Category: Business Day

The improvement suggests that the sector’s earnings growth is increasingly being driven not only by higher selling prices and revenue expansion but also by better conversion of sales into bottom-line earnings.

May and Baker, however, stood out. The company’s net profit climbed to N3.20 billion in H1 2026 from N2.19 billion in H1 2025, representing an increase of about 46 percent. This was achieved despite a marginal decline in revenue to N19.28 billion from N19.28 billion in the same period of 2025.

As a result, its profit margin expanded to 16.59 percent from 11.34 percent, a gain of about 5.25 percentage points. This makes May and Baker’s performance particularly significant because its profitability improvement was not primarily the result of revenue expansion. Rather, the company was able to generate substantially more profit from almost the same level of sales.

The result also means that May and Baker’s margin is now well ahead of the 10.24 percent combined margin of the five pharmaceutical companies.

Fidson Healthcare ranked second, with a net profit margin of 10.37 percent; the company remains the largest revenue generator among the companies analysed, but its profitability improvement has been less dramatic than May and Baker’s.

The company’s revenue increased 18.9 percent year-on-year to N74.48 billion in H1 2026 from N62.64 billion in H1 2025. Net income increased by 28.1 percent to N7.72 billion from N6.03 billion.

The faster growth in profit than revenue helped Fidson’s net margin improve to 10.37 percent from 9.62 percent. Fidson’s margin recovery is notable given the company’s sharp deterioration in profitability between H1 2022 and H1 2024.

Its net margin fell from 13.26 percent in H1 2022 to 10.84 percent in H1 2023 and then to just 4.06 percent in H1 2024. The recovery to 9.62 percent in H1 2025 and 10.37 percent in H1 2026 indicates that the company has regained a significant portion of its lost profitability.

However, it remains below the 13.26 percent margin recorded four years earlier.

MeCure Industries ranked third, with its net profit margin improving modestly to 7.76 percent from the previous year. Revenue increased to N44.5 billion, from N37.26 billion in H1 2025, while net profit rose to N3.48 billion, compared with N2.73 billion a year earlier. Despite the improvement, finance costs remained a significant constraint on the company’s ability to convert its higher revenue into profit.

Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals, meanwhile, recorded a net profit margin of 5.65 percent in H1 2026. Although the company remained profitable, its margin was below the 6.78 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, indicating that its earnings growth did not keep pace with its revenue performance.

At the bottom of the sector was Morison Industries, which moved in the opposite direction from its peers. The company recorded revenue of N272.08 million in the first half of 2026 but posted a net loss of N10.28 million, as rising costs eroded its earnings and pushed it into the red.

Nigeria’s once-thriving textile industry is facing a deeper structural crisis as fabrics imported from China, India and Pakistan increasingly dominate the domestic market, leaving local manufacturers struggling to compete and weakening the link between northern Nigeria’s cotton farms and its traditional textile centres.

Suleiman Umar, managing director of Tofa Textile Limited, Kano, said the growing dependence on imported textiles had become one of the clearest indications of the country’s failure to rebuild its cotton-to-textile value chain.

Umar, speaking during the recently concluded Jigawa State Investment Summit, said imported fabrics were increasingly displacing locally manufactured materials in markets across the country.

According to him, the situation has created a paradox in which Nigeria has comparative advantages to produce cotton but has continually import fabrics and finished textile products that could have been manufactured locally.

The problem is particularly visible in northern Nigeria, where Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Gombe, Bauchi and other states have historically formed part of the country’s cotton-growing and textile-producing belt.

Ali Usman, a textile dealer at Katin-Kuri Textile Market in Kano, told BusinessDay that fabrics from China, India and Pakistan now account for a significant portion of the materials traded by dealers, reflecting the growing dominance of imported textiles in the Nigerian market.

Usman said imported materials appeal to traders and consumers because of their variety, availability and, in many cases, their ability to compete aggressively on price.

