Category: Business Day

Nigeria’s banking industry has spent years rebuilding capital, restructuring institutions and celebrating stronger financial performance. Amidst all these developments, one fundamental question remains unanswered. The concern is how much of this financial strength is translating into productive investment, affordable credit, business expansion and employment.

The worry has grown more urgent after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation exercise, which brought in N4.65 trillion in equity. By the end of March 2026, 33 of the country’s 37 banks had met the updated capital requirements. The exercise aimed to strengthen the system, improve resilience, and boost banks’ ability to finance economic growth.

But raising capital is not the same as expanding productive credit. A stronger balance sheet is not automatically a stronger economy.

One thing that is certain is that Nigeria’s banking industry is not short of institutions, financial expertise or regulatory reforms. As reality stares at Nigerians, the more difficult question is whether its growing financial capacity is being converted into financing for businesses that produce goods, create jobs, process local raw materials and expand the country’s export base.

Experiences from Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank, Kenya’s Equity Group Holdings and Togo-headquartered Ecobank Transnational Incorporated offer useful benchmarks. Their institutional development, customer reach and regional operations provide different perspectives on the possibilities of modern African banking. They are not perfect models, and their operating environments differ from Nigeria’s. Nevertheless, their experiences offer a basis for asking whether Nigerian banking reform is delivering enough economic value beyond financial-sector growth.

The real test of recapitalisation is not simply how much capital banks have raised. It is what that capital ultimately enables them to do.

The first question is straightforward: what does a stronger capital base mean or the benefit of strengthening banks’ capital if productive businesses still struggle to obtain credit?

Capital is essential to and the backbone of banking. Amidst its many functions, it helps banks absorb losses, meet regulatory requirements, handle larger transactions and maintain customers’ confidence in their ability to keep their money safe. Nigeria’s recapitalisation exercise was therefore important. But its economic benefits depend partly on how banks deploy their expanded capacity.

The IMF’s May 2026 assessment, with clarity reviewed developments through the first quarter of 2026, found that private-sector credit remained relatively low, at approximately 12 per cent of GDP in 2025. It also observed that, despite growth in lending, which was obviously a huge contradiction, Nigeria’s financial markets were not adequately intermediating domestic savings into productive investment.

This is a more revealing measure of the challenge than the amount of capital raised alone. From the playout of activities, it is obvious that the banking industry can expand its balance sheets without financing a sufficiently broad range of businesses. Established and bigger corporations may obtain credit while smaller manufacturers, agricultural processors and emerging enterprises struggle with high interest rates, collateral requirements and short repayment periods.

The question is not whether Nigerian banks lend. They do. The question is whether the scale, cost and distribution of that lending adequately serve an economy seeking to diversify beyond oil, expand manufacturing and create sustainable employment.

Kenya’s Equity Group Holdings provides a useful point of comparison as this is discussed further. In a real sense, its success in attracting customers, using digital channels and supporting small businesses shows how banks can serve more people while keeping lending risks under control.

The lesson is not that Nigerian banks should simply copy Kenya. No doubt, Nigeria has different economic conditions, regulatory requirements and credit risks that may not apply to Kenya. Rather, the point is that recapitalisation should create opportunities to deepen lending, develop better products and improve the effectiveness of financial intermediation. It should not become a regulatory milestone celebrated independently of its economic consequences.

The second question is perhaps the most consequential: are Nigerian banks financing enough small businesses to make a measurable difference to the real economy? Here, the evidence deserves particular attention.

Findings showed that Equity Bank Kenya’s third-quarter 2025 investor booklet reported that the bank disbursed KSh90.7 billion ($701,255,970) in MSME loans between January and July 2025. Meanwhile, the amount represented 45 per cent of the KSh201 billion ($1,554,044,999) in MSME loan disbursements reported across the Kenyan banks included in its comparison. The booklet attributed the industry comparison to the Kenya Bankers Association.

This is a significant indicator of Equity Bank’s participation in Kenya’s MSME financing market. It suggests that a bank can make small-business lending a prominent part of its commercial activities while operating in a competitive banking system. Whilst Nigeria’s figures raise a different concern.

A research note published in October 2026 by the Development Bank of Nigeria, citing the CBN statistical data, noted that credit classified to small-scale enterprises amounted to a meager and paltry N177.44 billion in 2025, when compared with enormous total private-sector credit of N47.10 trillion. The small-scale-enterprise category consequently represented approximately 0.38 per cent of private-sector credit. The same research note showed that the category’s share had declined substantially from its historical levels.

