Marwa warns aspiring exporters against illicit drug shipments

Vice President Kashim Shettima has stressed the need for women and young people to play a central role in Nigeria’s quest to achieve its $1 trillion economy ambition.

Speaking at the Aspire Women Forum Masterclass at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday, he insisted that sustainable national prosperity depends on productive enterprise, investment, innovation, and Nigerians’ capacity to create value.

Shettima, represented by the Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Development Partners, Inna Binta Audu, emphasised that Nigeria needs an enabling environment where businesses could emerge, grow, compete and contribute to national development.

The event, themed “From Survival to Thriving: Empowering Women and Youth for Export Readiness, Global Market Access and Prosperity under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” focused on equipping women and young people with the necessary skills and knowledge to grow their businesses and access international markets.

Shettima described the transition from survival to thriving as not merely a personal aspiration but an economic imperative and a national development priority, stating that President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was anchored on the conviction that sustainable prosperity must be driven by productive enterprise, investment, innovation and value creation.

Therefore, “women and young people must occupy a central place in that ecosystem. Their economic participation expands our productive capacity, strengthens household incomes, creates employment and widens the opportunities available to future generations,” he said.

The vice president stressed that economic inclusion must go beyond training programmes and empowerment announcements to provide entrepreneurs with the tools, institutions and market access needed to turn their skills into sustainable income.

According to Shettima, the success of the masterclass should be measured not by the number of participants but by the businesses strengthened, new markets accessed and livelihoods improved through the knowledge acquired.

Meanwhile, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Marwa (rtd), has urged aspiring exporters to protect the integrity of their businesses against drug trafficking.

Warning that a shipment contaminated with illicit drugs could cost them their freedom and damage Nigeria’s international reputation, Marwa cautioned participants against allowing traffickers to exploit their businesses for criminal activities but to verify their business partners, transactions and consignments before shipping goods across borders.

He explained that export readiness requires integrity, quality products, compliance with relevant standards, accurate documentation and dependable service.

Earlier, the Founder and President of Aspire Women Forum, Dr Zainab Marwa, noted that many Nigerians engaged in farming, food processing, tailoring, trading and other businesses struggle to make meaningful progress despite working long hours.

She attributed some of the challenges to poor record-keeping, lack of business registration, unsuitable financing, inadequate packaging and limited access to buyers.