materials and start being a source of ideas, innovation, and complex products.”

He added that President Bola Tinubu had already begun the difficult work of rebuilding the economy to ensure collective knowledge to innovate, produce, and build a resilient economy.

Adedeji added, “The journey from potential to prosperity is not a short one, but with the right map and the right resolve, it is a journey we can finally complete.”