The growing presence of imported textiles means that local manufacturers are competing not only against established foreign factories but also against the cost advantages created by large-scale production, cheaper energy and more developed textile supply chains in exporting countries.

Northern Nigeria’s lost advantage

The situation is particularly troubling because northern Nigeria possesses a much larger geographical and agricultural base than neighbouring Benin Republic, which is rapidly positioning itself as a major cotton-processing and textile hub.

The 19 states commonly regarded as northern Nigeria cover about 724,000 square kilometres, more than six times Benin Republic’s approximately 115,000 square kilometres.

The region also contains a substantial cotton-growing belt spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Borno, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Niger and Kaduna.

Yet the size of this agricultural base has not translated into comparable industrial capacity.

Recent United States Department of Agriculture estimates show the continuing concentration of Nigeria’s cotton production in the North, with Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Adamawa and Gombe among the leading producing states.

Benin, despite its much smaller geographical size, has pursued a strategy of capturing more value from its cotton by linking cultivation with processing and manufacturing.

USDA data put Benin’s cotton area at about 510,000 hectares for the 2025/26 season, with production estimated at 1.15 million 480-pound bales and an average yield of 491 kilogrammes per hectare.

The contrast illustrates a central weakness in Nigeria’s agricultural-industrial structure: possessing the raw material does not automatically create an industrial advantage.

From cotton producer to textile importer

Northern Nigeria once had a much stronger cotton and textile ecosystem.

Kano, in particular, developed a network linking farmers, cotton traders, ginneries, dyers, weavers, textile mills, garment producers and merchants serving markets across Nigeria and West Africa.

But the system gradually deteriorated as textile factories closed, cotton production declined and imported fabrics gained a stronger foothold in the domestic market.

The decline of manufacturing also weakened demand for locally produced cotton. As factories reduced production or shut down, farmers lost reliable industrial buyers, further undermining incentives to expand cotton cultivation.

The result has been a fragmented value chain in which cotton farmers operate largely independently of textile manufacturers, while Nigerian consumers increasingly depend on imported fabrics.

The industry’s decline has also been linked to unreliable electricity, high production costs, inadequate infrastructure, inconsistent policies, limited access to finance, insecurity, smuggling and competition from imported textiles.

For manufacturers such as Umar, these constraints have created an uneven competitive environment.

A local textile producer must contend with high energy and financing costs while attempting to compete with imported materials manufactured within more integrated industrial ecosystems.

Benin shows what Nigeria is missing

Benin Republic’s Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone provides a contrasting model.

The industrial zone is designed to bring different stages of manufacturing closer together, allowing locally produced cotton to move from agricultural production into ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finished products.

The economic logic is straightforward: instead of exporting or selling cotton as a low-value commodity, more value is captured domestically by processing it into products that can be sold at considerably higher prices.

That is the gap northern Nigeria needs to close.

The region does not necessarily need to compete with Benin by simply producing more cotton. Its bigger opportunity lies in creating a functioning industrial corridor that connects cotton farms to ginneries, textile mills, garment factories, logistics operators and domestic and export markets.

Such a system would also create jobs beyond agriculture.

Workers would be required in processing, machinery maintenance, transportation, warehousing, packaging, fashion, design, marketing, retail and digital commerce.

Imports reveal the manufacturing gap

The growing dominance of Chinese, Indian and Pakistani fabrics in Nigerian markets should therefore be viewed as more than a trade issue.

It is also an indicator of the country’s industrial capacity deficit.

At Katin-Kuri Textile Market in Kano, the presence of imported fabrics reflects the changing structure of the textile business.

Dealers need consistent supplies and products that meet consumer demand. Where local manufacturers cannot provide adequate volumes, designs, quality or competitive prices, imported materials naturally fill the gap.

This creates a cycle that is difficult to break.

As imported fabrics gain market share, local factories lose customers. As factories lose customers, production falls. Lower production weakens demand for domestic cotton, which further reduces the incentive for farmers and processors to invest.

