President Bola Tinubu has called for bold regional collaboration, policy coherence, and investment alignment to unlock West Africa’s economic potential, warning that opportunity alone cannot guarantee transformation. He issued the rallying cry at the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) held in Abuja.

“West Africa stands as one of the last great frontiers of economic growth,” Tinubu declared, “but opportunity is not destiny. We must earn it through vision, integration, and strategic coordination. With intra-regional trade still below 10 per cent, we cannot afford further delays. This is not a failure of ambition, but of alignment.”

Highlighting the urgency of action, he said, “The global economy will not wait for West Africa. Rather than competing in isolation or relying on external players, we must strengthen our value chains, coordinate policies, and invest in shared infrastructure. Our greatest asset is our youth, but if we do not back them with skills, innovation, and enterprise, that asset could become a liability.”

Citing examples from Nigeria, Tinubu said the country is investing in digital infrastructure and youth empowerment, but insisted that such efforts must be regional in scale.

“Our prosperity depends on shared supply chains, energy networks, and data systems. These must be designed together—or they will fail separately,” he warned. “From the Lagos-Abidjan Highway to the West African Power Pool, we’ve seen the power of cooperation. But we must now move from declarations to deals, from frameworks to functional delivery.”

He also called for an end to the region’s overreliance on exporting raw materials, urging value addition and domestic processing of rare minerals.

“The pit-to-port era must end. We must transform our mineral wealth into jobs, technology, and manufacturing at home,” he said. “Governments must enable the environment with law, order, and market-friendly policies, while entrepreneurs drive growth.”

Tinubu added that unlocking the region’s full potential will require deliberate efforts to improve the business climate and increase opportunities for youth and women.

Low Intra-Regional Trade Unsustainable — Tuggar

Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar echoed Tinubu’s concerns, noting that only 8.6 percent of West Africa’s $166 billion in 2024 exports remained within the region.

“Our imports are dominated by China, India, the EU, and the U.S., while our exports consist mostly of raw, unprocessed materials,” Tuggar said. “This model is unsustainable. It’s not just about capacity—it’s about rethinking our approach.”

He stressed the need to shift informal economic activities into the formal sector to harness economies of scale and accelerate entrepreneurial growth.

Unified Digital Identity Key to Integration — NIMC DG

Also speaking at the summit, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), underscored the importance of harmonising digital identity systems across West Africa to drive regional trade and growth.

“Digital identity is more than a bureaucratic tool—it’s a strategic foundation for integration,” she said. “It enables cross-border mobility, reduces fraud, facilitates access to financial services, and builds trust in trade.”

She noted that inconsistent identity systems are a major obstacle to intra-African trade, especially for individuals and small businesses, who often struggle with verification issues that limit access to finance and services.

“A unified, interoperable digital ID platform will power seamless payments, cross-border commerce, and regional inclusion,” Coker-Odusote asserted.