[caption id="attachment_1035" align="alignright" width="144"]<img src="http://thegreatalternativenetwork.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG-20210620-WA0038-144x300.jpg" alThe preparedness or otherwise of Nigeria to take advantage of the inherent benefits or loose out in the recently introduced African Continental Free Trade Agreement has continued to elicit opinions, discussions, seminars and outright as well as the rebuke of the Nigerian Government for the lack of firmness and direction in expatiating the nature of the potentialities within the Trade Area. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement or AfCFTA seeks to form a continental trade block for the over 1.2 billion citizens within the continent with a trade value of over $4.3 trillion. It also seeks to stimulate intra-African cooperation and commerce and create a unified and strong economic block that will be able to ward off the negative effects of stronger economies by having negotiations from the position of strength. We interviewed Mr. Raphael Agbogu on the topic, he is a licensed customs agent of note who has long experience in the maritime sector of the Nigerian economy. He took a good look at the general situation and gave frank and unequivocal opinions on the subject matter. Mr. Agbogu started by saying that he thinks that " Nigeria seems not to be ready because she seems to be taking a deeper dive into limbo as far as AfCFTA is concerned". He said that Nigeria should be taking a more pivotal role in AfCFTA, but that unfortunately we are not doing that. He noted that there should have been a serious mass orientation move to inform and educate the populace, because it is a continental thing and considering the cosmopolitan nature of Nigeria coupled with our population and strength, we should really be playing the pivotal role in the trade agreement. He admonished the Government to select technocrats who will help in the perfection of the legal framework and the eventual execution of the terms of the agreement. He aslo has a few words for the socio-economic class and says that thebere also not ready because of the government'should pussy footing over the matter. He reiterated that National Orientation Agency should have been used to create the proper awareness needed to engage the populace and steer their consciousness towards tapping into the goals of AfCFTA. He also admonished the Ministry of Trade, Mines and Investment to formulate policies that will make AfCFTA work well for the benefit of Nigerians. He advised that the whole business of AfCFTA should be devoid of politics and that only professionals should be used in its implementation, that people in charge should be given the right environment to do their job. He added by saying that if you put a round peg in a square whole that it does not make sense and so the right people should always be used. On the issue of our lack of manufacturing capacity, he says that with good policies, we can cross that particular hurdle, the things that creates like impediments to manufacturing should be removed so that we can start making finished products. He also chided the government in the closure of some parts of borders as he said that the government had been ill advised, he asked the government to reconsider thier decision and work diligently towards bringing the the benefits of AfCFTA to Nigerians.t="" width="144" height="300" class="size-medium wp-image-1035" Ralph Agbogu, Member NCMDLCA. Story by Dili Utomi. The preparedness or otherwise of Nigeria to take advantage of the inherent benefits or loose out in the recently introduced African Continental Free Trade Agreement has continued to elicit opinions, discussions, seminars as well as the outright rebuke of the Nigerian Government for the lack of firmness and direction in trying to expatiate the nature of the potentialities within the Trade Area. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement or AfCFTA seeks to form a continental trade block for the over 1.2 billion citizens within the continent with a trade value of over $4.3 trillion. It also seeks to stimulate intra-African cooperation and commerce and create a unified and strong economic block that will be able to ward off the negative effects of stronger economies by having negotiations from the position of strength. We interviewed Mr. Raph Agbogu on the topic, he is a licensed customs agent of note who has long experience in the maritime sector of the Nigerian economy. He took a good look at the general situation and gave frank and unequivocal opinions on the subject matter. Mr. Agbogu started by saying that he thinks that " Nigeria seems not to be ready because she seems to be taking a deeper dive into limbo as far as AfCFTA is concerned". He said that Nigeria should be taking a more pivotal role in AfCFTA, but that unfortunately we are not doing that. He noted that there should have been a serious mass orientation move to inform and educate the populace, because it is a continental thing and considering the cosmopolitan nature of Nigeria coupled with our population and strength, we should really be playing the pivotal role in the trade agreement, he continued. He admonished the Government to select technocrats who will help in the perfection of the legal framework and the eventual execution of the terms of the agreement. He also has a few words for the socio-economic class and says that they also seem not to be ready because of the governmen's pussy footing over the matter. He reiterated that the National Orientation Agency should have been used to create the proper awareness needed to engage the populace and steer their consciousness towards tapping into the goals of AfCFTA. He also admonished the Ministry of Trade, Mines and Investment to formulate policies that will make AfCFTA work well for the benefit of Nigerians. He advised that the whole business of AfCFTA should be devoid of politics and that only professionals should be used in its implementation, that people in charge should be given the right environment to do their job. He added by saying that if you put a round peg in a square whole that it does not make sense and so the right people should always be used. On the issue of our lack of manufacturing capacity, he says that with good policies, we can cross that particular hurdle, the things that create impediments to manufacturing should be removed so that we can start making finished products. He also chided the government in the closure of some parts of borders as he said that the government had been ill advised, he asked the government to reconsider their decision and work diligently towards bringing the the benefits of AfCFTA to Nigerians. For more information, please call 08027590195, 08035721540 or email us @ greatalternativenigltd@gmail.com
