Nigeria risks missing out on an estimated 260 million digital jobs projected for Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 unless the country urgently invests in digital skills, smart manufacturing and workforce development, a United States-based engineering professor, Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua, has warned.
Ekeng-Itua urged the Federal Government to accelerate investment in modern manufacturing technologies and discourage the export of raw materials without local value addition, warning that continued dependence on imported finished products could limit Nigeria’s economic growth and job creation potential.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the African Technology and Innovation Institute (ATII) spoke with journalists on Tuesday after participating in a panel discussion on bridging the skills gap in smart and additive manufacturing at the 54th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria in Calabar.
She said Nigeria must urgently shift from a consumption-driven economy to one that prioritises production, manufacturing and the adoption of emerging technologies.
“A country that only consumes can never be an economic world power. We cannot just be consumers, we must be producers, we must be manufacturers and we must adopt Industry 4.0 because the rest of the world has already done so,” she said.
The professor identified robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) as critical areas where Nigerian youths must acquire practical skills to remain relevant in the evolving manufacturing sector.
Citing projections by the African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation, she said Sub-Saharan Africa could generate about 260 million digital jobs by 2030, making skills development a priority for governments, educational institutions and private-sector operators.
“There will be, by 2030, up to 260 million jobs, and they will be all digital jobs. It is important that we train and educate the next generation to fill that skills gap,” she said.
Ekeng-Itua also identified Cross River State as a potential hub for agro-based manufacturing, urging the state to move beyond selling raw agricultural commodities and invest in processing them into finished and higher-value products.
She cited cassava, cocoa and oil palm as agricultural products that could support industrial development, create jobs and expand economic opportunities if processed locally.
According to her, her laboratory has developed edible and biodegradable plastics from cassava flour, an innovation she said could offer an alternative to conventional plastics while creating new opportunities for local agro-industrial production.
She stressed the need for stronger collaboration among government, industry and academia to ensure that research findings translate into commercially viable products, industrial expansion and employment opportunities.
The ATII chief executive explained that the institute was established as a research-driven technology innovation and capacity-building organisation to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and practical industrial applications.
She further called on the Federal Government to introduce tax incentives for manufacturers producing goods locally, particularly those sourcing their raw materials within Nigeria.
“If it is made in Nigeria, give them tax breaks. If it is made in Nigeria and sourced locally, give additional tax breaks. That is how we encourage production,” she said.
Ekeng-Itua, recognised as the first Black woman globally to earn a PhD in Cybernetics, maintained that investment in technology, local processing and workforce development would be crucial to strengthening Nigeria’s manufacturing base and preparing its young population for emerging employment opportunities.
