The co-founder of Flutterwave, Iyinuoluwa Aboyeji, has expressed scepticism about Nigeria’s ability to compete in manufacturing and agriculture, arguing that the country should prioritise revenue generation through the digital economy.
Speaking on a podcast during the weekend, Aboyeji criticised the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, over what he described as a lack of practical understanding of the digital economy among policymakers.
“Him (Peter Obi) and his team, I don’t think had practical ideas about the digital economy or even the expertise to run this thing,” he said, without directly naming the individuals in question.
Aboyeji argued that Nigeria cannot compete with China in manufacturing due to its inadequate infrastructure.
“Well, he’s advocating manufacturing, we’re never going to compete with China. I think it’s very important for everybody to understand that we cannot be competitive in agriculture or manufacturing because we simply lack the infrastructure, period,” he stated.
He further emphasised the economic challenge of local production, asserting that “there’s just no way we’re going to produce more than China produces. It will always be cheaper for us to buy from China than to produce in Nigeria, for many things.”
The tech entrepreneur urged the country to focus on revenue generation, particularly through foreign exchange earnings, before considering large-scale production.
“Focus on making revenue, right! You’re broke, why bother about making spoons for yourself when you can go, work, make a salary and buy food and spoons. Let’s generate FX, then we can worry about production later,” he added.
