There are two sides to International Trade – import and export – and despite popular opinion, Nigeria has
been very active on the international trading scene. However, the results have been largely disappointing.
This might not seem obvious to casual observers reading figures thrown about by government agencies. A
critical look at the numbers however will reveal that Nigeria‘s involvement in international trade is tilted
heavily in favor of imports. On the export side, over 90% of trade is directly related to crude oil (a single
product) from a country previously known as a major exporter of agricultural produce (grains, cocoa,
palm oil, nuts, etc) and boasting large quantities of various solid minerals across the land.
The deficit obviously, is on the export side and this has been the case since the collapse of the commodity
boards, back in 1986. Every effort to correct this situation has remained a mirage - successive regimes
have set up more than ten agencies including Standards Organization of Nigeria, (SON), National Food and
Drug Administration Commission (NAFDAC), Raw Materials Research & Development Council
(RMRDC), Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Bank of
Industry (BoI), etc, to support non-oil exports. However, more than two decades later, there are no signs
of co-ordination between the regulators and stakeholders.
Committees have been set up to proffer recommendations and solutions to this anomaly, most notably,
the Oronsaye committee, but the reports from these committees remained unattended.
Despite numerous forms of support and assistance from the government and various incentives for
exporters and efforts by donor agencies, our share of international trade is still below expectation. The
business environment continues to be tough because the nation‘s policies are more focused on imports.
Additionally, Nigerians are more attracted to imports as it presents lesser risk and the support structures
for export are almost non-existent. Independent studies show that the export side is still very weak and
this is not unconnected to the incentives at home, lack of effective linkage between the stakeholders and
the agencies at home and abroad promoting the business.
Other challenges include poor manpower in the non-oil sectors and dearth of information to support
beginners across the country.
THE CURRENT SITUATION IN NIGERIA
Before we move on to addressing the non-oil exports deficit, it is important to clearly spell out what
export is all about. Firstly, let me clarify that the export business is not an extension of the usual local sales
as most managing directors or managers are wont to think. In that context, there is a very wide
information gap in this nation which needs urgent addressing.
In my consulting work in Nigeria, I‘ve come across bank managers who could not differentiate import
documents from export documentation, papers or processes. One bank manager in particular, believed
that Form M is the same as the NXP Form. When asked what an L/C was, in his words, ―If you bring L/C,
we will use it to process loans for you‖. A major problem in Nigeria is information or more precisely, the
dearth of it – the institutions which are supposed to develop human capacity, to train people to take
advantage of the opportunities in international trade and business either are non-existent or too few to
make a real impact across the nation.