Dr. Pillars Msugh Pila
Nigeria needs to prioritise domestic production, industrialisation and entrepreneurship rather than relying heavily on foreign investors to drive economic development, an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Scholar, Dr. Pillars Msugh Pila, has said.
Pila made the argument in an article titled “Nigeria at 66: The Show of Shame by Our Delegation to UNGA 2026,” in which he questioned the emphasis placed on attracting foreign investors during Nigeria’s participation at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He said the country’s economic challenge was not simply a shortage of investors but inadequate productive capacity, technology, industrialisation and entrepreneurial development.
Pila, who referenced the Delta State Economic and Investment Summit held in Asaba in August 2026, said the message by Pan-African scholar, Prof. Patrick Lumumba, that Africans should look inward and recognise the investment capacity within the continent should receive greater attention.
According to him, Nigeria has wealthy individuals, entrepreneurs, pension funds, banks, natural resources and a large consumer market that could be mobilised to strengthen domestic production.
“Since 2023, states have had access to increased fiscal resources. The question is: what are we doing with these resources (money)?
This is not an attack on our governors. It is an entrepreneurial question about priorities.”
He questioned the practice of spending large sums on infrastructure projects while governments simultaneously travel abroad to seek investors to establish industries in their states.
Pila cited the Mararaba-Nyanya flyover project in Nasarawa State, which he said was estimated at about N43bn to N44bn, and the renovation of mega international conference centers in Abuja and Makurdi worth billions of Naira, arguing that a portion of such spending could alternatively be channelled into agro-processing plants, textile factories, technology hubs, industrial parks and manufacturing clusters.
He stressed, however, that he was not opposed to infrastructure development, saying roads, bridges and other infrastructure were important to economic growth.
Rather, he said governments should determine which investments should take priority in an economy facing insecurity, unemployment, industrial decline and poverty.
Pila also pointed to the decline of industries such as Ajaokuta Steel, Arewa Textiles, Kaduna Textiles, United Nigeria Textile Mills, Afprint, Bacita Sugar, Golden Guinea Breweries and Jos International Breweries.
He said the decline of domestic manufacturing had left Nigeria importing finished goods despite its abundant agricultural and mineral resources.
The scholar also questioned the emphasis on foreign investment, noting that Nigeria had wealthy citizens and significant domestic financial resources.
“I am not against foreign investors. Foreign investment is good. But foreign investment should complement our productive capacity, not become a substitute for building it,” he said.
Pila called for reforms that would enable genuine entrepreneurs to access affordable financing, technology, infrastructure, security and markets.
He argued that developed economies became industrial powers by building productive enterprises, technologies and human capital, rather than relying solely on physical infrastructure.
“Give entrepreneurs technology. Give them affordable capital. Give them infrastructure. Give them security. Give them markets. Then watch production grow,” he said.
He further urged Nigerians to change what he described as a colonial mindset that places greater value on foreign goods and investment than domestic capabilities.
Pila said Nigeria should focus on moving from ideas and innovation to creation, production, enterprise, value creation, wealth management and scale.
He concluded that, after 66 years of independence, Nigeria should not only ask who would invest in the country but also what it could produce that would make the world want to invest in it.
