Business
Nigeria’s Problem Not Unemployment – Analyst …Urges Nigerians To Veer Into Business
The Director-General, Na
tional Board for Technology Acquisition (NBTI), Dr Mohammed Jubrin, says Nigeria’s problem is not unemployment rather lack of financial support for the establishment of businesses.
Jubrin made this assertion in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
He said that there were many avenues through which people could make a living in the country apart from oil and gas.
“But that nobody wants to look at these areas because everyone wants a ready-made market,’’ he said.
He said that even in the country’s forests, nature itself had endowed it with many things that could be used to generate income and employment.
The NBTI boss said that Nigeria has enough timbers that could be made into finished goods as furniture, if only people who were ready to render these services were empowered with financial support.
“I told the people of Calabar when we went there for inspection that whoever says there is no employment is because there is no support for such people.
“ But I still maintain and I can say it boldly that there is no unemployment in this country, that is if the people who are unemployed would be supported to be on their own.
“Nigerians are industrious people, they can create the much needed jobs and most of our youths will be off the streets if they can be given the support in the provision of infrastructure and capital.
According to him, one barrel of honey is more expensive than 12 barrels of crude oil but nobody is pursing honey production although world class pharmaceutical companies have great need for it.
“We don’t have the lab to test the quality when people are able to harvest it; the only lab presently provided is that of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria.
“Now tell me, if the government can encourage even private people to establish labs; it should not be only the Standard Organisation of Nigeria that should provide labs,’’ he said.
Jubrin said that the technology of bee keeping was important in Nigeria and should be a core research element in the universities.
“I spoke about timber in Kaduna State and they have one of the finest timbers but the timber forest in Birnin Gwari in Kaduna is housing criminals.
“That is the place with the second highest criminal activities in Nigeria apart from Sambisa,’’ he said.
Jubrin decried the fact that even with a huge deposit of timber in the forests, most of the country’s universities do not offer courses in timber technology.
“Ethiopian airlines come to Nigeria five times daily from China importing woods, building the country’s’ economy and creating jobs for their youths, while we lament that there are no jobs in Nigeria,’’ he said.
He said that youths could be supported with infrastructure for production in areas such as cocoa production and fish farming.
He therefore called on both the government and the private sector to provide support in areas the country has comparative advantage, especially in forest reserves.
“It is only with these measures that unemployment will be eradicated in our country and youths will be gainfully employed to contribute meaningfully to national economic development.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor