The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Industrialisation at the African Development Bank (AfDB), Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, has sounded a warning bell on the country’s regression, urging national leaders to revive broken institutions, collapsed industries, and depleted knowledge systems.

Delivering a keynote address at the 55th Anniversary of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University (UNIFE), Oyeyinka lamented that Nigeria’s GDP per capita was six times that of China in 1980, pointing out that today, China’s exports alone surpass the GDP of the entire African continent.

He described Nigeria’s situation as “institutional betrayals” and a chronic failure to industrialise, citing the abandonment of over 11,000 government projects by past administrations, including the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, despite $5 billion in investment.

He also decried the collapse of Nigeria’s knowledge systems, citing the degradation of universities and research institutions, and the mass exodus of talent.

According to him, thousands of engineers trained at public expense are now serving foreign economies while Nigeria’s industries remain rudderless.

To address the problem, the AfDB adviser outlined a four-point national strategy, including factory-level investments, export-oriented Industrialisation, knowledge and innovation infrastructure, and university and research renewal to revitalise the nation.

He also called for transformational leadership committed to national purpose over personal enrichment.

“Our problem is not talent or resources, it is visionless leadership,” he opined.

The event was attended by academics, alumni, and industry leaders.