From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) is set to harness fresh ideas on how to improve the nation’s manufacturing sector at its 51st Annual General Meeting coming up in Lagos on October 17 to 19, 2023.
Addressing a press conference in Lagos Wednesday ahead the even, MAN President, Francis Meshioye, said the theme of the event, “Setting the Agenda for Competitive Manufacturing Under the AFCFTA: What Nigeria Needs to Do”, emanated from “a deep reflection over the growth trajectory of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria and Africa.
“In general, we are focused on the role of the manufacturing sector in the actualisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and the integration of the African economy as envisioned in the Agenda 2063: ‘The Africa we want.’”
According to Meshioye, the AGM will dwell on the theme, review performance, reflect on major issues affecting the sector, engage and chart a part for the government.
He explained that “currently, the cost of manufacturing is daily rising owing to scarce and unavailable manufacturing inputs that continue to shrink profitability and threaten the existence of the critical sector of the economy.
“More worrisome is the fact that the sector that should propel job creation, productivity and economic growth is enmeshed with series of challenges that constantly limit its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.”
Committed to addressing these challenges, however, MAN has picked Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Economic Management Team from 2010 to 2011, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, as guest speaker for the 3rd Adeola Odutola Annual Lecture holding on Thursday, October 19th, at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.
Meshioye said the choice of Aganga, who was also a former managing director of Goldman Sachs in London and Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments from 2011 to 2015, was to tackle the challenges “from where the shoe really pinches.”
The opening ceremony of the three-day event features a Made-in-Nigeria products exhibition from 10 am on Tuesday, October 17, followed by the MAN members-only 51st AGM on Wednesday, and the Lecture/Presidential Luncheon on Thursday.
According to him, industry players, marketers, as well as consumers will converge at the exhibition to experience a new world of quality Made-in-Nigeria products and ultimately patronise locally manufactured goods, adding that manufacturers will not remain in business if their goods are not well patronised by the target consumers.
Meanwhile, he listed the challenges constantly limiting the sector’s growth and contribution to the GDP as “epileptic power supply, insecurity, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of forex and naira depreciation.”
He added that for Nigerian manufacturers to compete effectively, “a comprehensive and concerted effort needs to be deployed by the government to overtake the binding constraint that limits local production and then seek to attract foreign investment that will bring about a reduction in the forex chase and ensure sufficient forex inflow that the country clearly requires.
“To start with, the government needs to prioritise investment in infrastructure and power, combat insecurity and corruption as well as introduce incentive policies that would make domestic production more attractive as against the importation of finished products.
“The AfCFTA window should be maximised in such a way that products manufactured in Nigeria would be the preferred in terms of quality and pricing. Until we address the binding constraints that make the local products uncompetitive, the benefits of a continental market might end up a mirage for the largest economy in Africa.
“In the face of these shortcomings, we remain resilient and committed to our collaborative advocacy approach, as we strive towards the attainment of practical ease in doing business. We seek an atmosphere that supports favourable competition with our counterparts in other countries, particularly within the continent.”
