Featured

WHY ENUGU EMERGED AS THE LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE SOUTH EAST AND THE 5TH BEST IN NIGERIA.

Published

6 years ago

August 12, 2020

By Jeff Ejiofor

It is no longer news that Enugu state is the largest economy in south east and the 5th best in the whole of Nigeria. This rating, and the proclamation of Enugu as one of the six largest economies in Nigeria that can survive without federal allocation according to 2019 States Validity Index by Economic Confidential did not come to many as a surprise considering the sound economic policies of the state government under the able leadership of Gov. Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi.

Although Enugu has for long carried the toga of conservative civil service state being that it does not host mega industries or belong to the league of oil producing states, the entry of the current administration revolutionized its socio-economic status and took it to the committee of viable economic giants in Nigeria.

It has through a stint of hard work and resilent leadership been transformed to a latent economic hub with average annual IGR base of 31 billion naira.The attendant multiple opportunities and potentials inherent in this economic reality will manifest fully with time.

It’s quite obvious that these things don’t happen by chance, but usually as a result of proper economic planning through aggressive rejiging of the entire revenue generation architecture. It involves careful pluging of loopholes and leakages of all sources of revenue generation.

As a matter of fact, every state in Nigeria can attain such a height through self search for internal sources of revenue generation but requires a visionary leader versatile in prudent financial management to do that. It definitely requires a highly organized leader of men and resources to harness the economic potentials of a given political entity. This informs the reason I personally get amused when some politically uninformed folks make unnecessay comparisons between Enugu and states that cannot even survive for a month without federal subventions. In short, it suffices to say that the political economy of Ugwuanyi’s policies is undisputable and second to none in Nigeria.

The above result which placed Enugu, a state without multinational oil corporations or federal government aided mega industries as the 5th most economically viable state in the whole of Nigeria is a clear evidence. It can only take a prudent and dogged leader like Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to achieve.

Undoubtedly, Enugu state is lucky to have such a pragmatic political leader endowed with immense wisdom at a perilous time like this when Nigeria and the globe are at the threshold of economic emasculation. It’s unarguable also that since 2015, the world economy has been intermittently slipping into recession, leading to sustained glut in crude oil market which accounts for 95 per cent of the Nigeria’s foreign revenue earnings.

This development has led to serious socio economic deficit, thereby forcing many states in Nigeria to go bankrupt in an effort to meet their financial commitments. As a matter of fact, Nigeria as a country has been in economic distress since then and has resorted to borrowing in order to sustain and keep the system running.

Consequently as a result of this obvios reality, many states cannot meet their financial obligations as regards payment of workers’ salaries not to talk of project execution. In most cases, their major concern is how to sustain their recurrent budgetary expenditures.

This development once led to federal government bailing out a particular state with 10 billion naira to offset accumulated salary arreas in order to enhance the electoral chances of an incumbent governor who was standing for election.This is a perfect reflection of what obtains in most Nigerian states this period of economic recession.

Surprisingly however, in the midst of all these socio-economic challenges, Enugu state is making remarkable and appreciable progress which is akin only to big economies. Enugu, a non oil producing state achieved the above feat from sound and deft economic policies of of Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration.This achievement is purely borne out of sheer economic ingenuity and leadership acumen. Many pundits have wondered how the state was able to attain such a robost economic status like Lagos, Rivers, kaduna, Ogun and Kwara states whose sources of economic strength are well known to even the blind.

Expectedly though, cynics and serial critics of government are asking about the benefits of this healthy economy to the citizens of Enugu state. Well, the answer is obvious, just that at times people tend to get biased when it comes to critical evaluation of government achievements especially when their opinions are already formed in the negative. They often allow prejudice to beckloud their sense of judgement and thereby making it difficult for them to adjust their thoughts to the reality on ground. They at times dubiously claim not to feel the impact accruing from such economic feats even when the reverse is the case.

Nonetheless, let me remind such skeptics that even in recession, Enugu state was able to be among the first in the country to implement the national minimum wage with an upward review through collective bargaining between the government and workers’ representatives, the first of its kind in the state.

