Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged the Federal Government to prioritise local manufacturing, industrialisation and technical skills development as strategies to tackle unemployment, stimulate economic growth and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported goods.
Jonathan made the call on Wednesday at the unveiling of a tricycle production facility operated by Zeetin Engineering Factory in Abuja, where he challenged the government to transform Nigeria into a major production hub.
He said the country’s population of more than 200 million people, particularly its large youth population, offered enormous opportunities for industrial growth if supported by investments in factories, technology and technical education.
“With a population of over 200 million people, and young people above 65 per cent of the population, it is a huge number. So we must convert the country into a factory,” the former president said.
According to him, expanding domestic production would generate employment, stimulate economic activities and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to manufacture goods for local consumption and export.
Jonathan commended Zeetin Engineering and its founder, Robert Azibaola, for investing in local manufacturing, describing the initiative as an example of the technological entrepreneurship needed to strengthen the nation’s industrial base.
He noted that the success of manufacturing economies such as China was not driven by cheap labour alone but also by the availability of skilled workers and sustained investment in technology and production capabilities.
The former president urged Nigeria to develop similar technical expertise, stressing that technology and human ingenuity were increasingly shaping the global economy.
“The world is driven by technology. It is driven by the brains of human beings. And we must develop our best brains,” he said.
Jonathan also called for renewed investment in science, technology and innovation, recalling the Presidential Scholarship for Innovation and Development programme introduced during his administration to develop skilled professionals in scientific and technological fields.
He expressed regret that the programme had been discontinued after he left office, arguing that Nigeria needed sustained policies to build its technical workforce and reduce reliance on imported products.
He maintained that developing local knowledge, technical expertise and technological capacity was essential to strengthening the country’s manufacturing sector and creating sustainable employment opportunities.
Speaking at the event, Azibaola called for a shift in national priorities towards investments that build productive capacity, arguing that Nigeria should focus more on manufacturing machinery and industrial components instead of spending heavily on imported luxury goods.
He said investments in domestic manufacturing would create jobs, develop local expertise and strengthen the economy, while excessive reliance on foreign-made products would support industrial growth and employment in other countries.
“If you keep buying private jets from foreign countries, all you are doing is empowering those countries,” he said. “But if you establish a plant that produces a propeller engine in Nigeria, you are going to empower a lot of people.”
Azibaola identified metal processing and casting as critical to industrial development, noting that metals were essential not only for construction but also for manufacturing engines, machinery and other industrial components.
He argued that Nigeria must develop the capacity to process metals locally and produce components required by domestic industries instead of relying heavily on foreign suppliers.
The Zeetin founder also urged Nigerian entrepreneurs to invest more capital in productive ventures within the country rather than transfer resources abroad.
He further argued that a service-led economy alone could not generate employment on the scale required by Nigeria, citing the comparatively limited job-creation capacity of sectors such as banking and telecommunications relative to large-scale manufacturing.
Both speakers stressed the importance of strengthening domestic production, developing technical skills and supporting industrial entrepreneurship as part of efforts to expand employment opportunities and build a more productive Nigerian economy.
