Africa must process its resources locally, says Verheijen

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Oil and Gas, Olu Verheijen, has called for greater efforts to process Nigeria’s natural resources locally and convert them into productive investment, industries, jobs and improved livelihoods.

Verheijen made the call on Monday at the 13th Olusegun Agagu Memorial Lecture held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, where she spoke on the theme, “Africa’s Resources, Africa’s Prosperity: Capturing More of the Value We Create.”

She said Africa had abundant natural resources and human capital but continued to lose significant economic value because raw materials were often exported without sufficient processing.

According to her, “Africa has the land, the resources and the talent. Yet too often, our crops leave in sacks, our minerals leave unprocessed, and our young people leave in search of opportunity. The finished goods return—with someone else’s brand, at a premium we pay.”

Using cocoa production in Ondo State as an example, Verheijen said farmers produced and processed cocoa beans at the initial stages, while much of the wealth generated from turning the commodity into finished chocolate products accrued elsewhere.

“The harvest is ours. Too much of the prosperity is not,” she said.

Verheijen said Nigeria’s economic strategy must therefore move beyond the extraction of raw materials to developing industries, skills and businesses around those resources.

“From the farm to the mine to the wellhead, our ambition must extend to the factories, the skills and the brands that turn raw materials into lasting wealth,” she said.