‘Task Of Turning Nigeria’s Economic Potential To Prosperity Requires Political Will’

The executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, has said the task of turning Nigeria’s economic potential to prosperity requires political will and a commitment lasting beyond election cycles.

Adedeji spoke at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State on Thursday, while delivering the maiden Faculty of Administration distinguished personality lecture with the theme, “From Potential to Prosperity,” advised government to further prioritise complexity and also target production of sophisticated goods.

He warned against relying solely on natural endowment to propel the nation’s economic growth saying the task of turning Nigeria’s economic potential to prosperity requires political will and a commitment lasting beyond election cycles.

According to him, for Nigeria to sustain the current economic gains, Adedeji called for elimination of policy incoherence just as he further called for alignment of government’s actions to support integration into the global economy.

The NRS boss also called for a data driven process that will identify goods that can be produced using the available skills or the skills that can be easily acquired.

While highlighting the three guiding principles that must be adopted to stimulate the country’s economic potentials to prosperity, he said “First, we must prioritize complexity, not just diversification. Our goal isn’t just to add more low-value products like raw nuts or seeds to our list. We want to increase our Economic Complexity Index (ECI) by targeting sophisticated goods that embody deep collective knowhow.

“Second, we must make strategic bets based on the Product Space. Industrial policy shouldn’t be about picking winners out of thin air. It must be a data-driven process where we identify “nearby” products, things we can actually produce using the skills we already have or can easily acquire.

“Third, export-orientation must be our organizing principle. Every single policy, whether it’s about taxes, trade, or infrastructure, must be judged by the question: does this make Nigerian exporters less competitive? We must eliminate policy incoherence and align every part of the government to support our integration into the global economy.”

He said President Bola Tinubu has already begun the difficult work of rebuilding the economy, noting that the goal must be to transform Nigeria into a nation that possesses the collective knowledge to produce, innovate and compete.