The Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, has called for a paradigm shift from reliance on raw material exports to innovation-driven economic growth, describing it as critical to achieving sustainable development and national prosperity.
Adedeji made the call while delivering the maiden Distinguished Personality Lecture of the Faculty of Administration at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.
His remarks were contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Dare Adekanmbi.
Speaking on the theme, “From Potential to Prosperity: Export-led Economy,” Adedeji urged Nigeria to rethink its growth strategy by focusing on economic complexity rather than expanding production of the same commodities.
He observed that while Nigeria possesses a high-tech oil sector, much of its economy remains dominated by low-productivity informal activities, with no vibrant, labour-absorbing industrial base capable of supporting higher levels of complexity.
According to him, Nigeria’s export expansion stagnated between 1998 and 2023, with only six new products added to the country’s export basket from 2008.
“Because of our current position, the Harvard Atlas concluded that we are positioned to exploit very few diversification opportunities,” he said.
Adedeji encouraged Nigeria to study countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil to better understand patterns of economic success and failure.
“We are not looking at numbers in a vacuum, but at strategic choices nations made over the same twenty-five-year period,” he said, noting that successful economies followed deliberate strategies aimed at building economic complexity.
He added that Vietnam strengthened resilience through trade integration, while other nations remained dependent on natural resources.
Highlighting lessons for Nigeria, Adedeji stressed that avoiding the resource curse alone was insufficient without developing productive capabilities.
“Vietnam integrated into global value chains, becoming an electronics assembly hub and borrowing technology to build domestic know-how,” he explained.
He lamented that Nigeria still operates largely as a supplier of raw materials rather than an active participant in global value chains.
“We must realise productive capabilities are not permanent; South Africa and Brazil show industrial advantages can be lost,” he warned.
Adedeji cautioned that over-reliance on resource extraction discourages long-term industrial development and weakens sustainable competitiveness.
“For Nigeria, reliance on natural endowments is not just stagnation, but regression in a global economy rewarding knowledge,” he said.
He, however, expressed optimism that President Bola Tinubu had begun rebuilding the economy to support innovation, production and long-term resilience.
“The journey from potential to prosperity is long, but with the right resolve, it is one we can finally complete,” Adedeji stated.
