₦airaland Forum

Nigerias import are even too tiny compared to other countries that are doing well

mrvitalis:
Which economics theory are you quoting or this is your opinion

Can you name a country that practice your idea that have grown

China imports silicon from Nigeria and use it to manufacture batteries which they export back to Africa.

Japan imports raw rubber from Nigeria and turn them to automobile parts including tyres and export them back to Africa.
industries in Europe, imports cocoa from Africa and turn them to beverages which they export back to Africa.

These countries are doing well economically as they declare trade surplus year in year out.

African countries rely sole on imports for their essential needs,this leads to capital flight because they are indirectly creating job opportunities for these countries while killing the indigenous and cottage industries

Beremx:
so if you didn't add Peter Obi in your comment, you wouldn't have known what to say? Peter Obi lives rent free in your brain.

Na wa for una o!!

don't mind those educated illiterate, many of them are now in the corridor of power but they have nothing in the head to turn Nigeria into a progressive country. Instead they are making majority of the country poor with their ignorance policies.

Celestialsword:
China imports silicon from Nigeria and use it to manufacture batteries which they export back to Africa.

Japan imports raw rubber from Nigeria and turn them to automobile parts including tyres and export them back to Africa.
industries in Europe, imports cocoa from Africa and turn them to beverages which they export back to Africa.

These countries are doing well economically as they declare trade surplus year in year out.

African countries rely sole on imports for their essential needs,this leads to capital flight because they are indirectly creating job opportunities for these countries while killing the indigenous and cottage industries

So are we not saying the same thing?
Nigeria makes its difficult to import raw materials

Allow import of steel a raw materials so that metal works industry can spring up

Allow import of fabric so that garment Industry can spring up

Allow corn and maize import so our poultry can be competitive

Is that u guys read and refuse to understand?

mrvitalis:
So are we not saying the same thing?
Nigeria makes its difficult to import raw materials

Allow import of steel a raw materials so that metal works industry can spring up

Allow import of fabric so that garment Industry can spring up

Allow corn and maize import so our poultry can be competitive

Is that u guys read and refuse to understand?

No, you don't import that which you have in abundant or else the Market will be bloated..

You import what you lack to balance what you have back home

Celestialsword:
No, you don't import that which you have in abundant or else the Market will be bloated..

You import what you lack to balance what you have back home

What did I mention that we have in abundant tell me

mrvitalis:
What did I mention that we have in abundant tell me

What you mentioned are raw materials and since Nigeria is not an industrialized nation,she will not be able to turn them into finished products.

Hence we import finished goods and exports raw materials, hence the economy isn't growing

Stop displaying your ignorance.
Get an economics textbook.
Topic : Balance of payments deficit and solutions.
You will know why Tinubu is a better economist than Donald Trump, and why Saudi crown prince had to quickly gift the US $650B.
Though the prince called it an investment, it was an economic intervention, without which the green back might turn red head.
Too much importation create unemployment, and people suffer.
Enough said.

Celestialsword:
What you mentioned are raw materials and since Nigeria is not an industrialized nation,she will not be able to turn them into finished products.

Hence we import finished goods and exports raw materials, hence the economy isn't growing

Bro what exactly is your issue... Go back and read my post slowly... Don't have this time for rubbish

mrvitalis:
Firstly that's a big lie at the bolded

Our trde deficit has always been between +4 billion to -4 billion dollars

If you add foreign remittance it has always been positive

India has always had negative trde deficit

Your naira is weak not from import.. But loans your government take

This is completely false. The naira is not getting weak because of loans but inefficient spending of revenues and generally low tax revenue. The problem is lack of government savings.

When Obasanjo was president and Nigeria had an excess crude account, the Naira gradually strengthened from about N140 to a dollar to N116, which occurred during Yar’adua’s presidency.

The Naira’s collapse is directly correlated with the diminishing of Nigerias ECA.

To further explain, if Tinubu had taken more foreign loans to buffer the Naira, and had reduced the cost of governance either through reducing the number of MDAs and other policy cuts, and the raised taxes primarily targeted at richer Nigerians, the Naira would not have fallen and the terrible inflation Nigerians are passing through would have never occurred.

I do not believe Nigeria’s debt to GDP crossed 40 percent, which is comparatively low. Nigerians are suffering as a result of incompetence in governance.

Tianamen1:
This is completely false. The naira is not getting weak because of loans but inefficient spending of revenues and generally low tax revenue. The problem is lack of government savings.

When Obasanjo was president and Nigeria had an excess crude account, the Naira gradually strengthened from about N140 to a dollar to N116, which occurred during Yar’adua’s presidency.

The Naira’s collapse is directly correlated with the diminishing of Nigerias ECA.

To further explain, if Tinubu had taken more foreign loans to buffer the Naira, and had reduced the cost of governance either through reducing the number of MDAs and orbs policy cuts, and the raised taxes primarily targeted at richer Nigerians, the Naira would not have falling and the terrible inflation Nigerians are passing through would have never occurred.

I do not believe Nigeria’s debt to GDP crossed 40 percent, which is comparatively low. Nigerians are suffering as a result of incompetence in governance.

