Dike Onwuamaeze
The Sterling Bank and economic experts have identified processing of raw materials, manufacturing, compliance to trade rules and export standards as the path to resilience in non-oil exports for Nigeria’s economy.
They argued that this would accelerate Nigeria’s transition from a commodity-dependent economy to a globally competitive industrial powerhouse.
According to them, the nation’s economy remained heavily exposed to external shocks, with crude oil continuing to dominate over 80 per cent of foreign exchange earnings even though Nigeria’s non-oil export sector reached a historic $6.1 billion (N12.36 trillion) in 2025, representing 11.5 per cent year-on-year growth.
These views were expressed recently at “Excel in Non-Oil Export’ Forum” with the theme, “Reclaiming Sovereignty: Value Addition, Compliance, and the Future of Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export,” which was organised by the Sterling Bank in collaboration with Sunbeth Global Concepts Limited.
Speaking at the forum, Divisional Head, Commercial Banking at Sterling Bank, Mr. Akporee Idenedo, emphasised the urgent need for a paradigm shift from raw commodity exports to value added exports.
Idenedo said: “We are still exporting potential instead of full value. For example, while Nigeria is the 4th largest producer of cocoa beans globally, earning billions in export value while the finished chocolate market is an even bigger market that has not been fully maximised.”
Delivering the forum’s keynote address, a Senior Fellow at the Lagos Business School (LBS) and former Chief Economic Adviser to the President Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Doyin Salami, challenged the audience to rethink trade sovereignty by moving away from historical import-substitution models toward building practical capabilities to participate in global trade on better terms.
Salami said that Nigeria currently ranked 130 out of 140 countries on the Economic Complexity Index because the country overwhelmingly exports raw materials rather than processed and finished goods.