The country consequently becomes increasingly dependent on foreign producers for products that could potentially be manufactured within Nigeria.

Electricity remains a critical bottleneck

For northern Nigeria’s textile industry to recover, however, simply restricting imports will not be enough.

Manufacturers need to become competitive.

Electricity is central to that equation.

Spinning, weaving, dyeing and other textile processes require reliable power. Where manufacturers depend heavily on expensive alternative sources of electricity, production costs rise and locally produced fabrics become less competitive against imported materials.

Access to modern machinery is equally important.

Many surviving textile operators face the challenge of ageing equipment, limited working capital and expensive replacement parts, making it difficult to match the efficiency of larger overseas producers.

Financing is another major constraint. Textile manufacturing requires substantial capital for machinery, raw materials, energy and inventory, while high borrowing costs can make long-term industrial investment difficult.

The cotton chain must be rebuilt

A credible northern textile revival therefore needs to begin at the farm but cannot end there.

Farmers require improved cotton varieties, extension services, mechanisation and access to inputs.

Ginneries need investment and reliable markets.

Textile manufacturers require modern machinery, affordable energy and long-term financing.

Garment producers need access to quality fabrics, design capabilities and distribution networks.

And all of these components need to be connected to a large domestic consumer market and the wider African market.

This is where northern Nigeria’s size becomes a potentially important advantage.

With its extensive cotton-growing areas and established commercial centres, the region could develop industrial clusters around Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara and other producing states.

Such clusters could reduce transportation costs while bringing farms, processors and manufacturers closer together.

A bigger industrial opportunity

The textile opportunity also extends beyond replacing imported fabrics.

A revitalised cotton-to-textile chain could support Nigeria’s broader industrialisation by creating demand for agricultural machinery, industrial equipment, packaging, transport, warehousing, chemicals, energy and financial services.

It could also strengthen rural economies by providing farmers with dependable industrial markets.

For Kano and other northern commercial centres, rebuilding the textile sector could revive an industrial tradition that once connected the region to major West African markets.

But the revival will require a shift in policy thinking.

The focus cannot remain solely on increasing cotton production while allowing most of the value generated from the crop to be captured elsewhere.

The objective must be to move progressively from seed to cotton, cotton to fibre, fibre to yarn, yarn to fabric, fabric to garments and garments to Nigerian and African brands.

Until that happens, Nigeria risks remaining a major consumer of textiles manufactured elsewhere while struggling to create sufficient industrial demand for its own cotton.

Benin Republic’s emerging textile model has therefore exposed a strategic question for northern Nigeria: how can a region with a much larger landmass, extensive cotton-growing areas and a deep textile heritage allow imported fabrics from China, India and Pakistan to dominate its markets?

The answer lies less in the size of the land available for cotton cultivation and more in the ability to rebuild the industrial infrastructure required to turn that cotton into competitive products.

For Umar, the challenge is ultimately about restoring the missing connection between agriculture and manufacturing.

Without that connection, northern Nigeria’s cotton advantage will remain largely theoretical.

With it, cotton could once again become a foundation for manufacturing, jobs, exports and broader industrial development across the region.

Nigeria’s Aradel Holdings Plc said it plans to produce petrol at its modular refinery in 2027, following the removal of subsidies that make the fuel more profitable to sell.

The government’s control of fuel prices was scrapped in 2023, and the deregulation of the market ‘has now created a path’ to manufacture petrol, Temitayo Ogunbanjo, who manages Aradel’s refinery arm, said on the sidelines of a conference in Abuja. The plant currently produces kerosene, diesel, gas oil and naphtha.

For years, Nigerian refiners avoided petrol production altogether. A federal government-set pump price, propped up by a subsidy that at one point cost the federal treasury more than $10 billion annually, left domestic refiners unable to compete with landed imports sold below cost.

