Nigeria at a Crossroads: Industrialist warns against unfair competition, calls for urgent industrial reforms
Nigeria must urgently reform its industrial and financing policies if it hopes to unlock its true manufacturing potential—this was the central message delivered yesterday by Dr. Mallinson Afam Ukatu, Chairman of the Mallinson Group, at the 2025 End-of-Year Programme of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN), held at MAN House, Ikeja. He was represented by the financial director of the company.
Addressing industry leaders, journalists, and policy stakeholders, Dr. Ukatu described manufacturing as the “engine of sustainable economic recovery,” stressing that no nation achieves global competitiveness without deliberate support for its industrial sector. But Nigeria, he warned, is falling behind.
Dr. Ukatu highlighted the persistent struggle manufacturers face in accessing affordable finance. Although the Bank of Industry (BOI) offers single-digit loans, he lamented that the commercial banks responsible for disbursing these facilities often delay or frustrate the process. In some cases, funds sit idle in bank accounts while manufacturers continue servicing interest on money they cannot use.
In sharp contrast, he cited China’s zero-interest, government-backed loans designed to push its machinery and industrial exports across the world—including Nigeria. These incentives, he noted, give foreign companies a massive head start, enabling them to establish operations easily and dominate the Nigerian market.
The imbalance deepens within Nigeria’s free trade zones, where Dr. Ukatu said foreign firms enjoy duty waivers, tax exemptions, and accelerated approvals that local manufacturers “can only dream of.” Many of these companies, originally investors, now operate as traders—owning shops, warehouses, and distribution channels that undercut local producers.
“What is the purpose of a free zone,” he asked, “if 99 percent of the goods produced there end up flooding our domestic market without corresponding export records?” He warned that the result is an uneven playing field that erodes indigenous manufacturing and drains economic value from the country.
Dr. Ukatu further raised concerns about foreign dominance in key sectors such as construction and engineering—areas where Nigerian professionals have proven capacity but continue to be sidelined.
To rescue the local industry, he called for decisive government action: enforcing timely disbursement of BOI loans, ending multiple taxation, strengthening local content rules, and ensuring that all incentives granted to foreign firms are equally accessible to Nigerian businesses.
Energy costs, he emphasized, remain a critical challenge. With the rising cost of diesel and petrol, he urged the nation to leverage its vast natural gas reserves and align with global trends toward CNG and cleaner, cheaper energy sources.
“What Nigerian manufacturers seek is not special treatment, but fairness,” Dr. Ukatu concluded. “We must choose policies that empower Nigerian businesses, not ones that reduce them to spectators in their own economy.”
The speech resonated strongly with industry stakeholders who echoed the call for reforms as Nigeria seeks to chart a more competitive industrial future.
