Nigeria’s ambition to build a sustainable economy beyond crude oil faces a fundamental prerequisite: the full inclusion of women. Nonye Ayeni, a senior official within the country’s export promotion apparatus, has declared that achieving this long-sought diversification is impossible without female participation. The statement, made on March 10, 2026, frames gender inclusion not as a social goal but as an economic imperative for national survival.
Ayeni’s position places her at the center of Nigeria’s struggle to reduce its overwhelming dependence on petroleum revenues. For decades, government plans have promised to boost exports of agricultural goods, manufactured products, and services, with limited success. Her assertion directly links the failure to harness the entire population’s potential to these stalled diversification efforts, suggesting a critical flaw in past strategies.
The declaration implies that current non-oil export activities—from cocoa and sesame to leather goods and tech services—are operating below capacity because they do not fully engage women as entrepreneurs, producers, and leaders. This represents a significant untapped reservoir of economic energy. Without systematically removing barriers to women’s entry and growth in these sectors, Ayeni suggests, any export growth will be fragile and short-lived.
Her statement carries the weight of an official diagnosis from within the system tasked with fixing the problem. It is an admission that policy has overlooked a key driver of sustainable development. The call for women’s participation extends beyond labor to include ownership, access to finance, and representation in export value chains, areas where significant gender gaps persist.
This position arrives as Nigeria grapples with foreign exchange shortages and budget pressures exacerbated by volatile global oil prices. The urgency to develop reliable alternative revenue streams has never been greater. Ayeni’s argument posits that ignoring half the population in this endeavor is not just inequitable but economically irrational, leaving the country’s financial stability unnecessarily vulnerable.
Historically, women have been central to agricultural production and informal cross-border trade, sectors that form the backbone of non-oil commerce. However, formal export channels, financing, and government support programs have often bypassed them. Ayeni’s declaration challenges this status quo, demanding a structural rethink of how Nigeria identifies and nurtures its export champions.
The practical implications are vast, touching on land ownership laws, access to export licenses, targeted funding, and skills training. It calls for a measurable shift in how the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and related agencies design and implement their programs. Success would require concrete policy changes, not just rhetorical support, to translate this principle into increased export volumes and value.
Moving forward, the focus will be on whether this declaration triggers specific, funded initiatives or remains a standalone observation. The next test will be the content of Nigeria’s forthcoming trade policy reviews and budget allocations, which must now be scrutinized for their commitment to transforming this stated necessity into actionable, inclusive economic strategy.