That calculus changed after President Bola Tinubu ended the subsidy in his first address after taking office, a move that sent pump prices surging and inflation higher, but also opened the door for local refiners to enter a market long dominated by imports and, more recently, by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s 650,000-barrel-a-day complex outside Lagos.

Aradel’s 11,000-barrel-a-day plant, located in Rivers State in the Niger River Delta, is dwarfed by that scale, but the company is betting there is room for smaller, faster-to-build refineries to chip away at Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel.

The company is also considering expanding the facility, examining potential crude supply arrangements and export logistics, Ogunbanjo said.

Aradel’s business, which spans crude production, refining and distribution, has been boosted by oil-price shocks stemming from the US-Iran war.

Higher crude prices have lifted earnings from its upstream operations even as they raise input costs elsewhere, a dynamic that has benefited integrated producers able to capture margin across the barrel.

The company is also weighing investments in aviation fuel production, a category Ogunbanjo said has emerged as a key export opportunity to Europe. Jet fuel demand has been supported by a rebound in international air travel and by European buyers seeking alternative supply sources amid disruptions to traditional trade routes.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude producer, has for decades exported crude oil only to re-import the refined products its population needs, a paradox that successive governments have pledged to fix. The Dangote refinery’s start-up has already begun to reshape that picture, cutting the country’s petrol import bill and pressuring the economics of fuel importers.

Modular refineries like Aradel’s, while far smaller, have been positioned by the government as a complementary piece of the puzzle, capable of serving regional markets and processing crude grades that may not suit larger plants.

Analysts have cautioned that profitability for petrol production at smaller Nigerian refineries will depend on crude feedstock costs, naira volatility, and continued enforcement of the deregulated pricing regime.

Reversals of fuel-subsidy policy have occurred before in Nigeria, and any renewed political pressure to cap pump prices could undercut the investment case for new petrol capacity.

Aradel listed on the Nigerian Exchange last year, giving it a public listing alongside Nigeria’s largest energy companies. The company has positioned itself as a home-grown alternative to international oil majors that have been exiting onshore Nigerian assets in recent years, several of which Aradel and its peers have acquired.

Ogunbanjo did not give a specific investment figure for the petrol unit or the potential capacity expansion, saying details would be firmed up as the company advances engineering studies over the next year.

The Imole Campaign Council (TICC) has called on the Nigeria Police Force to immediately issue a public update on its ongoing investigation into Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi regarding alleged threats to kill members of the Accord party ahead of the August 15 Osun State governorship election.

In a press statement released to journalists, the campaign council urged law enforcement agencies to demonstrate that the investigation into the lawmaker is being handled with the seriousness it deserves. TICC emphasised that police intervention must not end as mere rhetoric designed to calm public anger, but must serve as a genuine effort to ensure that reckless and violent political utterances carry strict legal consequences.

The campaign group demanded that if a thorough review of the viral video establishes a clear intention to harm Accord leaders and members, the police should proceed without delay to charge Senator Fadahunsi to court. TICC stated that its demand is grounded in the principle of equal justice, insisting that the law must be enforced impartially regardless of an individual’s political standing or societal status.

The call comes amid growing security concerns across Osun State, where the viral video has sparked widespread panic. TICC disclosed that since the threats were issued, party members and residents in Ijesaland and surrounding communities have lived under immense fear for their safety. The group stressed that human life is too precious to be subjected to such daring intimidation, particularly with the governorship election just days away.

Emphasising the need for restraint, the Imole Campaign Council appealed directly to Accord leaders, members, and supporters in Ijesaland not to be provoked into retaliatory violence. Instead, the organisation advised them to remain peaceful and maintain their focus on mobilising voters for the re-election bid of Governor Ademola Adeleke. Political disagreements, the council noted, must never be used as a justification to threaten the lives of fellow citizens or members of opposing political parties.

The development follows intense public scrutiny and widespread condemnation that prompted the police to invite Senator Fadahunsi for questioning after the controversial video began circulating online.

