Yusuf Tuggar, the Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers and Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, has raised alarm over the low level of trade among West African nations, revealing that only 8.6 per cent of the region’s $166 billion worth of exports in 2024 were traded within its borders.
Speaking at the opening session of the West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) 2025, Tuggar decried the region’s continued dependence on external partners for both imports and exports, warning that such a trade structure is “untenable” for long-term economic prosperity.
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“Let us not forget that in 2024, West Africa exported goods valued at over $166 billion. Yet only 8.6 percent of that trade remained within our borders,” Tuggar said.
He stressed that while countries in the region continue to export largely unprocessed raw materials, they remain heavily reliant on manufactured imports — particularly machinery and consumer goods — from China, India, the United States, and the European Union.
“This is not merely a matter of capacity, but of orientation,” he noted. “We must begin to look inward, to trade among ourselves, and to develop our own industries that add value and create jobs.”
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The summit, themed Reset the Vision for the Economic Future of the West Africa Region, aims to catalyse fresh strategies to deepen integration, boost industrialisation, and unlock the economic potential of the subregion.
Tuggar called for a new regional focus on building supply chains, energy networks, and digital frameworks that cut across borders, stressing that “West Africa already has the building blocks — freedom of movement, a shared trade facilitation framework, pooled electricity initiatives, and emerging transport corridors.”
The priority, he argued, should be to transform these structures into tangible economic outcomes.
“In our history, West Africa has always traded — from the great markets of Salaga, Katsina, and Kano to today’s borderless informal networks,” he said. “But too much of that energy is still informal, bypassing regulation and scale. We must find ways to integrate these sectors into the formal economy, to unleash the full benefits of scale, innovation, and access to finance.”
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According to the diplomat, the region’s abundant mineral wealth, agricultural potential, and growing youthful population offer a foundation for inclusive growth, especially if local industries can be empowered through innovation, processing capacity, and smarter trade policies.
He said the summit was an opportunity not just for policy dialogue, but for action.
“Our goal here is to build on what we have and find new ways to add momentum to our pursuit of peace, stability, prosperity, and growth. The time to take control of our economic destiny is now,” he declared.
