The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged Nigeria to deliberately pursue global investors and relocating supply chains as a strategy to create jobs, deepen industrialisation, and reduce the country’s dependence on imports.

‎Naijaonpoint reports that she made the call on Wednesday during a panel discussion titled “From Scale to Capital: Financing Nigeria’s Role as Africa’s Digital Trade and Infrastructure Anchor,” held at Nigeria House on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos.

‎A short clip from the discussion was shared by GLAZIA on its X handle.

‎Rising geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and China, have accelerated global supply chain diversification. Many multinational firms are adopting the “China+1” strategy to reduce overreliance on a single country, even though China remains deeply embedded in global value chains.

‎Tariffs and trade restrictions have also forced companies to rethink production locations, prompting the relocation or diversification of manufacturing hubs across different regions.

‎Okonjo-Iweala said these disruptions present a rare opportunity for Nigeria, but stressed that the country must be intentional in positioning itself as an attractive investment destination.

‎The former Nigerian finance minister noted that while ongoing economic reforms were commendable, they must translate into tangible job creation.

‎She said, “As you said, some good reforms are being pursued right now. I think they need to yield to job creation. That was what I said to His Excellency, that we need to move from stabilisation to job creation, because that is where we are lacking.

‎“It is not going to be overnight, but they are moving in the right direction. What I think they need to do is map where the opportunities are.”

‎Okonjo-Iweala called for sustained and aggressive efforts to attract foreign direct investment, especially as global firms seek to diversify supply chains.

‎She said, “What I would like to see is a continued effort to attract investment into the country, because there is an opportunity now to attract these supply chains.

‎“If there is one thing I would say, it is that everything we can do to showcase Nigeria as a country worthy of investment is what we should be doing.”

‎She added that Nigeria must deliberately pursue investors across major economies.

‎“We should deliberately have strategies to go after those investments and investors, to go to China, the US, whatever it takes, to come and invest in our country,” she said.

‎While acknowledging that much of the current supply chain diversification remains within Asia, Okonjo-Iweala said Nigeria should aim to secure a meaningful portion of the shift.

‎She said, “As companies seek to diversify supply chains, a lot of that movement is still within Asia. Diversification is moving from China but still within Asia, and India is another destination. We should attract a sizeable chunk of that. I’m not saying all.”

‎Highlighting specific sectors, the WTO chief urged Nigeria to prioritise local manufacturing in renewable energy, fashion, and pharmaceuticals.

‎She said, “Let’s build solar panels in Nigeria. We are importing, but we can also manufacture. We have the renewable capacity.

‎“In fashion, let them come to invest. Every time I buy a piece of wax, I check to see where it’s made. Let’s attract investment to make it at home rather than elsewhere. Many of the shiny new textiles we are wearing now are not made in Nigeria; a lot of them are imported.”

‎She also pointed to the pharmaceutical industry as a key opportunity, saying, “Pharmaceuticals, there is a chance there as well. These are some of the supply chains I would be attracting.”