A push has launched to create a common language for all of the over 45 million Niger Delta peoples in 40 ethnic nationalities through an App called Wolo.

Language unification for the region is thus the highlight of the 10 years of the Maiden International Education (MIE) led by Greatman Badom.

Badom told the audience at the anniversary in Port Harcourt that MIE was also working hard to push the languages of the region out there in the international community through the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), as well as attracting investments to the region.

Badom said the language App was created to preserve Niger Delta languages first. ‘This is because we’re teaching foreign and local languages at ‘The Language School’. We saw that other regions have one language each. When you come to the South-South, you discover that we didn’t have any general language. As a matter of fact, even in Rivers State, the Gokana man did not understand the Khana man. The Eleme man would not understand the Tai man, let alone the Ekpeye man understanding the Kalabari person.

‘So, we saw the need for an intervention plan and the invention or innovation was born out of the need to preserve Rivers languages. And in 2023, we took Rivers languages-Gokana, Khana, Tai, and Eleme precisely to HIGA 2023, a UNESCO program in Spain, a UNESCO-affiliated program in Spain.’

He said MIE has had to translate UNESCO poems. ‘I translated a poem into Gokana language at UNESCO, and it has been kept in the archives of UNESCO in Spain as we speak, both the audio and the written version of it.

‘So, these are the things we have been doing in The Language School: taking our language, our region, to the limelight, telling them that we exist, we are here.’

On one language for the region, he said MIE has started with Rivers State. ‘We have launched Wolo, and we are calling on well-meaning individuals to sponsor, partner on that idea of Wolo to make it a reality.

‘We are calling them for partnerships; we’re calling them for sponsorships to make the Wolo project a reality, where the child from Ikwerre, Kalabari, Ogoni, Igbo, Delta, Edo, who lives in the diaspora, can learn her mother tongue without hitches, especially learning at their own pace with respect to their time zone and time differences. That is what Wolo embodies.’

He said Wolo does not just propagate foreign languages; ‘Wolo creates an avenue for preserving our indigenous languages. Beyond teaching the indigenous languages, Wolo will also create an avenue for indigenes to serve as contributors to preserving their indigenous languages by providing weekly content and information on specific topics in their language.

‘The whole idea is to work Wolo along the lines of achieving the UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages, which is ongoing from now till 2032.’

On the main focus of MIE, Badom said MIE has trained over 3,500 students in the past decade, and that they look forward to training more through partnerships with schools

‘And during the COVID-19 era, we did a free language training for an audience of 203,000 people, and that got us a national merit award, known as the Education Advancement Award.

‘We got connected to UNESCO YOD, who saw us as a viable partner. We thus partnered and did the first UNESCO poetry competition in Rivers State for primary and secondary schools aimed at promoting poetry in indigenous languages.

‘We did that for three consecutive years, and we still look forward to many more UNESCO programmes in PH. It was on that premise that I was appointed the Head of Mission for UNESCO YOD, Rivers State.’

At The Language School, he said, they don’t just teach languages. ‘We have resolved to use our platform to create opportunities, drag opportunities into our area, and that’s why we did all we could to get the UNESCO partnership, because we told them there’s little or no UNESCO presence in the South.

‘In the course of dealing with UNESCO, we’ve been able to utilize our platform to expand opportunities even up to far Abia State. One of the days, we took the Abia State Commissioner on Creative Economy to the UNESCO National Commission. I led his delegation to the UNESCO National Commission in Abuja. So, we have been utilizing our platform to create influence and opportunities for the region.

‘During last year’s ‘Make in Nigeria Conference’, I was instrumental in bringing Dr Olagunju Latif Idowu, the UNESCO Secretary-General, to Port Harcourt. He was a speaker at the ‘Make in Nigeria Conference’. So, these are the ways in which we use our own association to create opportunities for others.’

