Less Than 10% Intra-West Africa Trade Unacceptable — Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has decried the dismal level of trade among West African nations, declaring that intra-regional trade remaining below 10 per cent was no longer acceptable in a region with such vast economic potential.

Speaking on Saturday at the opening of the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, the Nigerian leader — who is also the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government — urged leaders across the sub-region to urgently dismantle barriers hindering cooperation and unlock new avenues for shared prosperity.

“We cannot continue to operate in isolation. Intra-regional trade remaining below 10 per cent is not just a statistic — it is a crisis of missed opportunity,” Tinubu said. “This is not due to a lack of will, but a failure of coordination. The global economy will not wait for West Africa to get its act together, and neither should we.”

The President called for bold steps toward economic integration, policy alignment, and regional infrastructure development, warning that West Africa risks falling further behind if concrete actions are not taken.

According to Tinubu, the region’s youthful population is its greatest asset, but this demographic strength could become a liability if not matched with investments in education, innovation, and regional connectivity.

“Our prosperity depends on regional supply chains, energy networks, and data frameworks. We must design them together — or they will collapse separately,” he said.

The summit, which brought together Heads of State, ministers, business leaders, and development partners from across the region, focused on boosting intra-African trade, unlocking regional value chains, and attracting private sector investment.

Highlighting existing projects like the Lagos-Abidjan Highway and the West African Power Pool, Tinubu stressed the need to move from “policy frameworks to practical implementation.”

He said Africa must avoid the mistakes of the past, particularly being left behind in previous industrial revolutions, and instead harness its natural resources to drive industrialisation and job creation.

“It is not enough to be resource-rich. We must become value-chain smart. The era of pit to port must end. We must turn our mineral wealth into local jobs and industries,” he declared.

President Tinubu also reaffirmed the need to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs, saying governments must focus on providing law, order, and market-friendly policies while the private sector leads economic growth.

The Nigerian leader urged the summit to end with actionable commitments — including easing the cost of doing business, building trade infrastructure, and implementing policies that move “our people from poverty to prosperity.”

He urged regional leaders to build a “West Africa that is investable, competitive, and resilient — one that leads with vision, responsibility, and unity.”