The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, on Wednesday urged Nigeria and other African countries to sustain economic reforms, strengthen institutions and deepen regional integration in order to explore the emerging opportunities created by shifts in the global economy for their nation’s sustainable growth.
Sharing their views at the 7th Africa Emerging Markets Forum in Abuja with the theme “Building Africa’s Resilience Amidst Geoeconomic Uncertainties”, the renowned economic experts said the changing global trade environment, characterized by geopolitical tensions, supply chain diversification and increasing trade uncertainty, presented Africa with the opportunity to accelerate industrialisation, attract investment and create jobs.
In her keynote address, Okonjo-Iweala explained that the global ecosystem was going through a transformation rather than the end of globalization and that international trade was shifting from cooperative to competitive interdependence.
According to her, the reorganisation of global supply chains offers African countries big opportunity to position themselves as alternative investment destinations as multinational companies are now trying to reduce dependence on a limited number of production hubs.
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The former Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, charged the Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA’s) leaders to leverage the continent’s vast reserves of critical minerals, youthful population and growing consumer markets by developing regional value chains instead of continuing to export raw materials.
The WTO Director-General stressed that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides the platform for coordinated industrialisation across the continent and warned that Africa could squander a historic opportunity if governments failed to implement the necessary reforms.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s economic situation, Okonjo-Iweala noted that recent monetary and foreign exchange reforms by the CBN had contributed to improving macroeconomic stability, stressing, however, that the success of the reforms will ultimately be measured by their impacts on citizens’ welfare.
She clarified: “Nigeria needs to continue the work on overall macroeconomic reforms. Above all, Nigeria needs to focus on creating jobs and economic opportunities for a young and hungry population. Nigerians have to feel the dividends of reform in the real economy.”
Speaking during a dialogue at the forum, Cardoso said the apex bank’s reform measures had begun restoring confidence in Nigeria’s economy through transparent, credible and consistent monetary policies.
He maintained that the apex bank remained focused on its core mandate of maintaining price stability through the implementation of difficult but necessary measures to stabilise the FX market, strengthen the banking system and improve policy credibility.
Cardoso said that the bank had enhanced transparency in policy formulation and avoided inconsistencies that previously undermined investor confidence while also pointing out that credibility has become one of the continent’s most valuable economic assets, saying investors were increasingly prioritising countries with transparent institutions, predictable policies and sound governance.
The banker said: “The era of abundant liquidity chasing returns regardless of risk is over,” he said, adding that countries seeking investment must demonstrate policy consistency and institutional strength. Credibility is not only a central bank concern; it is a national economic asset.”
The apex bank governor also advocated the need for stronger regional economic integration, lamenting that intra-African trade accounts for only about 16% of the continent’s total trade, despite the opportunities created by the AfCFTA.
To improve the continent’s merchandize trade, Cardoso maintained that African governments must strengthen regional value chains, improve transport infrastructure, harmonise customs procedures, accelerate cross-border payment systems to unlock the full benefits of continental trade, and mobilise more domestic resources to finance development rather than relying excessively on foreign capital
“We must mobilise our own resources,” he said, citing Nigeria’s ongoing banking sector recapitalisation, where approximately 75 per cent of the capital raised came from domestic investors.
In her contribution during the high-level dialogue, Okonjo-Iweala harped on the need for stronger domestic investment, noting that African countries could no longer depend on the volume of foreign aid and capital inflows that characterised previous decades.
She said attracting foreign investment would increasingly depend on governments creating stable and predictable environments that first inspire confidence among local investors.
Responding to a question on what will define Africa’s success over the next decade, the WTO chief identified effective leadership as the most critical factor, stressing “Leadership, it’s all about leadership.”
She urged African leaders to remain committed to transparency, job creation, effective implementation of reforms and addressing the structural constraints limiting economic growth of their countries.