In 2025, he said, MIE brought in the Canadian Deputy High Commissioner. They visited us. ‘But for the sake of this anniversary report we are doing, the fact is that we are able to use our own influence to create opportunities across the board and for other sectors. But at the end of the day, they came to Port Harcourt, and then there was a meeting with university Vice-Chancellors: University of Port Harcourt, then Professor George Will Owunari Abraham; Ignatius Ajuru University, Professor Onuchukwu Okechukwu.

‘We had a meeting with PAMO University. We had meetings with members of the tech, digital, and creative economy in Rivers State. Foremost of them was Havoc’s Tech Hub; they were there; Suncept, led by Sunny Apban, they were there. Suncept-S-U-N-C-E-P-T, like Sunny’s Concept-Suncept, they were there; Olumati Isaiah Company was there, represented by Olumati Isaiah himself; quite a number of people.

‘We had meetings with the creative economy with team players, frontline players like Havoc’s Media, Havoc’s Tech Hub, and Suncept. Technologies, Olumati Isaiah Company. These were points for people to interact, interface, and latch onto opportunities that are available.’

He stated they have done quite a lot in influence, creating influence within our sphere, and creating influence across the board. ‘So, what we do at ‘The Language School’ is not just a matter of Rivers State but for all of Niger Delta. It’s pan-Niger Delta because we understand the pain of the South-South, and we try to embody that pain by pursuing anything that advances the cause of the Niger Delta.’

[This is Part Two of a two-part series on Nigeria’s evolving approach to data localisation. Part One examined the legal foundations of Nigeria’s data localisation framework. This instalment explores the regulatory, policy and infrastructure developments shaping its future direction.]

In Part One of this series, we examined the legal framework underpinning data localisation in Nigeria and explained why the country has adopted a layered approach rather than a single comprehensive data localisation law. However, legislation alone does not tell the full story. Increasingly, sector-specific regulation, government policy and technical standards are shaping Nigeria’s approach to data governance, sovereign cloud infrastructure and digital resilience. It is these developments, and their implications for businesses, that this second instalment explores.

The Expanding Regulatory Landscape

While the NDPA provides the principal framework governing personal data and cross-border transfers, it represents only one component of Nigeria’s broader approach to data localisation.

Increasingly, sector regulators are introducing targeted localisation requirements where they consider local storage necessary to support operational resilience, regulatory oversight or the protection of critical national infrastructure.

One recent example is the CBN’s June 2026 Circular introducing market structure requirements, ultimate beneficial ownership disclosure obligations and data localisation measures within Nigeria’s payments ecosystem. The Circular requires financial institutions and other participants facilitating payments within Nigeria to ensure that payment transaction data generated within Nigeria is stored and managed within Nigeria, with full compliance required from 1 January 2027. Unlike the NDPA, which focuses primarily on protecting personal data through regulated transfer mechanisms, the CBN’s approach reflects broader policy objectives relating to the resilience, integrity and operational oversight of Nigeria’s payment systems.

The financial services sector therefore illustrates an important point. Data localisation in Nigeria is no longer driven solely by privacy considerations. Increasingly, it is being used as a regulatory tool to support financial stability, operational resilience and systemic supervision.

Towards Sovereign Cloud Infrastructure

Data localisation is also increasingly reflected in Nigeria’s broader digital economy policies. NITDA’s National Cloud Computing Policy, first issued in 2019, established a ‘Cloud First’ approach for government institutions while encouraging the development of indigenous cloud service providers and local cloud infrastructure. Rather than simply promoting cloud adoption, the Policy recognises cloud computing as an important enabler of digital government, economic development and local technology capacity. It also introduces important policy considerations relating to cloud procurement, vendor lock-in, data classification and the need for cloud solutions that support national digital objectives.

