By Omoyeni Ojeifo
Achieving Nigeria’s goal of a $1 trillion economy requires strong private sector partnership, as government efforts alone are not enough, according to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Shettima emphasized that long-term national prosperity relies on driving investment, fostering innovation, and helping local businesses scale up to compete globally.
His remarks were delivered by Inna Binta Audu, Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Development Partners, during the Aspire Women Forum masterclass, which focused on empowering women and youth for export readiness under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Our ambition to build a one-trillion-dollar economy cannot be realised by government alone. It requires an ecosystem in which businesses can emerge, grow, compete and contribute to national development,” he said.
Shettima identified women and young people as central to building that ecosystem, noting that their economic participation would expand productive capacity, strengthen household incomes and create employment opportunities.
According to him, economic inclusion must go beyond training programmes and empowerment announcements to provide entrepreneurs with the tools, institutions and markets needed to convert their skills into sustainable income.
“But inclusion must mean more than access to a training programme or the announcement of an empowerment initiative. It must mean access to the tools, institutions and markets that enable people to convert their skills into sustainable income.”
Giving his address at the event, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa cautioned aspiring exporters that drug-contaminated shipments could cost them their freedom and damage Nigeria’s international reputation.
Marwa cautioned women and young Nigerians seeking access to international markets against allowing their businesses to be used by drug traffickers.
“Know exactly what you are shipping. Verify your partners and your transactions. Never carry a package you did not pack, and never let your goods be used for trafficking,” he warned.
He explained that a single contaminated consignment could jeopardise an exporter’s business, tarnish their family’s reputation and threaten markets Nigerian businesses had worked hard to open.
According to him, successful exporting required integrity, reliable products, compliance with standards, accurate documentation and dependable service.
The NDLEA chairman also warned participants against substance abuse, describing it as a threat capable of destroying their ambitions and livelihoods.
“Do not let pressure, disappointment, curiosity or the desire to belong draw you into drugs. Drugs solve no business problem and end no hardship; they only multiply them,” he said.
Marwa also pledged the NDLEA’s readiness to partner with Aspire Women Forum through the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse , WADA, social advocacy initiative.
In her address earlier, the founder and president of Aspire Women Forum, Dr Zainab Marwa, said many Nigerians engaged in farming, food processing, tailoring and other businesses continued to earn little because of gaps in record-keeping, business registration, financing, packaging and access to buyers.
She emphasized the masterclass was designed to help participants understand and access opportunities for business growth, while extending participation to young men alongside women and young women.
Marwa commended President Bola Tinubu administration for supporting enterprise and economic inclusion through the Renewed Hope Agenda, including intervention financing for small businesses through the Bank of Industry and initiatives promoting skills development and digital enterprise.
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