The figures deserve serious scrutiny. They suggest that Nigeria’s banking system has expanded enormously without a corresponding increase in the relative weight of credit recorded for small-scale enterprises.

However, the comparison requires an important qualification. Equity’s KSh90.7 billion ($701,255,970) represents loan disbursements over seven months, whereas Nigeria’s N177.44 billion ($132,417,910.45) represents an outstanding-credit measure for a narrower statistical category. The figures are not directly comparable, and they cannot establish that Equity’s lending performance is superior to that of every Nigerian bank. Nor should Nigeria’s small-scale-enterprise category automatically be treated as equivalent to the entire MSME sector.

That limitation does not invalidate the question. It makes the case for better Nigerian data even more compelling.

Why should a country with a large banking market lack sufficiently clear, consistently reported evidence of how much commercial-bank credit reaches smaller productive enterprises? Why should the industry’s recapitalisation achievements get more attention than giving credit to businesses that keep people working and create jobs?

Small businesses really struggle to get financing. They often don’t have things like collateral, checked financial records, long credit histories or steady income. Banks need to think about these risks. Lending without checking can lead to loans not being paid back, hurting the bank’s money and putting depositors in danger.

But risk management should not become a permanent justification for leaving viable businesses outside formal credit.

The fact is that Nigerian banks could use cash-flow-based lending, supply-chain finance, invoice discounting, purchase-order finance, movable-asset collateral and credit guarantees. Nigerian banks would benefit from using verified transaction data to spot businesses that’re truly strong instead of borrowers whose repayment ability is very weak.

The objective is not to compel banks to lend recklessly. It is to make responsible lending to smaller businesses more commercially viable.

The CBN must also ask for reports on SME lending, such as how many borrowers are active, how many new loans are given, how much money is still owed, what the typical loan size is, what interest rates are used, when loans are due and how well payments are made. Without this data, the country cannot properly determine whether recapitalisation is truly helping people get credit. The CBN needs data to see if the plan is working.

The third question follows naturally: if Nigerian banks are profitable, why is their success not more visible in the productive economy?

Bank profitability is essential. Shareholders put in money to get returns. Depositors want their money to stay safe. Regulators want institutions that can handle economic times. There is nothing bad about banks investing in government securities or other easy-to-sell assets.

The real worry is how the financial system’s rewards and rules shape where capital goes. It’s about whether money flows toward government borrowing or toward private businesses. That balance matters. How the system rewards choices can tilt capital one way or the other. That can affect economic growth and opportunity.

The CBN’s official Money and Credit Statistics provide a useful snapshot. In July 2026, private-sector credit stood at approximately N83.43 trillion, compared with N83.26 trillion in June. Net credit to government declined from approximately N40.03 trillion in June to N33.92 trillion in July. These are the latest monthly observations displayed in the official CBN series retrieved for this article, rather than figures extrapolated from media reports.

The figures do not establish that banks deliberately abandoned businesses or that every reduction in government credit necessarily results in additional private lending. They show that the composition of domestic credit changes over time and should be examined using consistent data.

The IMF’s 2026 assessment identified banks’ holdings of government securities, high cash reserve requirements and structural constraints as factors limiting private credit. When looking at the data, it is clear that government securities made up 22 percent of banks’ total assets. Government securities can give banks liquidity, steady income and a risk-return profile that is fairly attractive. Lending to businesses can bring credit risk, expensive monitoring and uncertainty about repayment. Where government borrowing offers attractive returns, banks have commercial reasons to allocate resources towards sovereign instruments.

The policy concern is not that banks should abandon government securities. It is whether the overall balance of incentives enables enough financing to reach viable private businesses.

Monetary policy also matters. High reserve requirements can constrain the funds available for other uses, although reducing them would not guarantee that the released funds would become productive loans. Credit risk, inflation, the cost of funds and the condition of individual businesses would continue to influence lending decisions.

This is why the CBN and the fiscal authorities must examine the combined effect of monetary policy, government borrowing and prudential requirements on credit allocation.

Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank is another reference point. Its published 2025 consolidated figures show assets of approximately MAD795.5 billion ($80,580,000,000) and customer loans of MAD447.9 billion ($45,370,000,000). The group operates across markets and has built a large customer base over time.

Those figures do not prove that Morocco has eliminated its financing challenges. They provide a basis for studying how a bank grows a lending franchise, builds customer relationships and expands its operations across markets.

