Nigeria urges Africa to end exportation of raw materials without value-addition
The Federal Government has urged African countries to stop exporting raw materials in their raw form, saying processing them locally will create jobs, keep wealth on the continent and drive industrialisation.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Udeh made the call on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the second edition of the African Raw Materials Summit (ARMS) 2026.
Udeh said the 30 per cent value-addition target means Africa must process at least 30 per cent of its raw materials into finished or semi-finished goods before export, so that the continent earns more, creates factories and employs its youth, instead of exporting jobs and importing poverty.
He added that instead of exporting raw cocoa beans, Africa should export chocolate; instead of exporting raw lithium and cobalt, it should export batteries and electric vehicles; and instead of raw cashew nuts, it should export processed kernels.
According to him, each country should set its own national targets based on its capabilities and challenges, noting that the goal can only be achieved when enablers such as power, infrastructure, logistics and research funding are in place.
The Minister listed steps taken by Nigeria, including bills to establish the National Research and Innovation Development Fund and to amend the Establishment Act of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
He assured that the RMRDC amendment bill, already passed by the National Assembly, will soon be signed by President Bola Tinubu, and proposed a continental secretariat to document targets and monitor implementation.
In his welcome address, Director-General of RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said local value addition is the engine that will convert the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) promise of a 1.3 billion-person market into genuine prosperity.
He highlighted that the Council has designed and deployed pilot processing plants and machinery — including mineral beneficiation units, agro-processing mills and chemical extraction technologies — to enable manufacturers process Africa’s feedstock on African soil.
Ike-Muonso disclosed that the Council has also developed NISRA — the Nigerian Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products — to map deposits, processing capacities and manufacturing demand across borders.
He decried the paradox where Africa digs cobalt but imports batteries, harvests 69 per cent of the world’s cocoa but imports chocolate, and mines lithium but buys back electric vehicles.
“Today, before several sovereign African nations, we declare that this era of historical extraction without local transformation is over,” he said.
The Director-General noted that in 2025 alone, Nigeria exported billions worth of raw cocoa, cashew and sesame seeds, wealth that could have created factories and jobs at home.
“The AfCFTA gives us a 1.3 billion-person market. But without local manufacturing capacity, it is merely an invitation for foreign goods,” he added.
The summit themed: “From African Feedstock to African Factories,” serves as a forum for peer review to assess decisions reached at the maiden edition.
