Vice President Kashim Shettima on Friday declared that the time had come for African countries to take their rightful place in global trade by harnessing their abundant natural resources, pledging that Nigeria would replicate key features of the Republic of Benin’s successful Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) as part of President Bola Tinubu’s industrialisation drive.

Speaking after leading a delegation of six Nigerian governors on an assessment tour of the industrial hub in Cotonou, Benin Republic, Shettima said the Tinubu administration was determined to ensure that no part of Nigeria was left behind in its renewed push for industrial development and value addition.

In a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said Africa could only secure a stronger position in global commerce by processing its raw materials into finished products instead of exporting primary commodities.

The Vice President expressed admiration for the Beninese government’s success in developing integrated value chains in cotton, cashew and soybean processing, describing the industrial zone as an African success story worthy of emulation.

He lamented that despite the continent’s vast cotton production, Africa earns only a fraction of the value generated in the global textile market.

“Of the $370 billion worth of global cotton, Africa benefits from only about one per cent of that amount”, Shettima said, stressing that reviving Nigeria’s textile value chain would create millions of jobs, boost non-oil exports and stimulate economic growth.

He said the visit was undertaken at the instance of President Tinubu to study global best practices that would support Nigeria’s industrial transformation agenda.

“We are here essentially at the behest of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the spirit of his Renewed Hope Agenda to see and do a peer review of global best practice and value addition.

“We are setting up eight agro-industrial zones in eight states in our country and to tell you imperatively that this is an African success story where there is a whole chain of value addition in cotton, cashew and soya bean value chains.

“Be rest assured that we have learnt a lot of lessons through this visit and we are going to replicate a lot of that in Nigeria, as we are focused on becoming one of the industrialised nations in the world, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu”, he said.

Shettima maintained that the Federal Government, working closely with state governments, remained committed to accelerating industrial development across the country.

“As far as Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains the President of Nigeria, no region will be left behind”, he assured.

During the visit, the Vice President and the governors received a briefing on the structure, production capacity and investment opportunities at the industrial zone from Benin’s Minister of Tourism and Foreign Trade, in charge of Industry and the Promotion of Private Investment, Mr Olushegun Adjadi Bakari.

The Nigerian delegation later toured the facility’s integrated textile and agro-processing plants, where locally grown cotton is processed into yarn, fabrics and finished garments, while cashew, soybean and other agricultural products are transformed into export-ready goods.

The Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone, a 1,640-hectare public-private industrial platform jointly developed by the Beninese government and ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms, houses textile, garment, cashew, soybean and other manufacturing operations. Since production began in 2021, the facility has created more than 25,000 jobs.

According to the Presidency, the visit forms part of Nigeria’s efforts to understudy successful models that integrate agriculture with manufacturing, attract private investment and increase value addition to locally produced raw materials.

The governors accompanying the Vice President—AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Umar Namadi of Jigawa, Umaru Dikko Radda of Katsina, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara—expressed readiness to pursue similar industrial projects in their respective states.

They said such initiatives would deepen public-private partnerships, create employment opportunities for young people, facilitate technology transfer and strengthen linkages between farmers and manufacturers.

To mark the visit and reinforce the importance of environmentally sustainable industrialisation, Shettima and the governors also planted trees within the industrial zone. (The Nation)