For Nigeria, the concern is whether banking-sector growth is matched by a corresponding expansion in lending rather than being judged mainly by profits, assets and capital raised.

The fourth question concerns regional influence: why should Nigeria’s banking scale not translate into greater financial leadership across Africa?

Nigeria has a large domestic market, internationally connected businesses and banks with experience in corporate finance, digital banking and cross-border transactions. Some Nigerian institutions have established substantial international operations. Suggesting that the industry has no regional achievements would be inaccurate. Building a domestic banking franchise and creating a durable pan-African institution are separate challenges.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is another example because its history is strongly connected to regional banking integration. Founded in 1985, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated started as an effort and became a bank that supports many African markets.

With this, in 2025, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated also reported a profit before tax of $801 million up 21 percent year-on-year and net revenue of $2.45 billion, which went up by 17 percent. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated also reported a capital adequacy ratio of 16.7 percent and a cost-to-income ratio of 48.3 percent.

Meanwhile, it should be known that these results show the scale of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s operating model, but they do not prove that the bank’s operations are free from challenges. Nor should its dollar-denominated figures be compared directly with the naira results of an individual Nigerian bank without accounting for exchange rates, business mix and reporting differences.

Ecobank’s relevance lies in the development of capabilities that support banking across national boundaries. As African countries pursue deeper economic integration, efficient cross-border payments, trade finance and regional supply-chain financing will become increasingly important.

Nigeria’s banks should be evaluated on how effectively they support these activities. The reality is that a stronger Nigerian banking industry should not only finance large domestic transactions, but it should also help Nigerian businesses compete across Africa.

The fifth question brings the argument back to the regulator: what should the CBN demand from banks after recapitalisation?

The first requirement is to recognise that stronger capital does not automatically eliminate financial vulnerabilities.

The IMF said Nigeria’s capital adequacy ratio fell to 11.7 percent in the quarter of 2025. It also indicated that Nigeria’s non-performing loans rose to 8 percent, which’s above the prudential ceiling. These figures are from Q3 2025, not from the position in October 2026. The IMF blamed this decline on factors, including the effect of naira depreciation on risk-weighted assets, higher provisioning and the migration of restructured exposures, after the end of COVID-era regulatory forbearance.

The figures illustrate why capital raising must be accompanied by sustained attention to asset quality. They should not be used to suggest that the industry’s current capital adequacy ratio or non-performing-loan ratio stays at those levels without evidence.

The CBN must continue to focus on sound underwriting, proper provisioning, effective governance and clear reporting. Financial stability cannot be ignored to push for fast credit growth.

At the same time, prudential supervision should go hand in hand with better information about the real economic impact of growth in the banking sector. The CBN could share consistent data across the industry on lending to small and medium enterprises, manufacturing, agriculture and other productive areas. It should also show how loans are spread across borrower sizes along with details on loan maturities and interest rates. It would also help to include data on the link between banks’ holdings of government securities and their lending to the sector.

Such information would allow policymakers and the public to judge whether recapitalisation is strengthening financial intermediation as well as balance sheets.

The government must also take responsibility for the conditions under which banks operate. Unreliable electricity, poor transport infrastructure, uncertain policies, weak contract enforcement and high operating costs make it harder for businesses to get financing. When companies that could otherwise succeed cannot produce cash flows, banks will naturally become more cautious.

The government needs to improve the investment environment. It must manage its borrowing needs carefully. It should not create incentives that consistently favour government borrowing over private investment. The CBN must strike a balance. It must control inflation. Ensure financial stability while still making sure the credit channel works effectively. Neither institution can solve the problem independently.

The experiences of Attijariwafa Bank, Equity Group and Ecobank do not provide a ready-made blueprint for Nigeria. They offer different examples of institutional development, customer reach, small-business financing and regional expansion.

Their value lies in helping Nigeria ask better questions about what a strong banking industry should deliver.

Nigeria’s banks have contributed to financial sophistication, payments infrastructure, capital formation and corporate financing. Their achievements deserve recognition. But financial success must also be distinguished from the wider economic benefits that a strong banking system is expected to support.

The next phase of banking reform should be measured against three tests. First, do banks have sufficient capital and sound assets to withstand shocks? Second, is credit reaching viable businesses at sustainable terms? Third, is financial intermediation contributing to productive investment, employment and regional trade?

