WAES 2025: We Must End ‘Pit-to-Port’ Export of Raw Materials — Tinubu to West Africa

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged West African countries to end the “pit-to-port” economic model, where minerals are extracted and exported in their raw form without local processing or value addition.

Speaking at the West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) in Abuja on Saturday, Tinubu emphasized the need for regional economies to shift focus towards domestic processing, manufacturing, and innovation.

“It is time for West African countries to begin processing and adding value to their raw materials locally, rather than exporting them in their raw state,” Tinubu said.

Reiterating his call for structural economic transformation, the President stated:”We must put an end to the pit-to-port model where minerals are taken straight from the ground and shipped abroad.”
Tinubu, who also serves as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, stressed that natural resource abundance is not sufficient if local industries are not developed.

He pointed out that intra-regional trade remains below 10 percent not due to a lack of intent, but because of poor coordination and infrastructure gaps.

“The era of moving resources directly from the pit to the port must end. We must convert our mineral wealth into domestic economic value into jobs, technology, and manufacturing,”
“To be resource-rich is not enough; we must become value-chain smart. We must invest in local processing and regional manufacturing.”he said.

Tinubu warned that the global economy would not pause for West Africa to organize itself.
“Opportunity alone does not guarantee transformation. The global economy will not wait for West Africa to get its act together nor should we expect it to.
Rather than competing in isolation or depending on external partners, we must strengthen our regional value chains, invest in infrastructure, and coordinate our policies,” he stated.

The President also highlighted the region’s youth population as its greatest asset but only if effectively empowered.

“Our prosperity depends on regional supply chains, energy networks, and data frameworks. We must design them together, or they will collapse separately.
From the Lagos-Abidjan highway to the West African Power Pool and creative industry initiatives, our joint projects show what is possible when we collaborate.
But we must move from declarations to concrete deals,from policy frameworks to practical implementation.”he added.

Tinubu cautioned that Africa cannot afford to be sidelined in the next wave of industrial revolutions.
“Europe left Africa behind in past industrial revolutions. We must not be left behind again.
Raw minerals will power tomorrow’s technologies, but that alone is not enough. We must unlock our people’s entrepreneurial spirit, supported by market-friendly policies and the rule of law,” he said.

He also called for decisive steps to accelerate regional development.
“Let us build a West Africa that is investable, competitive, and resilient one that leads with vision.
We must ease the process of doing business, enhance trade, improve infrastructure connectivity, and develop innovative ideas that lift our people from poverty to prosperity,” Tinubu added.

The summit was attended by leaders from Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, The Gambia, Benin, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau, ahead of the 67th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS, scheduled to hold on Sunday at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.