There’s Much To Gain!

Africans stand to gain a lot if they trade among themselves and an opportunity has been served the continent on the platter of gold via the African Continental Free Trade Area. Creating a liberalised market for goods and services by eliminating tariffs on intra-African trade, facilitating investments through the creation of a large market and making it easier for businesses to trade within Africa and benefit from their own growing market; as the novelty has set out to achieve, look promising for a people blessed with enviable natural and human resources.  In effect, the close to 1.3 billion population of the 54 countries that make up the African continent is a huge market whose potentials should and must be maximised.
The continent therefore needs to painstakingly invest in strategic areas so as to reap the huge benefits that trading among itself offers. In the production sector for instance, there is much to gain should different African countries strategize and capitalise on where they have comparative advantages. Africa has rich and vast arable lands and her subsoils full of diverse natural resources no doubt, but not all have the same level of potentials in terms of quality and quantity. Investing in what one can produce best gives room for specialisation which entails large-scale production and therefore local processing. This in other words means industrialisation which has the propensity to create jobs and generate wealth. Such a scenario would also enhance the introduction of new technology to boost productivity, ignite competitiveness of economies and promote development through diversification.
There is no need embracing everything when potentials cannot allow for optimum results. For, doing so can only lead to subsistence which has kept the continent on the knees for decades. The population is said to be 1.3 billion at moment, is projected to grow to 1.5 billion by 2025 and 1.7 billion by 2030.  Consumption will obviously continue to grow requiring robust production in quality and quantity to meet the skyrocketing demand.   
Goods from the much-clamoured improved production would need to move from their basins to areas of consumption. Serious thought therefore needs to be given to transport. In fact, all means of transport must be beefed up to facilitate the movement of persons and...