These tests would not require banks to abandon commercial discipline. They would require the industry, its regulator and the government to demonstrate that financial strength is translating into broader economic capacity.

The SME evidence makes this challenge particularly urgent. Nigeria needs better, comparable data on small-business lending, but the available figures already justify a serious investigation into why credit classified to small-scale enterprises represents such a small proportion of total private-sector credit.

Recapitalisation was necessary to strengthen Nigeria’s banks. It should not become the final measure of banking reform. Nigeria has strengthened its banks. The next challenge is to make that strength count more visibly for businesses, jobs and the productive economy.

JMC-Alliance Co-operative Society Limited recently raised expectations in the cooperative enterprise community as it stepped into the future of this enterprise with the launch of Digital Cooperative Enterprise and Grassroots Financial Empowerment.

The launch is a foray into a new era of cooperative enterprise and has positioned JMC-Alliance as a digital-first public cooperative, redefining how communities access shared resources, financial empowerment and collective growth.

By combining technology with grassroots engagement, the cooperative seeks to build a legacy of trust and innovation that resonates with Africa’s next generation of leaders.

At the launch, the cooperative emphasised three pillars: inclusive growth, financial inclusion and financial security. What makes JMC-Alliance unique is its dual approach.

On one hand, it is fully digital, designed to empower tech-savvy youth with micro-lending and wealth-building tools accessible through smartphones. On the other, it deliberately incorporates traditional, offline methods to ensure market traders and grassroots communities are not left behind.

Whether through mobile apps or physical registers at the market square, the cooperative promises accessibility for all.

Joseph Onwuka, JMC-Alliance chairman, explained that the model was inspired by the need to merge traditional cooperative structures with digital innovation.

‘We are adopting a more pragmatic and market-driven model. The objective is not to abandon the traditional approach but to combine it with digital innovation so we can build a more flexible, accessible and sustainable business for the future,’ he said.

Technology is central to the cooperative’s vision. Onwuka noted that digital platforms will enhance transparency, member participation and sustainability. Members will be able to monitor their accounts, access services and resolve issues remotely, ensuring continuous communication and responsiveness.

Mary Okafor, a director at the company, highlighted the cooperative’s role in connecting the diaspora to local opportunities. She said structured channels would allow Nigerians abroad to invest earnings back home, supporting market women and small business owners with responsible loans that enable sustainable growth.

‘Instead of simply giving people money, we can provide responsible loans that enable market women and other small business owners to stock their businesses, keep trading, increasing their turnover and ultimately growing their enterprises,’ she explained.

Looking ahead, Onwuka said the cooperative’s legacy would be measured by the people it empowers. ‘We are going further into the grassroots, reaching people directly and creating opportunities that can make a real difference in their lives.

‘Our vision is to become a major player in Nigeria’s financial sector. Very soon, you will see JMC -Alliance everywhere, across Nigeria,’ he assured.

The launch signals a new chapter in cooperative development, one where digital transformation meets grassroots empowerment. JMC-Alliance is positioning itself not just as a financial association but as a community vehicle designed to drive inclusive prosperity and build a trusted nationwide brand.

Its ambition is to create a cooperative that is both modern and deeply rooted in the realities of everyday Nigerians, ensuring that financial inclusion is not just a slogan but a lived experience for millions.

Uche Eme Uche, Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Abia State, has observed that Nigeria does not lack people working for themselves; rather, it lacks enterprises that are registered, well-capitalised and standards-compliant businesses that employ others.

Uche made the submission, Friday, October 23, 2026, while delivering a paper titled ‘From Degree to Destiny: Creating Value, Generating Opportunity and Transforming Society’, at a

Pre-Convocation lecture of the 9th – 13th Convocation ceremonies of Rhema University Nigeria, Aba, Abia State.

She noted that self-employment was often a means of survival and may require no degree, while enterprise, by contrast, is a development strategy that education should equip graduates to pursue.

She also said that the World Economic Forum, after surveying more than 1,000 employers across 55 economies, projected that technology and demographic change will create about 170

million jobs and displace 92 million by 2030, a net gain of 78 million.

‘Yet one in five jobs will be significantly disrupted, and nearly four in ten workplace skills will change. Put simply, the world is not running out of work; it is running short of people equipped for the work that is emerging.

‘Africa’s demographics make the issue urgent. Africans now account for about one in five people worldwide and are projected to represent nearly one in four by 2050.

