Nigeria has signalled that it will not retreat into economic isolation, as Vice President Kashim Shettima declared the country’s continued support for multilateralism and the global trading system at a time when nations are increasingly pursuing inward-looking economic policies.
Shettima made the position known during a meeting with the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India.
The Vice President argued that Nigeria’s economic future remained inseparable from the wider global community, stressing that international cooperation was essential to development in an increasingly interconnected world.
“I believe the world is greater than one nation. We will continue to support the WTO in championing the cause of multilateralism,” Shettima said, insisting that countries could not afford to isolate themselves from the global economy.
His remarks amount to a strong defence of Nigeria’s continued engagement with institutions such as the WTO, particularly amid growing debates globally over protectionism, trade restrictions and the economic consequences of countries placing greater emphasis on national interests.
Shettima also broadened the argument beyond trade, making a case for migration as an economic resource rather than simply a demographic challenge.
According to him, the movement of people across borders has historically contributed to the growth of major cities and nations, with immigrants bringing skills, ideas and entrepreneurial capacity into their host economies.
“Nations are built by immigrants. Even cities are built by people who came from outside, not just by the locals,” he said, arguing that Nigeria and other countries stood to gain significantly from global migration.
He pointed to the Nigerian diaspora as evidence of the country’s human-capital strength, citing the educational and professional achievements of Nigerians living abroad.
Shettima referenced a Pew Research Center analysis of 2024 United States Census Bureau data which indicated that 67 per cent of Nigerian-born Black immigrants aged 25 and above in the US had at least a bachelor’s degree—the highest proportion among the major Black immigrant groups examined.
For Nigeria, the Vice President’s argument places the diaspora within a broader economic conversation: rather than viewing Nigerians abroad simply as emigrants, their skills, networks, investments and international experience could form part of the country’s development capital.
Shettima also praised Okonjo-Iweala for her leadership of the WTO, urging the former Nigerian finance minister to continue deploying her experience to advance global development.
“You are doing a very wonderful job at the WTO, but you still have a lot to contribute to humanity,” he told her.
The engagement comes as Nigeria continues to position itself within an increasingly complex global economic environment, where access to markets, international cooperation, migration and the movement of human capital are becoming central to the competition for economic influence.
