*Okonjo-Iweala: W’Africa must break trade barriers to unlock $500bn potential

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu yesterday urged the West African leaders to harness the region’s youthful population and abundant natural resources for economic transformation through industrialisation, education, and innovation.

This is just as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has called on the West African leaders to dismantle trade barriers, and reduce costs, to unlock the subregion’s $500 billion economic potential and secure prosperity for its young and growing population.

Delivering an opening address at the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) in Abuja, the President described the region’s vibrant, youthful population as its greatest asset.

“However, this demographic promise can quickly become a liability if not matched by investments in education, digital infrastructure, innovation, and productive enterprise,” he warned.

President Tinubu emphasised the need for regional cooperation, citing Nigeria’s investments in skills development, digital connectivity, and youth empowerment.
According to him: “No one country can do this alone. Our prosperity depends on regional supply chains, energy networks, and data frameworks. We must design them together—or they will collapse separately”.

He called for urgent efforts to dismantle trade barriers across the subregion.

The President expressed concern that with intra-regional trade still below 10 per cent, West Africa must “coordinate or collapse” in the race for global economic relevance.

On infrastructure and investment, President Tinubu urged West Africa to move beyond the export of raw materials and prioritise value-added industries:
He said: “Let us recognise that Africa was left behind in previous industrial revolutions. We cannot afford to miss the next one.

“The era of ‘pit to port’ must end. We must turn our mineral wealth into domestic economic value—jobs, technology, and manufacturing.”

President Tinubu, who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, underscored the role of the private sector in driving transformation.
While calling on regional leaders to commit to clear deliverables, the President said:

“Our task is to find new and effective ways to invest in our collective future, improve the business climate, and create opportunities for our youth and women.
“Let us emerge from this summit with actionable outcomes: a renewed commitment to ease of doing business, enhanced intra-regional trade, improved infrastructure connectivity, and innovative ideas that move our people from poverty to prosperity.”

Nigeria and the Republic of Benin also yesterday signed an agreement to deepen bilateral integration and serve as a model for broader regional cooperation within ECOWAS.

The signing ceremony, witnessed by Nigerian President Tinubu and Benin Republic President Patrice Talon, took place in the course of the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) in Abuja.

Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, signed the agreement, alongside Benin’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Shadiya Alimatou Assouman, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Shegun Adjadi Bakari.

President Talon declared that the move signified a bold step toward real, actionable regional integration.

“President Tinubu and I have agreed on full integration between Benin and Nigeria. The responsibility now lies with our ministers to implement it. Benin and Nigeria are more than twins—we are the same people. Let us show the region that integration is possible,” he said.

President Talon cited the West African Gas Pipeline, which was designed to enhance regional energy cooperation, as an example of failure due to administrative bottlenecks.

“It is ridiculous. This failure of regional cooperation wastes resources and undermines integration,” he said.

As a result of these delays, President Talon said Benin has had to source gas from Qatar via a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

On the West African Power Pool, another regional initiative, he said: “We invested heavily in this infrastructure. But it is not functioning as expected. Unless we act decisively, I’m not confident it ever will.”

President Talon also addressed logistical obstacles along the Lagos–Abidjan Corridor, which unnecessary border checks and harassment have hampered.
He warned that poverty remains the region’s most dangerous destabilising force saying
Referencing changing global trade dynamics, President Talon cited U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies as a signal for African nations to prioritise their interests.

Earlier, the Presidents of Sierra Leone and Benin delivered national statements at the summit, which preceded the 67th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, scheduled for Sunday, June 22, 2025, at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

In her recorded video statement delivered virtually at the summit, Okonjo-Iweala, said West Africa was well-positioned to become a competitive economic bloc if it prioritised integration, built value chains, and embraced innovation and manufacturing.

“At this pivotal moment for our region, you have come together to unlock trade and investment opportunities to drive growth and job creation for West Africa’s nearly 460 million people — half of them under the age of 18.

“We have so much to build on. A $500 billion  regional economy with a dynamic entrepreneurial population and rich critical mineral and energy resources, West Africa’s creative industries are hot and not just at home,” she said.

Describing the region as “rich in critical mineral and energy resources”, she noted that West Africa’s creative industries were thriving and increasingly visible on the global stage — from music to literature, fashion, and food.

She said, “Wherever I travel, I increasingly encounter the region’s cultural exports. Finance and agriculture are also starting to come together — as shown by Côte d’Ivoire’s new commodities exchange, which could become a force for transparent markets, higher incomes, and reduced volatility for agricultural producers.”

While praising ECOWAS for being the first bloc to support her candidacy for the WTO leadership, Okonjo-Iweala stressed that the time had come for member states to act collectively to build regional economic strength.

“If each of our countries works alone, it is unlikely that we will be able to build efficient value chains or attract the investment we need,” the WTO DG said.
“However, if ECOWAS can think in terms of subregional value chains and markets, our economies become bigger and more attractive to investors.”

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