By Dara Ojomo
BUA Group Founder and Executive Chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has called on Nigeria to cut its reliance on imported finished goods, urging the country to build out domestic manufacturing, process its raw materials locally, and grow its export capacity instead.
Rabiu made the case while delivering a keynote address at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, arguing that Nigeria can’t realistically achieve lasting economic prosperity while remaining mostly a consumer of goods made elsewhere.
His message was pointed: Nigeria, he said, shouldn’t settle for being just a supplier of raw materials or a dumping ground for finished imports, the country needs to become one that actually processes, manufactures, and exports.
To make his case concrete, Rabiu pointed to Nigeria’s cement industry as proof of what’s possible. What was once an import-dependent sector, he noted, has transformed into an export-oriented one, driven by sustained domestic investment and industrial policies that gave local manufacturing room to grow.