Do you know how a currency loses value?

Lets start from there

KillahPriest:
put the infrastructure in place to cultivate the wheat enough to meet our needs as a people first of all and this infrastructure includes adequate security for the farmers so their heads wouldn't be chopped off in their farms. You have a damning food crisis under your nose but you're still speaking semantics and grammar. Check out the top five highest importers in the world and prove to us here that Nigeria produces up to fifty percent of whatever they're producing there. Your people and their dindinrin policies are choking this country and pushing Nigerians to desperation including you and if not you then, many of your family members and friends. Oga, go outside and touch the grass abeg

omo osan ni e you have no respect for family but I will not disrespect, you knew we can produce before and you said no.why not putting the problems facing the farmers in the right up rather than encouraged importation.I have dirty my hands with soil and I will gladly do it again any day when I am ready for my new project.

mrvitalis:
Why don't u people understand basic English

Cultivate effectively is different from cultivating

What's the yield in Northen Nigeria?

Continue speaking grammar waiting for effectively to happen when you can't till the soil.if you had joined planting with the one from the north tell me if we would not have sustainable for consumption

hakeemhakeem:
Continue speaking grammar waiting for effectively to happen when you can't till the soil.if you had joined planting with the one from the north tell me if we would not have sustainable for consumption

The level of ignorance to think why we don't produce enough wheat is lack of man power or labour is mind blowing honestly

Economics should be made compulsory

hakeemhakeem:
omo osan ni e you have no respect for family but I will not disrespect, you knew we can produce before and you said no.why not putting the problems facing the farmers in the right up rather than encouraged importation.I have dirty my hands with soil and I will gladly do it again any day when I am ready for my new project.

no be only you get language baba. Handle first things first so we can start a proper journey instead of putting the cart before the horse. Buhari banned rice imports before we were ready, what happened to it ? You guys had to build pyramid scaffolds to deceive Nigerians that we're now sustainable in rice product. What happened after that ? Was rice not smuggled at an alarming rate with long convoys of bikes across northern borders ? Is rice not being smuggled at an alarming rate across SW borders now ? Why ? Because we just can't grow enough right now mostly due to insecurity problems. I asked you to check the top five highest importers in the world and tell me if we meet even a quarter of their production capacity but you decided to get emotional instead. We will continue going round in unnecessary circles until your people decide to do the right things first. Don't blame me or abuse me in your language boss, it's just facts

KillahPriest:
no be only you get language baba. Handle first things first so we can start a proper journey instead of putting the cart before the horse. Buhari banned rice imports before we were ready, what happened to it ? You guys had to build pyramid scaffolds to deceive Nigerians that we're now sustainable in rice product. What happened after that ? Was rice not smuggled at an alarming rate with long convoys of bikes across northern borders ? Is rice not being smuggled at an alarming rate across SW borders now ? Why ? Because we just can't grow enough right now mostly due to insecurity problems. I asked you to check the top five highest importers in the world and tell me if we meet even a quarter of their production capacity but you decided to get emotional instead. We will continue going round in unnecessary circles until your people decide to do the right things first. Don't blame me or abuse me in your language boss, it's just facts

I didn't blamed nor abused you and not defending govt,I only said we are producing wheat too just like rice.on the top five importer what is even our consumption level with those nations.An average Nigerian will choose eba over wheat.

mrvitalis:
The level of ignorance to think why we don't produce enough wheat is lack of man power or labour is mind blowing honestly

Economics should be made compulsory

Course that I studied with sleepless night

hakeemhakeem:
I didn't blamed nor abused you and not defending govt,I only said we are producing wheat too just like rice.on the top five importer what is even our consumption level with those nations.An average Nigerian will choose eba over wheat.

you produce roughly 800k tonnes of wheat a year and have to import the rest 5-6m tonnes that you need for an industry that generates over 1trillion naira a year for your country and this is how you talk mess on them. I blame myself for wasting time with you

hakeemhakeem:
Course that I studied with sleepless night

You studied economics? And you are speaking like this?

Please explain theory of comparative advantage

We need more export less imports, exports must be more than imports in our balance of payments, this is how our naira can be in demand and become strong.

Production also helps a nation reduce or halt inflation...by putting the value/money into production we create more value and utilise our wealth efficiently by using it to create future wealth. Inflation is either caused by excessive spending on consumption (when there is too much money in circulation compared to the volume of production) or government policy (which can also be referred to as cost pull inflation)... example is the fuel subsidy removal which led to increase in prices of goods and services across board

Nations like America, UK export expertise, imperialism, they make trillions from Africa's resources etc, they have large manufacturing industries in Nigeria and across Africa, processing and reselling our raw materials to us, as finished products...so big nations export way more than they import...not to talk of weaponry etc they export, which are very expensive.

Ttalk:
You just want to justify container economy you practice in your region.

Your Obi supermarket depends on importation of junks into the country and you want naira to appreciate.

Are you expecting a fiat pronouncement that will make naira appreciate overnight?