More recently, NITDA has begun translating these policy objectives into more detailed technical guidance. The National Cloud Technical Document proposes comprehensive standards governing sovereign cloud deployments for public institutions, including technical requirements relating to cloud procurement, recognised deployment models, cybersecurity controls, data classification, disaster recovery, localisation, service levels and infrastructure standards. Particularly noteworthy is its emphasis on hosting higher-sensitivity government data within Nigeria while recognising that certain cross-border transfers may remain appropriate where adequate legal and technical safeguards exist.

Closely linked to these developments is NITDA’s recently issued National Data Classification Framework, which seeks to establish a structured methodology for classifying data according to its sensitivity, criticality and the potential impact of its compromise. Rather than treating all information alike, the Framework recognises that different categories of data require different levels of protection and, consequently, different governance, security and hosting arrangements.

This represents an important policy development. It suggests that future discussions around data localisation in Nigeria are likely to become increasingly risk-based rather than driven by blanket localisation requirements. Highly sensitive government information and critical national data may warrant stricter localisation and sovereign cloud requirements, while less sensitive information may continue to be hosted or transferred across jurisdictions, subject to appropriate legal, contractual and technical safeguards.

For businesses, the practical implication is that data classification is becoming an increasingly important component of data governance. Decisions regarding where data should be stored, processed and transferred are likely to depend not only on the applicable legal framework, but also on the nature and sensitivity of the data itself. Organisations that maintain robust data inventories and classification frameworks will therefore be better positioned to respond as Nigeria’s localisation requirements continue to evolve.

Taken together, these developments suggest that Nigeria’s policy direction extends beyond protecting personal data. Increasingly, it seeks to establish a broader governance framework for data, cloud infrastructure and digital sovereignty, one that combines legislative requirements, sector-specific regulation, technical standards and government policy to support public sector digital transformation, strengthen national digital resilience and build trusted domestic digital infrastructure.

Is Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure Ready?

Legal obligations are only one part of the discussion. Effective data localisation depends not only on regulatory requirements but also on the availability of reliable digital infrastructure capable of supporting local storage, processing and cloud-based services.

Nigeria has witnessed significant investment in carrier-neutral data centres, cloud infrastructure and fibre connectivity over recent years. International cloud providers, together with local cloud operators and data centre operators such as Rack Centre, Open Access Data Centres (OADC) and Equinix (through MainOne), have expanded local infrastructure, increasing the capacity available to organisations seeking in-country hosting solutions.

Importantly, recent government initiatives also recognise that localisation requirements cannot exist in isolation. The National Cloud Computing Policy and the National Cloud Technical Document reflect a broader policy objective of strengthening Nigeria’s indigenous cloud ecosystem and digital infrastructure, recognising that any meaningful localisation strategy must be supported by commercially viable local hosting capacity, resilient cloud services and appropriate cybersecurity capabilities.

While challenges remain, including energy reliability, nationwide infrastructure resilience and the continued expansion of hyperscale cloud capacity, Nigeria’s digital infrastructure has developed considerably over recent years and is increasingly capable of supporting localisation requirements across a growing range of sectors. The focus is therefore shifting beyond whether localisation is technically feasible to how Nigeria can continue expanding the infrastructure needed to support its broader digital economy ambitions.

Data Localisation and Regional Digital Trade

Nigeria’s evolving approach must also be considered within the broader context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to facilitate digital trade and cross-border services across the continent. As African economies become increasingly interconnected, policymakers will continue to balance legitimate objectives relating to digital sovereignty, cybersecurity and national resilience against the economic benefits of cross-border data flows and regional digital integration.

How that balance ultimately develops is likely to become one of the defining regulatory questions for Africa’s digital economy over the coming decade.

Conclusion

Perhaps the most important point is that Nigeria’s data localisation framework should not be viewed as settled. The direction of travel is becoming clearer than the final destination.

Recent initiatives by the CBN and NITDA demonstrate that policymakers are moving beyond broad policy statements towards increasingly specific localisation, sovereign cloud and digital infrastructure requirements. At the same time, the rapid development of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and shifting geopolitical dynamics will continue to influence how governments think about data governance.