Also, Enugu has been implementing its developmental programmes irrespective of the seeming economic challenges occasioned by covid 19 lockdown. Whereas other states are grappling to meet their financial obligations, Enugu is busy awarding and executing new capital projects across the state.

Under covid 19 crisis, massive rural road construction, aggressive renovation and reconstruction of health facilities across the state including seven additional type 3 health centres, reconstruction, renovation and refurbishment of educational institutions and implementation of empowernment programmes are ongoing. Also, the hospitality industry in the state is receiving attention in this period. New relaxation park known as Unity Park at Indipendence Layout is under construction, and infrastructures at Nike Lake Resourte are being completely overhauled. All these achievements irrespective of covid 19 challenges and global economic recession simply mean that the economy of Enugu state is healthy.

Although some of them may want to cite one or two states where white elephant projects with little or no immediate economic value are going on, they fail to consider the implications of heavy external and internal debt burden inherent in such jamborees which is at the expense of the poor masses. Such disgruntled pseudo socio- economic analysts do not understand the socio- political implication of economic strangulation of the poor in the name of providing physical infrastructures.The hallmark of good governance is even development that impacts on all sectors of the economy. A society can only be said to be making progress if the citizenry positively feel the impact of governance and not the other way round.

Finally, I want to sincerely commend Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and his economic team for repositioning Enugu state and making it economically great. May the good Lord strengthen and enrich his knowledge to continue steering the ship of the state towards the right direction.

Enugu is unarguably in the hands of God.

Share on Facebook

Business

Turning Africa’s Raw Materials Into Wealth: The ARMS 2026 Industrial Agenda

Published

3 days ago

September 29, 2026

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

For decades, Africa’s vast natural resources have powered industries and economies far beyond the continent, while many African countries have remained largely exporters of unprocessed commodities and importers of finished products.

That familiar pattern is now coming under renewed scrutiny as policymakers, researchers, investors and industrialists seek to change the direction of Africa’s resource economy.

At the centre of that conversation is the second edition of the Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026), scheduled for October 19 and 20 at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, under the theme: “From African Feedstock to African Factories.”

Organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), the summit is being positioned as more than another gathering of policymakers and industry stakeholders. It is intended to provide a platform for confronting the structural challenges that have kept African raw materials largely disconnected from local manufacturing.

Africa has for years operated largely within a “pit-to-port” economic model, exporting raw materials while importing expensive finished products.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the summit on Tuesday in Abuja, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, said the event would bring together policymakers, investors, researchers, technology providers and industrialists to develop practical strategies for transforming Africa’s abundant natural resources into industrial wealth.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply the abundance of resources, but the continent’s ability to transform those resources into industrial value, employment, technology and wealth within Africa.

Nigeria alone, according to the RMRDC, has more than $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources, while the wider continent possesses substantial deposits of critical minerals, agricultural raw materials and industrial feedstock.

Yet, the benefits of this resource endowment have often been constrained by inadequate processing capacity, weak infrastructure, limited technology, financing gaps and fragmented regional value chains.

From Dialogue to Industrial Action

ARMS 2026 builds on the maiden edition held in May 2025, which attracted more than 1,000 delegates from across the world.

The inaugural summit also witnessed the unveiling of the Ten-Year Raw Materials Transformation Roadmap (2025–2034) by the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owen Enoh.

The roadmap was designed around areas including technological capability, climate-resilient processing and backward integration, establishing a policy framework for greater domestic utilisation of Africa’s raw materials.

The second edition is expected to move the conversation further by bringing policy, capital, technology and industrial stakeholders around practical mechanisms for turning raw materials into locally manufactured products.

One of the major proposals highlighted by the RMRDC is the 30 per cent Mandatory Value Addition Bill, which seeks to establish a statutory minimum level of value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export.

The Council says the proposed framework could support job creation, import substitution, foreign-exchange conservation and increased manufacturing contribution to the economy.