‘The evidence I have set before you today points to a single conclusion: that in an economy where 93 of every 100 jobs are informal, where unemployment is higher among the educated than among the population at large, and where nearly four out of every ten workplace skills will change within five years, a certificate is a necessary condition of graduate prosperity and nowhere near a sufficient one.’

She noted that what closes that gap is not another qualification but the disposition to create value, where none existed, to generate opportunity for people who did not earn it, and to repair the portion of the wall that stands within reach. Nigeria will not be secured by certificates.

‘It will be secured by graduates, who strengthen the institutions they inherit rather than exhaust them, and who serve without needing to be observed doing so.

‘Graduating class, in a few days you will receive a degree; from that moment, the world will ask what you can do with it. Do not wait for opportunity, create it. Do not merely enter society; improve it. Let excellence be your habit, courage your compass, service your purpose, and integrity your unbreakable covenant. Rise above excuses. Outlook limitations, turn knowledge into solutions, privilege into responsibility, and ambition into impact.

‘Wherever you go, leave people stronger, institutions better, and your nation more hopeful; create value and generate opportunities to transform society,’ she said.

The Federal Government through Joseph Terlumun Utsev, minister for Water Resources and Sanitation, has challenged the organised private sector (OPS) on building a more sustainable water regeneration ecosystem to bridge Nigeria’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) goal six attainment.

‘Commissioning a facility is only the beginning; ensuring that it continues to provide safe, reliable and sustainable service is the true measure of success,’ Utsev stated during the recent commissioning of eight climate-smart boreholes and water treatment plants by Nestlé Nigeria Plc.

Nestlé Nigeria recently commissioned eight climate-smart boreholes and water treatment plants in communities within the Agbara catchment in Ogun State, as part of its Water Regeneration Project

The facilities form part of a wider programme spanning the Agbara catchment in Ogun State and the Abaji catchment in the Federal Capital Territory.

The water regeneration project is structured around four connected pillars: water access, quality, conservation and governance, strengthened through community water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) committees and governance training.

‘It is encouraging that this initiative places strong emphasis on governance and water stewardship through the development of a governance training manual for water regeneration and stewardship.’ Utsev stated.

Balarabe Abbas Lawal, minister of Environment, stated that the initiative advances SDG goal six and aligns with Nigeria’s environmental priorities.

Lawal added that the project demonstrates what strategic public-private collaboration can achieve. ‘By working with regulators, local authorities and host communities, Nestlé has supported an ecosystem for sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water.’

Olutayo Olatunji, Business Executive Officer, Nestlé Waters and Premium Beverages, stated that combining treated water infrastructure with local governance and performance monitoring, helps in creating a model that improves access, strengthens watershed resilience and delivers enduring value.

‘The Agbara commissioning is an important milestone within our wider Water Regeneration Project and reflects Nestlé’s commitment to helping regenerate local water cycles.

‘As we finalise the remaining scope, our focus remains on rigorous delivery and measurable outcomes that benefit communities and support business continuity,’ Olatunji stated.

According to him, the water regeneration project links measurable community impact with watershed resilience, responsible water management and business continuity.

The initiative provides an integrated model in which infrastructure expands access, treatment safeguards quality, rainwater harvesting supports conservation, advocacy strengthens stewardship and local governance sustains performance.

‘Today is a day of gratitude for the people of Agbara. Safe water touches every part of our lives: the health of our children, the dignity of our homes and the hopes of our families,’ Lukman Jayeola Agunbiade, the Alagbara of Agbara Kingdom, stated.

He reiterated that the community received more than boreholes; instead it received a responsibility to keep the project going. ‘What has been started here today, Agbara will sustain for our children and for generations yet unborn.’

Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainability Lead, Nestlé Nigeria Plc, stated that access to clean portable water alone is not enough.

She reiterated that water must be safe, protected, and that communities across the country must have the knowledge to manage it responsibly.

‘Through the National Water Quality Advocacy Campaign and the National Water Quality Handbook developed with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation and OPS-WASH, we are helping to take water safety knowledge beyond project sites into homes, schools, communities and institutions.’

AltBank has backed the 2026 NPA Kano International Polo Tournament, bringing corporate support to sustain one of Northern Nigeria’s sporting heritage.

Held at the Usman Dantata Polo Ground in Kano, the tournament brought together local and international polo players, traditional leaders, business executives and sporting enthusiasts for an event that continues to hold a prominent place in the region’s sporting calendar.

