Professor Emmanuel Olawale Ogunkola of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of Ibadan (UI), has called for stronger implementation of Nigeria’s trade policies and agreements, warning that the country’s numerous commitments have yet to translate into meaningful structural transformation of the economy.
Ogunkola, a professor of International Economics and Regional Integration, revealed this on Thursday, March 5, 2026, while delivering the nation’s Premier University’s 606th inaugural lecture titled, ‘Shall we Trade?”.
The Economist said Nigeria has consistently demonstrated a willingness to participate in global trade but has fallen short in translating agreements into tangible economic gains.
According to Ogunkola, Nigeria has signed multiple trade and investment agreements across multilateral, regional, continental, bilateral and unilateral platforms, signaling what he described as “an unequivocal yes” to global trade participation.
He noted that the country became a contracting party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1960 at independence and later ratified the World Trade Organisation Marrakesh Agreement in December 1994, becoming a founding member of the global trade body on January 1, 1995.
At the regional level, Nigeria has adopted the Economic Community of West African States Common External Tariff and the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme. It is also a signatory to the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement aimed at creating a single African market for goods and services.
Beyond these frameworks, Ogunkola said Nigeria has entered bilateral trade agreements with several countries, including Cameroon, Chad, Kenya, Tunisia, Algeria, Benin, China and Niger, as well as others with Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Vietnam and Indonesia.
However, he said available information suggests that many of these agreements have had limited impact on Nigeria’s trade structure.
Citing available records, the professor said Nigeria has about 31 bilateral trade and investment agreements, with roughly half currently in force. The country also maintains double taxation treaties with 13 nations and is a signatory to 21 investment-related instruments.
Despite this extensive network of agreements, Ogunkola observed that Nigeria’s export profile has remained largely unchanged for decades. The country’s exports, he said, are still dominated by raw and unprocessed commodities, particularly agricultural products, crude oil and minerals.
He pointed out, “The only major transition recorded was from agricultural commodity exports in the 1960s to crude oil exports since the 1980s,” adding that while markets for Nigeria’s imports are wide and diversified, markets for its exports remain limited, reflecting weak diversification and value addition.
The economist stressed that the country’s challenge is not the absence of policy frameworks but the lack of strategic and meticulous implementation.
According to him, “It is not sufficient to craft excellent policy documents. A corresponding strategic and meticulous implementation is required.”
Ogunkola also highlighted Nigeria’s strong comparative advantage in agriculture and services, noting that despite abundant agricultural resources, the country remains a net food importer.
To reverse the trend, he recommended capacity development, adoption of a value-chain approach to agricultural transformation and stronger trade-driven industrialisation policies.
He further emphasised the growing importance of the services sector, arguing that Africa’s pathway to sustainable development must include a strong services component supported by the continent’s human resources.
The professor noted that many developing and least developed countries have not fully benefited from international trade due to structural and institutional challenges, urging Nigeria to address these barriers to unlock the gains of global commerce.
