Audu Confronts Industrial Stagnation

Nigeria’s Ministry of Steel Development is on the path of bureaucratic redundancy: an institution whose industrial ambitions remain disconnected from the country’s manufacturing reality.
Since 1999, successive governments have promised to transform Nigeria into a steel-producing nation. Under Olusegun Obasanjo, Olu Agunloye served as minister of power and steel, followed by Olusegun Agagu.
Subsequent administrations brought ministers including Sarafa Ishola, Diezani Alison-Madueke, Musa Sada, Kayode Fayemi, Abubakar Bawa Bwari, Olamilekan Adegbite, and, since 2023, Shuaibu Audu. Yet Ajaokuta Steel Company remains the enduring symbol of industrial failure.
Audu can point to investmen...