The Bank, in a statement, explained that its involvement reflects its recognition of the role established sporting institutions play in preserving cultural heritage and bringing people together.

Speaking on the Bank’s participation, Muhammad Danbichi, Regional Business Executive, Commercial and Institutional Banking, North-West 1, Altbank, highlighted the significance of the tournament to Kano and the wider region.

‘The Kano International Polo Tournament is an important part of the city’s sporting history, and its continued relevance speaks to the people and institutions that have sustained it over the years. We are pleased to support an event that brings together different generations and communities around a shared interest. At AltBank, we believe that being part of a community means recognising what matters to its people and contributing where we can make a meaningful difference,’ Danbichi said.

The tournament attracted participation from traditional institutions and corporate organisations, alongside players and spectators, reflecting its enduring appeal across different sections of society.

Tajuddeen Dantata, Chairman of the Kano Polo Club, spoke on the significance of partnerships in sustaining the tournament and strengthening its profile, while Shehu Muhammed, Sarkin Shanu Kano, reflected on the importance of the tournament to Kano’s sporting and cultural heritage.

AltBank is a non-interest bank that provides financial solutions to individuals and businesses while maintaining relationships with the communities in which it operates.

The ISO World Summit, a premier annual platform dedicated to advancing organisational

performance and raising awareness about the vital importance of ISO compliance in business operations, will soon convene key stakeholders in Nigeria.

The event is confirmed to hold on October 29, 2026, at the Sheraton Hotel, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos.

The summit will bring together industry leaders, policymakers, and compliance experts to advance

dialogue, foster learning, facilitate networking, and drive practical action on global ISO frameworks.

This year’s summit, themed ‘Quality Creates Trust, Trust Builds Brands’, is organised by ISO World Consult Limited, a leading consulting firm that helps businesses translate international ISO standards and Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment (QHSE) compliance into everyday workflows.

A vital objective of the 2026 summit is driving full alignment with ISO standards and compliance.

To achieve this, organisers and participating institutions are focusing on upgrading documentation, refining organizational write-ups, and embedding a deep-rooted culture of quality across all operational levels.

Discussions at the ISO World Summit 2026 will focus on inspiring organisations to view quality not merely as a compliance obligation, but as a strategic business culture capable of strengthening brands, improving performance, and creating sustainable value.

Another major highlight of the event will be the International Quality Certification Awards. This prestigious ceremony will recognise exceptional organizations and individuals making measurable

contributions to advancing ISO standards, quality management, brand trust, and operational

excellence across Nigeria.

To deliver a truly robust and immersive quality gathering, ISO World Consult Limited has proudly

partnered with AFRIBIS for this year’s edition. A key feature of this collaboration will be the presentation of authentic gold-sealed certificates and golden plaques to 51 confirmed leading organisations.

Mirroring the summit’s core commitment to global ISO standards, the entire awards process guarantees absolute credibility and transparency, with all nominations undergoing rigorous evaluation by an independent panel of certified auditors.

Since its debut in the Nigerian visual art scene in 2022, Windsor Gallery, a dynamic contemporary art institution dedicated to amplifying West African and pan-African voices on the global stage, has continued to make bold statements with its projects.

One of such projects is its Artists in Residence programme, which creates a space for artists from across the continent to live, work, exchange ideas and engage with new cultural environments.

It is in furtherance of that commitment to building meaningful cross-border conversations around African art that the gallery is featuring Hako Hankson, a Cameroonian-born contemporary artist, at the latest Windsor Gallery Artists in Residence programme.

Hako, who has arrived in Lagos, is joining Douala, his base in Cameroon, for the six-week artist residency.

Speaking on the rationale for the programme, the gallery explained that Hako’s residency in Lagos forms part of ongoing effort to strengthen the connections between African artists, audiences and institutions – creating opportunities for exchange that move beyond borders and encourage new ways of seeing and understanding the continent through art.

Offering more details, the gallery said that over the course of six weeks, Hako will immerse himself in Lagos, developing new work while engaging with the city’s creative community, its people, histories and constantly evolving cultural landscape.

However, the residency will culminate in a solo exhibition at Windsor Gallery from October, where Hako will present the body of work developed during his time in Lagos and offer audiences an opportunity to encounter his practice through the lens of the new environment.

The highly anticipated solo exhibition by Hako, which is entitled ‘Hako’s Allegory’, will open on October 31, 2026, from, 1pm – 6pm at Windsor Gallery at #4C Goriola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

On display would be the works created by Hako during the six-week Artist-In-Residence in Lagos.

