NIGERIA'S AUTOMATIC CONTRADICTION

Nigeria’s Automotive Contradiction.
In global industrial practice, nations like Japan prioritize domestic manufacturing. Over 90% of equipment used in Japanese overseas contracts is sourced from home (Japan External Trade Organization, 2023). This sustains local jobs, technology transfer, and economic sovereignty. Tragically, Nigeria operates in stark defiance of this model especially in automotive policy.

Nigeria imported vehicles worth ₦1.84 trillion ($3.9 billion) in 2022 alone (National Bureau of Statistics). 
Government as Top Importer. Federal ministries and agencies accounted for 68% of official vehicle imports, predominantly Toyota Hilux, Land Cruisers, and Prados. 
These institutions routinely spend ₦500 million ₦1 billion annually on seminars urging citizens to patronize Nigerian-made goods events attended by government officials arriving in imported SUVs (BudgIT Nigeria, 2024).

Credit is due to the Nigerian Armed Forces, which has procured over 5,000 locally assembled vehicles since 2020 (Defence Headquarters). Their partnership with Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) in Nnewi sets a rare benchmark for institutional patriotism.

States like Kaduna home to Peugeot Assembly Plant and Anambra Innoson’s base allocated ₦28 billion in 2023 to purchase foreign-branded vehicles for politicians and traditional rulers (State Budget Reports). The National Assembly budgeted ₦57.6 billion for imported "utility vehicles" in 2024 after publicly endorsing Buy Nigerian campaigns.

No industrialized nation perpetuates this disconnect. Japan’s lawmakers exclusively use domestically produced Toyota and Nissan models. Germany’s government fleets are 95% German brands. Nigeria remains the only oil-rich economy spending billions annually to undermine its automotive industry.

This isn’t merely hypocrisy it’s economic self-sabotage. Each imported vehicle destroys Nigerian jobs, drains foreign reserves, and entrenches dependency. Until government procurement aligns with policy rhetoric, Made in Nigeria will remain a hollow slogan. 
Nigeria must choose sovereignty or servitude.

Until the moment when will shall dance in white Greater Grace.

Oyugbo Osagie Jonah