The Export Brief The Export Brief 2 | Page 60

mistakes of the past, laying a shaky foundation for future generations. The onus is on this generation of Nigerians to do the hard work and create the foundations of a future economy that will not use ―inadequate infrastructure and capacity‖ arguments as a reason to shy away from economic agreements with the rest of the world. Conclusion Whether or not Nigeria signs the AfCFTA, we have a major deficit in our entire international trading infrastructure, from ports (seaports, river ports, dry ports and airports), roads, sound policy frameworks, friendly regulatory environment and forward-looking educational curricula among other things. The irony is that our refusal to sign the AfCFTA is as well an indictment of political leadership in Nigeria, as it is as indictment on the entire public sector, the organized private sector and the academic sector in this country, in equal measures. So no sector can really lay all the blame on the other. The need to reduce our import bill and improve our export earnings cannot be over-emphasized. The path to doing that will not be achieved overnight. Choosing the easy path of not signing the AfCFTA is giving in to our worst fears as a nation, telling the whole world that we are not ready to take up a challenge, to do what is necessary, to take hard decisions and do right by future generations.