Mohammed Shosanya
Nigeria’s economy loses $29billion annually on account of poor power supply in the country,
Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group,has said.
He disclosed this while delivering a keynote lecture with the title, “The Day the Lion Roared! Making Nigeria a Global Industrial and Economic Giant” at the Business Day CEO Forum in Lagos, on Thursday.
He also said Nigerians spend $14 billion per year on generators and fuel.
According to him,lack of a consistent electricity supply, has contributed to the unfavourable business climate for manufacturers in the country.
“The inconsistent availability of electrical power has also resulted in high and uncompetitive manufacturing costs.This is a major challenge facing the manufacturing industry in Nigeria and results in an annual economic loss.
“Lack of electricity is killing Nigerian industries. According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, industries spent N93.1 billion on alternative energy in 2018.The poor electricity supply situation in the country is a hindrance to the profitability of local manufacturers, and it is estimated that they lose N10.1 trillion annually due to power failure.
“The challenge is for the lion to roar, and decisive actions to tackles its energy deficiency and reliability. Unless this is done the country’s industries would remain uncompetitive. For now, Nigeria is developing too slowly and well below its potential.The nation must roar by making of itself an economic giant in Africa.
“Nigeria, like Simba, in the movie ‘The Lion King,’ has great promise. But the promise is yet to be realized. The day that Nigeria wakes up and becomes a Lion King, everything will change for its people. And everything will change for all of Africa. Along the way, there will be several Rafikis – sincere friends – whose only agenda is to inspire, motivate, and encourage the new King,” Adesina said.
He disclosed that industrial manufacturing can earn Nigeria multiples what it earns from reliance on oil.
He advised the leadership of the country to change the perspective away from simply import substitution, to high-valued export-oriented manufacturing, adding that Nigeria’s greatest wealth would come from having strong manufacturing capacity for competitiveness in regional trade and integration into global value chains.
