Africa cannot compete globally if Nigeria stays unprepared

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Business Group Nigeria (NBGN), it gives me great pleasure to warmly welcome you all to this high-level Business Forum. We are deeply honoured to host such a distinguished gathering.

This event, themed “Mobilising Africa’s Private Sector for AfCFTA towards Africa’s Economic Development Amid Global Uncertainty”, is both timely and urgent. It reflects our deep mutual concern and indeed our collective responsibility to ensure that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) does not remain merely a noble aspiration but becomes a transformative panacea for Nigeria and Africa’s development.

The AfCFTA represents one of the most ambitious and promising undertakings in Africa’s integration agenda, as critically espoused in the African Union’s Agenda 2063. With its potential to unite 55 countries into a single market of over 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP exceeding $3.4 trillion, it is a bold step towards achieving the long-held dream of Pan-African economic self-determination. It promises to dismantle artificial barriers, facilitate the return of intra-African trade, promote industrialisation, and generate millions of jobs, especially for our vibrant youth who account for 70% of our population. This forum is our modest contribution to ongoing efforts at ensuring that intra-African trade grows at an annual average rate of 6.6% between 2025 and 2027 and that Nigeria and other African countries achieve the revised annual GDP growth rate of 8% and that expedient steps are taken to ensure that the realisation of our collective optimism is not dampened by pervading global uncertainties.

The very great economic heights that the 55-member nation AfCFTA might attain if Africa’s economy could be fully integrated were highlighted recently by the globally renowned development economist, Professor Jeffery Sachs, at the Unstoppable Africa Forum, which was one of the side events of the United Nations General Assembly last month in New York. According to Professor Sachs, AfCFTA nations with a combined population of 1.4 billion could have their integrated GDP of $3.4 trillion grow considerably, like those of China and India with $18 trillion GDP and $13 trillion GDP, respectively, and with a comparable population of 1.4 billion like that of Africa, if Africa’s economy could be fully integrated rapidly. He explained that the resultant connectivity and other benefits would enable African entrepreneurs to produce more competitively at scale, boost intra-African trade and increase Africa’s contribution to global trade beyond the paltry 3%.

Ladies and gentlemen, as promising as the prospects of AfCFTA are and its catalytic impact on the realisation of AU’s Agenda 2063, Nigeria has been vested with the responsibility of leading Africa’s renaissance by leading development experts and even great African leaders. Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, 1994-1999, said, “The world will not respect Africa until Nigeria earns that respect. The Black people of the world need Nigeria to be great as a source of pride and confidence.” In the same vein, Patrice Lumumba, First Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1960-1961, also said, “The day Nigeria wakes up, Africa will never be the same again.”

“This is why this forum has been designed to emphasise mobilising and strengthening Africa’s private sector to become globally competitive, which is a call to boost our productivity and competitiveness towards enhancing intra-African trade and Africa’s participation in global trade beyond the depressingly low average figure of 3%.”

These are some of the important considerations that underscore the significance of this High Level Forum as well as its theme and why it was convened by NEPAD Business Group Nigeria with the full support of national and subnational governments and the Chief Executive Officer/National Coordinator of AUDA/NEPAD Nigeria, Honourable Jabiru Salisu Abdulahi, as well as private leaders and Nigeria’s development partners.

NEPAD Business Group Nigeria is of the strong conviction that the private sector remains the engine of Africa’s transformation. Through this forum, we aim to build actionable strategies that will strengthen Africa’s economic resilience, promote cross-border trade, and ensure inclusive prosperity for all.

We are also of the view that the true dividends of AfCFTA will only be realised if all African countries build internal capacities that would enable them to engage competitively and sustainably within the African market and beyond. This is why this forum has been designed to emphasise mobilising and strengthening Africa’s private sector to become globally competitive, which is a call to boost our productivity and competitiveness towards enhancing intra-African trade and Africa’s participation in global trade beyond the depressingly low average figure of 3%.

Prerequisites for accomplishing these laudable aspirations include the provision of enabling business environments and the required infrastructure, human capital development to equip our youths with the requisite skill set that would also enhance their capacity to innovate, as well as substantial financial resources, 70% of which should be mobilised domestically as enunciated under the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

While taking bold steps that are designed to accelerate the realisation of the bright prospects of AfCFTA, we must not be oblivious to external threats that could undermine its implementation. From global economic volatilities characterised by tariff wars and dwindling external financial support to geopolitical tensions. Africa must fortify itself against disruptions that can reverse our gains and prevent us from accomplishing the targets set in the AU’s Agenda 2063 and Nigeria’s Agenda 2050, as well as our respective developmental and entrepreneurial aspirations. These threats require strategic foresight, policy coherence, and, above all, continental solidarity, amongst other considerations.

To quote a professional colleague, friend and brother, Mr Adedotun Suleiman, who at his presentation at last week’s Annual Directors Conference of the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria, wisely counselled that:

“As we look ahead, we must also prepare for future disruptors, artificial intelligence, cyber risks, global trade fragmentation, protectionism, and climate transitions. Each will test the governance systems we build today.

So, let us lead with foresight.

Let us invest in resilience as deliberately as we invest in growth.

Let us make adaptability our competitive edge.

Because in a world where disruption is inevitable, resilience is the ultimate advantage. The task of leadership is to build organisations resilient enough to absorb shocks and still function, adaptive enough to learn and transform, and strong enough to own their future.

And as Nigerian directors, we are the architects of that resilience.”

This also explains why we have today brought together policymakers, private sector leaders, financial institutions, development agencies, and academicians from within and outside Africa to chart practical pathways for maximising the immense opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—the largest trade bloc in the world—and articulating strategies for mitigating the external threats to its implementation. Our discussions should please be frank, pragmatic, and solutions-driven. This gathering is an opportunity to forge stronger partnerships, generate actionable recommendations, and align our strategies for collective progress.

Let us seize this moment to reaffirm our faith in Nigeria’s ability to shape its own destiny towards achieving the $1 trillion GDP within the context of an integrated African market whose current GDP of $3.4 trillion is projected to reach $8.87 trillion by 2043 and possibly exceed $10 trillion by 2063, which is the terminal date of the African Union’s master plan, Agenda 2063. Let us be bold, visionary and collaborative. The road ahead may be challenging, but our collective goal, a prosperous, self-reliant, and globally competitive Nigeria and African continent, is well within our reach.

For the past two years, Nigeria’s diplomatic missions all over the world have been without substantive ambassadors, high commissioners, permanent representatives, etc. This is the time to expeditiously appoint exceptional candidates to fill those vacancies in these extraordinary times – starting with Washington, Beijing, London, Paris, Brussels, Riyadh, etc. This is our moment of reckoning. We need help. Big time!!

Once again, I welcome you all. Thank you, and may our deliberations be fruitful and mutually beneficial.

Chairman, NEPAD Business Group Nigeria (NBGN)

Being the welcome address Delivered by Bashorun J. K. Randle, FCA, OFR, Chairman, NEPAD Business Group Nigeria (NBGN) At the High-Level Business Forum on Harnessing the Private Sector for Africa’s Economic Renaissance. Venue: Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos Date: 30th October 2025