Offering insights on the exhibition in its curatorial note, Windsor Gallery asked, ‘What if what we see is only a shadow of what is real’?

It further used Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to explain Hako’s Allegory’. In Plato’s case, the gallery said that ‘a group of prisoners are confined to a cave, able to see only shadows projected onto a wall before them. Having known nothing else, they mistake these shadows for reality.

‘When one prisoner is finally released and encounters the world beyond the cave, the experience is disorienting. What he believed to be true is revealed to have been only a limited perception of truth’.

With the above in mind, Hako’s Allegory takes the philosophical proposition as its point of departure.

‘Through a new technique developed on plexiglass, Hako Hanson creates works that exist between image and reflection, visibility and obscurity, surface and depth. The material becomes more than a medium; it becomes a metaphor for perception itself,’ Windsor Gallery stated in its curatorial note.

Plexiglass, according to the gallery, allows the image to be seen while simultaneously revealing the space beyond it and as light passes through, reflections interfere, and the viewer’s own position alters the work. What appears fixed becomes unstable.

The intrigue is that what seems immediately visible begins to question itself and like the shadows in Plato’s cave, Hako’s images ask viewers to consider whether seeing is the same as knowing.

‘The works operate within this tension between appearance and reality. They invite the viewer to look beyond the immediate image, to question the assumptions that shape what we perceive and to consider how much of our understanding is constructed by the limitations of our own perspective.

‘The journey out of Plato’s cave is not simply a movement from darkness into light. It is a confrontation with the possibility that everything we previously understood may have been incomplete’.

Hako’s works occupy this threshold and do not offer a definitive reality beyond the surface. Instead, they create a space in which reality remains fluid, fragmented and open to interpretation. The viewer is therefore not merely looking at the work, but participating in it – moving around it, seeing through it, seeing themselves reflected within it, and continually negotiating between what is presented and what is perceived.

But the allegory may not be about leaving the cave, but recognising that we are still inside one.

There are also reasons to see Hako’s Allegory at Windsor Gallery from October 31, 2026.

The self-taught Cameroonian contemporary artist is gifted. He works across painting, drawing, sculpture and mixed media, amid a practice that is deeply influenced by the traditions, rituals, mythology and spiritual heritage of West Cameroon, as well as the realities of contemporary African life.

The son of a sculptor and musician associated with the Royal Palace, Hankson grew up surrounded by masks, statuettes, totems and ceremonial objects. These early experiences became central to his artistic vocabulary. Although he trained as a car mechanic, he pursued art independently, developing his practice through observation, experimentation and engagement with the artistic community in Douala.

His works combine figures, masks, animals, symbols and expressive gestures, exploring memory, identity, spirituality, migration and everyday life. He has cited artists including: Jean-Michel Basquiat, AntoniTàpies and Jean Dubuffet as influences, while emphasizing the importance of energy and gesture in his own work.

Hankson has exhibited internationally, including with OH Gallery in Dakar, Primo Marella Gallery in Italy and Switzerland, and L’Atelier 21 in Casablanca. He participated in the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024 and his works are held in collections including the Fondation Cartier, MACAAL, Fondation H, Fondation Donwahi and the Benetton Collection.

In 2013, he founded the In and Off Art Center in Douala, supporting artistic exchange and emerging artists. His practice continues to connect Cameroonian cultural heritage with contemporary global experiences, creating a distinctive visual language rooted in memory, spirituality and human experience.

With all these going for him, ‘Hako’s Allegory’ will definitely live up the viewers expectations.

Once again, the solo exhibition will open on October 31, 2026, at Windsor Gallery at #4C Goriola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Gunmen again struck in Kwara State to abduct a middle-aged man, Bamidele Matthew and his secondary school son, IbukunOluwa Bamidele.

According to one of the family members, Bamidele AKA Photo was on the farm with two of his children.

The source said: ‘Three of them were working on their farm at Idofin when the kidnappers kidnapped them; one of them escaped.’

He added that the son, who had just finished his secondary education, was on the farm, helping his father on the ill-fated day.

‘They were kidnapped on their farm where they were working; the kidnappers were not on a bike but stormed their farm where they were working,’ he informed.

He added that: ‘The kidnappers have telephoned the family, demanding a N20 million ransom.’

The daring kidnappers, according to the investigation, pounced on their victims at their farm between Odo-owa and Idofin, Kwara South senatorial area of Kwara State.

