In an effort to engage business leaders and equip them with the knowledge and insights required to take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM) – an independent trade support institution established with the aim of boosting the drive toward a non-oil-based economy in Nigeria – hosted its first-ever business roundtable.
The event witnessed the presence of CEOs and business leaders from over 50 companies, across various economic sectors, coming together to discuss the recently operational Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement and the underlying potentials.
The first-ever AfCFTA CEO’s Business Roundtable came under the Theme – “Repositioning Nigerian Businesses In The AfCFTA Era: Business Strategies And Support Services”
The event held at the L.A Kings Hotel and Conference centre in Port Harcourt was well-attended physically, and featured participants joining via video link.
Making his opening remark, the Executive Secretary of IEOM, Mr. Ofon Udofia said the roundtable event is coming at a critical time especially now that the Free Trade Agreement has become effective since January 1st, 2021. He noted that AfCFTA is a massive indication that Africa is open for business and mutually beneficial investment that will translate to creating decent jobs and improving livelihoods. He however stressed that a lot needs to be done across the country to truly engage business leaders and equip them with the knowledge and insights to take advantage of what AfCFTA has to offer. According to the IEOM helmsman, for businesses to fully benefit from AfCFTA it is imperative that we take definite steps to position our businesses strategically.
He said:” It is within this context that the AfCFTA Business roundtable was conceived by the institute with the key aim of equipping business leaders with the insight and clarity needed to make some smart decisions regarding your participation in international trade under the AfCFTA umbrella.”
The guest speaker, Professor of International Relations and economics at the Covenant University, Ota, and member of the National Action Committee on AfCFTA in Nigeria, Prof Jonathan Aremu commended the Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM) for organizing such an invaluable Business roundtable, noting that the sensitization was in line with the mandate to prepare Nigeria to take advantage of the AfCFTA Agreement while also mitigating its threats to the Nigerian economy.
He said Nigeria signed the AfCFTA treaty on the 7th of July, 2019, and ratified the Treaty on the 4th of December 2020. According to him, African states who ratify and implement the agreement would have to make domestic adjustments in their national laws to comply with obligations imposed by AfCFTA , thereby making the Treaty part of their national laws through domestication.
He frowned on the records of African countries who are sluggish on domesticating regional trade agreements especially the AfCFTA, saying this development has contributed to a serious ‘implementation gap’ in many countries within.
According to him, “If AfCFTA provisions are not domesticated into national law they cannot be employed in defense of cases involving their violations before courts of law in the country neither can they be used for the advocacy of rights within the country, further to this, violators of AfCFTA provisions, be they state institutions, companies or individuals cannot be held accountable, since the AfCFTA Treaty has not been domesticated in the country.” He said, that failure of Nigeria to domesticate AfCFTA, or lateness in doing so causes unreasonable hardship on the other AU Member States that intends having a commercial relationship with the country under the continental economic integration.
He named some of the gains of the AfCFTA as; Better Infrastructure and Improved Digital Connectivity, Freer Movement of People and Good Business Environment, Facilitation of Small and Medium Scale Trade. According to him, the core objective of the AfCFTA is to create a single market for goods, services, and free movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration of the African continent.
Speaking about COVID-19 in the Implementation of AfCFTA, said African countries cannot afford to wait until the virus is totally contained because clearly, liberalization of economic activities, as well as the movement of people, are the cornerstone of the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063. Hence the need for us to interact but more cautiously. He continued by adding that COVID-19 is a kind of blessing in disguise for Africa integration; given that the AfCFTA could significantly mitigate the COVID-19 economic consequences, leaders should speed up its implementation, rather than delay it, he opined.
Concluding, the renowned Professor noted that In repositioning the country for AfCFTA, in this era and beyond COVID-19, the Nigerian policymakers should not consider only the technical aspects of compliance in the AfCFTA implementation, but also the opportunities it opens for substantial domestic reforms dynamics, in the areas of trade, investment, private sector engagement and sustainable productive capacity, which would benefit from domestic political and economic support.
He noted that while AfCFTA could increase the welfare of Nigerians (corporate and individuals) significantly when NTBs are substantially reduced; its implementation could also result in costs, including potentially higher income inequality and transitional unemployment.
Hence he said to reap the benefits of the AfCFTA as well as mitigate its related costs, Nigeria needs to pursue a concomitant ambitious, and broad-based reform agenda. He advocated that Nigeria must tap the potential benefits of the AfCFTA, by reducing the infrastructure deficit notably inroads and ports, among others) by building on ongoing efforts; and reducing other critical NTBs, such as customs and administrative requirements, that directly affect the capacity of economies to move traded merchandise within and outside their borders. Reduce Nigeria’s large infrastructure deficit in roads and ports to increase the competitiveness of the country vis a vis other countries, Improve trade facilitation commitment of the country as regards Categories A, B, and C with WTO/TFA as a priority area for reform and ensure strong institutional and governance framework in the implementation of AfCFTA.
Similarly, to mitigate possible adverse effects of AfCFTA, Nigeria should, he said the country must promote inclusive growth policies that ensure key transmission channels of the effects of AfCFTA to the population function efficiently via four mutually reinforcing initiatives like the functioning of product markets; flexible labor market; social protection programs; encouragement investment and innovation within a well-defined national transformation strategy. He advocated we put in place a more flexible labor market to help mitigate the potential adverse employment effects of trade liberalization under the AfCFTA, Ensure more efficient product markets that could help transmit broader benefits of trade liberalization to the Nigerian population among others.
Later on, Dr. Sylvester Udeorah, a lecturer with the department of economics in the University Of Port Harcourt while speaking to newsmen said Africa’s prosperity depends largely on intra-African trade. He noted that an increase in trade is the surest way to deepen regional integration in Africa; stressing that Africa is now the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization, and opined that we must make it count.
With Nigeria finally adding its name to the list of countries to have ratified the Africa Continental Free Trade agreement, gluts are saying it is a significant step on its own and the right step to take, considering Nigeria’s foremost leadership role in the process that resulted in the creation of the AfCFTA. With the launch of trading under the FTA regime, it is clear that the real work has now just begun.