Building the Infrastructure for Value Addition

The industrial transformation envisaged by ARMS 2026 goes beyond legislation.

A major concern is the “missing middle” between where raw materials are produced and where factories are located.

Poor transportation networks, inadequate cold-chain facilities, weak rural roads, limited testing and certification infrastructure and border-related delays can make locally sourced materials more expensive and less competitive.

Consequently, logistics and infrastructure constitute one of the five principal pillars of the summit.

The objective is to develop more reliable corridors connecting farms and mines with processing centres and manufacturing facilities, thereby reducing losses and improving the movement of industrial inputs.

The Digital Dimension

Technology is also becoming an important part of the Council’s strategy.

The RMRDC says it has developed the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP), described as a digital repository containing information on feedstock deposits, specifications, production outputs and industrial absorption rates.

The Council has also highlighted its transition towards paperless operations and its certification as a Data Controller/Processor of Major Importance by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

Such digital infrastructure could provide investors and manufacturers with better information about the availability and characteristics of raw materials while supporting more informed industrial planning.

Turning Waste Into Industrial Inputs

Another major component of ARMS 2026 is the proposed expansion of the circular economy.

The summit will examine how agricultural by-products, mine tailings, scrap metals and biomass can be recovered and reused as inputs for new production processes rather than being treated simply as waste.

The RMRDC argues that such an approach could lower raw-material costs while supporting more sustainable and climate-resilient manufacturing systems.

For Africa, where industrial expansion must increasingly balance economic development with environmental considerations, waste industrialisation could become an important part of the continent’s manufacturing conversation.

From National Production to African Value Chains

The African Continental Free Trade Area is another important element of the summit’s agenda.

The RMRDC sees AfCFTA as an opportunity to create regional value chains in which raw materials sourced in one African country can be processed and supplied to manufacturers in another.

Under such a model, Africa would move beyond simply exporting commodities to external markets and develop stronger internal networks for supplying chemicals, refined minerals, agricultural inputs and other industrial materials across national borders.

This approach places regional integration at the heart of Africa’s industrialisation strategy.

Bridging Research and Capital

A recurring weakness in many developing economies is the gap between research and commercialisation.

Innovations may emerge from universities, research institutions and laboratories without receiving the financing, equipment or market connections required to become commercially viable.

ARMS 2026 intends to address that gap through technology commercialisation and capital linkages, connecting research outputs with investors, development finance institutions and industrial off-takers.

The RMRDC has also cited partnerships with the Bank of Industry for commercial-scale post-harvest processing and a South-South technology-transfer partnership with the National Innovation Centre par Excellence in Shanghai, China.

A Larger Industrial Conversation

The scale of ARMS 2026 is expected to be significantly larger than the maiden edition.

The organisers project more than 1,800 delegates from all 54 African countries and global industrial partners.

The programme will feature high-level policy dialogues, technical panels, an advanced raw materials and technology exhibition, industrial site visits and the African Raw Materials Industry Awards.

The exhibition, in particular, is expected to showcase locally fabricated processing machinery, advanced domestic materials, green chemicals and engineered commercial inputs.

Beyond the speeches and exhibitions, however, the real significance of ARMS 2026 will ultimately depend on what happens after the summit.

Africa’s challenge has never been a shortage of raw materials. The more difficult question has been how to transform those resources into factories, products, skilled employment, technology and sustainable economic opportunities.

For Nigeria and the rest of the continent, the proposed shift from “pit-to-port” to “feedstock-to-factory” therefore represents a broader debate about the future structure of African economies.

ARMS 2026 seeks to place that debate firmly on the industrial agenda — with value addition, technology, finance, infrastructure, circular production and regional trade at the centre.

If the commitments and partnerships generated by the summit translate into measurable industrial activity, the event could provide another platform for Africa to examine how its enormous resource base can support stronger domestic manufacturing.

The message from the organisers is clear: the continent’s raw materials should not only leave African soil as commodities; they should increasingly become the foundation for African industrial production

Share on Facebook