However, the family and the entire community have launched pleas to the state government and security agents for assistance that would ensure the release of the father and son.

‘We appeal to the Kwara State Government, the Nigerian Government, security agencies and the world at large to come to our rescue,’ they pleaded.

They have also, printed fliers bearing the pictures of the Bamideles, urging members of the public for help on who to contact on sighting them.

‘Please share this flyer. Every share could help bring them home,’ they urged.

Salisu Ogbo Usman, vice-chancellor of Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, has stated that effective science teaching requires more than transmission of facts or memorisation of the theories, saying activity-based learning, inquiry, experimentation, laboratory practices ant the appropriate of technology can help students develop curiosity, critical thinking, creativity and practical skills.

Ogbo stated this during the 30th inaugural Lecture themed ‘Monkey de work Baboon de Chop’

has described the 30th Inaugural Lecture as a reaffirmation of the University’s commitment to rigorous scholarship, intellectual engagement, the preservation of knowledge and the application of research to societal advancement.

Usman described the topic as timely and significant, noting that science education is central to a society’s ability to develop, innovate, solve problems and compete in an increasingly knowledge -driven world.

He explained that the manner in which science is taught influences how learners think, investigate problems and acquire the competencies required to contribute to the future development of the nation, noting that the lecture drew attention to the challenges confronting teachers and researchers who develop and implement innovative teaching methods, often in the face of limited resources, inadequate institutional support and insufficient recognition.

He noted that the implications of science education extend beyond the classroom, as the quality of education influences a society’s capacity to respond to challenges in health, agriculture, engineering, technology, environmental sustainability and industrial development.

Ogbo equally congratulated Achimugu on the academic milestone and commended his contributions to teaching, research, mentorship and educational leadership.

He also expressed appreciation to the Chairman and members of the Inaugural Lecture Committee for their dedication, diligence and careful planning in organising the event.

The lecture attracted members of the University community and other invited guests who gathered to celebrate scholarship and reflect on the challenges and prospects of improving science education through effective teaching methods.

The 5th agribusiness international conference taking place in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, has secured the partnership and endorsement of key stakeholders, including UN agencies, intended to boost agriculture and food security.

With the theme, ‘Accelerating agribusiness transformation, unlocking value chains to achieve food security, nutrition sustainability, job creation, poverty alleviation and national prosperity,’ the conference is expected to draw participants from entrepreneurs, farmers, agricultural experts, top government officials including governors and federal ministers in charge of agriculture, trade and investments.

Howard Usen, chairman of the central planning committee, who made this known while briefing a representative of Governor Umo Eno, said preparations for the conference were progressing following the strategic meeting of the agribusiness unit, office of the governor, adding that the committee was working with key partners to deliver a well-coordinated and productive conference.

According to him, the meeting provided an opportunity for the committee to brief the director of agribusiness unit on the conference’s level of preparedness, programme planning, stakeholders engagement adding that the conference ‘will provide an opportunity to bring government officials, industry experts, farmers, investors and development partners together to ‘identify practical ways to strengthen agricultural value chains and expand agribusiness opportunities,’ he said.

‘All hands are on deck to ensure a successful conference, one that promotes meaningful dialogue, practical partnership and lasting value for Akwa Ibom State and the wider agribusiness community,’ Usen said.

In his remarks, Ofonmbuk Nelson, director of agribusiness, governor’s office, expressed delight over the conference, which he said was in line with the state government’s emphasis on agriculture as seen in the Arise Agenda, an economic blueprint of the state government.

The conference has received formal endorsements from the federal ministry of agriculture and food security and the federal ministry of trade and investment as both permanent secretaries have confirmed their participation.

Also, representatives of key United Nations agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Industrial Organisation (UNIDO) are also expected at the conference. Usen explained that the conference was designed to provide a meeting point for policymakers, agribusiness experts, farmers, processors, financiers and technology providers to provide solutions on the challenges facing agriculture and agribusiness.

He said the key areas of discussions would include agricultural value chain development, food security and nutrition, processing and value addition, post-harvest loss reduction and access to finance.

Other areas he said would also include climate resilience, trade and market access, skills development and the participation of women and young people in agribusiness.

Usen also disclosed that exhibitors would have platforms to present their products, technologies, service and investment opportunities to network with conference participants while farmers, cooperatives and entrepreneurs would also be able to connect with relevant organisations and explore potential business and institutional partnerships.