Let your charity begin at home and first tell your Obi to embark on building a business that will produce products that Nigeria can buy and export, stop blaming the president for the problem caused majorly by your brothers

You missed the whole point. A beautiful thread and you brought Obi in without making any meaningful contribution.

Before you guys came, nairaland was not like this

This is what Buhari got wrong and made life difficult for Nigerians.

Ttalk:
And Peter Obi is your concubine that makes you his advocate.

I only use him as a typical example of hypocrisy that has blinded the reasoning capacity of many that attack the president

Illiterate thinking. You've nothing sensible to say.

That may work in the long run but you don't encourage Importation when you have not got your exportation off the ground if you don't want to be doomed. Remember most of our domestic productions are not fit for international market except our oil and raw materials which fetch us very little fx earning compared to finished goods we will be importing.

Ttalk:
Growing economy is beyond container economic reasons and government policy covers so many areas beyond profit making.

Israel developed her agricultural sector not because it has comparative advantage but because it is a security leverage to develop mechannised agriculture in a face of limited land and hostile neighbors.

Many of those items you listed above can well be developed and turned into profitable venture.

Malaysia doesn't have a better comparative advantage in Palm oil production until they develop that crop out seed they got in Nigeria.

Nigeria leaders are bad but it would be worse with the kind of mindset you and your people have.

Years of importation have killed the innovative and entrepreneur talent of Nigeria people, your traders mindset is not same mind you use to build thriving industries, you are used to instant gratification but building industry and a nation requires delay gratification

Can't you see how sensible your contribution is now.
Everything must not be Obi

I agree with you

Bizibi:
good policies is what investors need to see.....there should be targets for both domestic and international. Some agencies need total overhauling and government need to focus on infrastructures for production.

And what about the Huge Infrastructures the President has Embarked on ,in different Regions and you People - Pretend as if he has done Nothing - for this 2- yrs?
Or have you now agreed that President Tinubu is the NIGERIA President?

i asked Chat gpt this is the response:

✅ Valid Points in Your Reasoning
Imports don’t kill economies—lack of exports does

Correct.

Trade imbalances become a problem only when a country consistently imports more than it exports without building value or capacity.

Many wealthy countries (e.g., Germany, China, USA) are both heavy importers and exporters. They import inputs and export finished goods, maintaining a trade strategy that adds value.

Comparative advantage matters

Your argument that "just because we can produce something doesn’t mean we should" is rooted in comparative advantage theory.

If it costs Nigeria more to produce something than to import it, importing is better for consumer welfare and overall efficiency.

Import duties can backfire

Absolutely true.
Protective tariffs are useful only when nurturing strategic industries with a real chance of becoming globally competitive.

Imposing duties on essential raw materials like steel, aluminium, and fabric—where we lack competitive production—raises production costs for local industries and kills growth.

Importing inputs is critical to exporting finished goods

100% accurate.

Export-led economies (like China, Vietnam, Germany) import massive amounts of raw materials or components, assemble and add value, then export.

Some protectionism can be justified (like rice)

This is a balanced view. Protecting sectors like rice (where local conditions are favorable) can help food security and rural employment, if done strategically.

mrvitalis:
Let me start by saying this... If you are not grounded in economics please read and pass

There has been this sentiment in Nigeria that import is what's killing Nigerian economy.. Lmaooo uts funny

Let me start by saying this importation has never harmed any economy, lack of export is what kills an economy

If you refuse to import what you can produce cheaper than imported once you are reducing the living standard of your people by reducing their purchasing power

As a nation because you can produce something doesn't mean you should... Say the locally made A cost ₦100 and imported once cost ₦20 by all means allow import

Some import duty we have is exactly what is killing Nigeria

Why should there be import duty on wheat? Can we ever produce wheat effectively? Never

Why us their import duty on stock fish? Can it grow here?

Why is their import duty on turkey? Do we have a turkey industry?

Don't get me wrong I understand import duty on rice, we have the land and climate and labour to compete

But import duty on steel? Lmaooo England just closed its last steel company because it was running at a loss... Ajokuta can never work or produce steel cheaper or even 150% price of imported steel... The iron concentration is too low 33% minimum requirements is 68% ... So we would need to enrich it which would increase cost

Import duty on steel have killed many industry from going global because their steel price put them at a disadvantage...

We want auto industry but we have import duty on steel and aluminum? Funny people

Why is their import duty on fabrics? We can never compete in the fabrics industry our cottons are too expensive and production is too poor... Import duty on fabrics is preventing Aba from competitng with turkey🇹🇷 and Bangladesh

Ok you want to protect fabrics industry but you won't allow cotton import? Funny people

To put it plainly To export as a nation you must import especially if you want to export finished goods and not raw materials

There is a reason the biggest export nations are also biggest import nations

We need economic policy change as a nation

Well what do I know

Nothing

Eriokanmi:
I don't even need to read everything the OP has written. I've always maintained this. Importation isn't the reason our economy is in a bad shape. Advanced nations Import much more than what we do.

But their export volume exceed their import volume...hence their balance of payments stay favorable... Nigeria imports way too much, the trend must be reversed...it's better we depend on ourselves, don't import much and export more.