Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has called for increased investment in local manufacturing and technical skills development, saying Nigeria must build a production-driven economy to create jobs and reduce dependence on imported goods.
Jonathan made the call at the unveiling of a tricycle production facility operated by Zeetin Engineering Company.
He said investment in factories, technology and technical education was essential to harnessing Nigeria’s large population for economic growth.
“With a population of over 200 million people, and young people above 65 per cent of the population, it is a huge number. So we must convert the country into a factory,” the former Nigerian Leader emphasised.
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Jonathan commended Zeetin Engineering and its founder, Robert Azibaola, for investing in domestic manufacturing, noting that expanded production would create employment, stimulate economic activity and improve Nigeria’s capacity to manufacture goods for local consumption and export.
The former President cited China’s manufacturing development as an example of the importance of skilled workers and technological capabilities.
He argued that industrial growth required more than access to labour, stressing the need to develop expertise across production and technology sectors.
“The world is driven by technology. It is driven by the brains of human beings. And we must develop our best brains,” Jonathan stressed.
He called for sustained investment in science, technology and innovation, recalling the Presidential Scholarship for Innovation and Development programme introduced during his administration to develop professionals in scientific and technological fields.
Jonathan expressed regret that the programme had been discontinued after he left office, saying Nigeria needed consistent policies to develop its technical workforce, strengthen local industries and reduce reliance on imported products.
Speaking at the event, Azibaola called for a shift in investment priorities towards industries that produce machinery and industrial components.
He argued that excessive spending on imported luxury goods benefited foreign economies, while domestic manufacturing could create jobs and strengthen local production capacity.
“If you keep buying private jets from foreign countries, all you are doing is empowering those countries,” he said.
“But if you establish a plant that produces a propeller engine in Nigeria, you are going to empower a lot of people,” Azibaola explained
He identified metal processing and casting as critical to industrial development, noting that metals were essential for construction, engine production, machinery and other industrial components.
Azibaola urged Nigeria to develop the capacity to process metals and manufacture components needed by local industries. He also called on entrepreneurs to invest more resources in productive ventures within the country rather than transfer capital abroad.
He maintained that a service-led economy alone could not provide jobs on the scale Nigeria required, citing banking and telecommunications as sectors with more limited employment capacity than large manufacturing industries.
