By BUKAR Mohammed
The Ministry of Trade and Investment should be the driving force behind Nigeria’s industrialization, job creation, and economic self-sufficiency. Instead, it has become an institution that prioritizes foreign interests over local businesses, leaving key industries like pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and construction at the mercy of unfair competition and weak regulatory oversight.
A sick economy is the direct result of a sick and weak labor force, and with Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry struggling to survive, the consequences are dire. But beyond this, we must ask: why is our government making it easier for foreign companies to flood our market with cheap imports instead of encouraging them to set up factories and create jobs locally?
Pharmaceuticals: The Lifeline of an Economy, Left to Die
The pharmaceutical industry is not just about selling drugs , it is about ensuring a healthy workforce that drives productivity. However, rather than protecting local pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Ministry of Trade has left them vulnerable to excessive regulation, extortion by government agencies, and unfair foreign competition.
One glaring example is a Nigerian company producing pharmaceutical packaging (packs and containers for tablets). Despite operating for over seven years, it has failed to break even because the Nigerian government allows an unchecked influx of cheaper, lower-quality alternatives from China. Instead of incentivizing local production, the Ministry has created a situation where foreign companies receive subsidies (such as power incentives in China), while Nigerian manufacturers struggle under high costs and poor infrastructure.
Regulatory Failure: From Fake Pharmaceuticals to Substandard Construction
The Ministry of Trade’s failure to regulate does not end with pharmaceuticals only but it extends to critical sectors like construction. Research has shown that what was sold as Iron 12 in 2017 is now being labeled as Iron 16, despite being significantly weaker. How are these substandard materials passing quality tests? Who is responsible for ensuring that Nigerians are not cheated on everything from construction materials to household goods?
The consequence is clear: collapsing buildings, failing infrastructure, and wasted taxpayer money. The Ministry’s failure to enforce proper standards endangers lives and weakens economic growth. Meanwhile, Nigerians are being cheated with half-filled tin milk sachets, fake drugs, and low-quality imported goods , all because regulatory authorities are asleep at the wheel.
NIPC: Misusing Pioneer Status to Benefit the Wrong Businesses
The Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), under the Ministry of Trade, is supposed to attract investments that drive industrialization. Instead, it has been misusing the pioneer status tax waiver, originally designed to encourage key industries.
Rather than supporting manufacturers and critical sectors, we see hotels and other non-essential businesses receiving tax exemptions, while local industries in pharmaceuticals and construction are left to struggle. This is a clear abuse of power that must be stopped.
China: If You Want Our Market, Set Up Factories and Create Jobs!
Perhaps the biggest betrayal is how the government’s policies favor foreign industries, especially China over Nigerian businesses. Chinese companies receive billions in subsidies from their government, allowing them to produce goods at much lower costs. Meanwhile, Nigeria provides no such incentives to its own manufacturers.
Instead of flooding our market with cheap, lower quality imports, China and other foreign players should be required to set up factories in Nigeria. This is how industrialization is achieved by forcing those who want access to our market to invest in local production, create jobs, and contribute to economic growth.
Other countries protect their economies through import taxes, local content laws, and industrial policies that ensure foreign companies must produce locally if they want to sell in the market. Nigeria must do the same. We must creatively shift our policies to ensure those eyeing our market come down, set up factories, and build our industries, instead of killing the local businesses that trusted our economy enough to invest in it.
The Way Forward: Prioritizing Local Production Over Foreign Dependence
If Nigeria wants to build a strong, self-sufficient economy, the Ministry of Trade must take immediate action:
Make Foreign Companies Invest Locally : No more free access to our market! If Chinese and other foreign businesses want to sell in Nigeria, they must establish factories here and create jobs.
Introduce Higher Import Taxes on Foreign Goods . Foreign products should not be cheaper than locally made goods. We must impose proper tariffs to protect local industries.
Incentivize Local Manufacturing – Provide tax breaks, cheap loans, and infrastructure support for Nigerian manufacturers.
End Regulatory Corruption and Weak Oversight : Ensure product quality standards are strictly enforced, from pharmaceuticals to construction materials.
Reform the NIPC’s Pioneer Status System – Even though the current head of the Agency , Aisha Rimi has been doing well but she must stop granting tax waivers to hotels and non essential businesses. Support only industries that contribute to national development.
Ban or Heavily Restrict Certain Foreign Products: If Nigeria truly wants to build its local economy, some foreign goods must be banned or restricted.
The Ministry of Trade must decide whether it wants to drive Nigeria’s industrialization or be remembered as an institution that sabotaged it. If it fails to act, then it is no longer a Ministry of Trade, it is a Ministry of Betrayal.
BUKAR Mohammed is a public analyst from Kano
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