More fundamentally, data localisation should not be viewed as an end in itself. Rather, it forms part of a broader strategy aimed at strengthening digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, regulatory oversight and the resilience of Nigeria’s digital economy. Businesses should therefore resist treating today’s localisation requirements as the final position. Instead, they should monitor legislative, regulatory, technical and policy developments closely and periodically reassess their data governance strategies to ensure they remain aligned with evolving legal obligations and commercial realities.

For boards, general counsel and technology leaders, the question is no longer simply where data is stored. Increasingly, it is whether their organisations have the governance, infrastructure and strategic flexibility to operate confidently in a regulatory environment that is still taking shape.

Anambra State is seeking to turn its worsening erosion, flooding and waste-management challenges into opportunities for investment, job creation and a new green economy, as government and environmental stakeholders push for stronger climate-resilience partnerships.

The shift was at the centre of the Anambra Climate Resilience and Erosion Greening Roundtable held virtually, under the theme ‘From Gully Sites to Green Assets.’

The roundtable, organised by the Anambra Waste Recyclers Association (ASWRA) in collaboration with SWEEP Foundation NG and the Anambra State Ministry of Environment, brought together policymakers, climate advocates, environmental professionals and players in the waste and recycling value chain.

The discussions pointed to a broader change in approach: environmental degradation should not be treated only as a cost to government but also as an opportunity to develop businesses around recycling, restoration, resource recovery and climate adaptation.

Anambra has long struggled with gully erosion, flooding, land degradation and poor waste disposal, problems that have damaged communities, roads and other infrastructure while increasing pressure on public finances.

But participants said the state could use these challenges to build a more resilient economy if government policies are matched with private investment, community participation and better environmental data.

Clem Aguiyi, Anambra’s commissioner for Environment, stressed the need for coordinated action between government, communities and private-sector operators.

Aguiyi also invited Yusuf Kelani, the special adviser to the president on Climate Change and his team to visit Anambra for an on-the-ground assessment of the state’s gully erosion crisis.

Kelani provided a national perspective on climate action and the growing opportunities in Nigeria’s green economy. He said subnational governments and local stakeholders needed to position themselves to benefit from the emerging climate-resilience value chain.

He also assured participants that his team was planning a visit to Anambra as part of a wider nationwide consultation on climate-change mitigation and adaptation.

Obuesi Phillips, executive director of SWEEP Foundation NG and lead consultant on Climate Change, Sustainability and Circular Economy, called for a stronger response to Anambra’s ecological problems.

He said the state, increasingly described as Nigeria’s erosion capital, needed more than temporary interventions and public commentary.

Phillips urged closer cooperation between the federal and state governments to tackle erosion and other environmental problems while developing economic opportunities around waste recovery, recycling and environmental restoration.

The central idea of the roundtable was that degraded land, erosion sites and waste dumps could be converted into entry points for environmental restoration and economic activity.

That would require Anambra to move from a largely reactive approach to one focused on prevention, early intervention and long-term investment.

Stakeholders identified nature-based solutions, climate-resilient infrastructure, recycling, waste recovery, green entrepreneurship, youth participation and environmental education as areas that could support the transition.

They also called for stronger public-private-community partnerships and data-driven planning to identify vulnerable areas before environmental damage becomes more expensive to reverse.

Waste recyclers emerged as a critical part of the proposed green-economy model.

Waste pickers, aggregators and recyclers already recover materials that would otherwise end up in dumpsites, drains and waterways. Participants said the sector could play a larger role if operators receive institutional recognition, access to finance, appropriate technology and stronger links to formal markets.

Safer working conditions and skills development were also identified as necessary to move the recycling sector from an informal survival activity into a more organised economic industry.

For Anambra, such a transition could create new opportunities for young people and small businesses while reducing the volume of waste entering the environment.

The discussions also placed climate resilience within the wider development agenda.

Investments in recycling, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, green infrastructure, environmental restoration and waste-to-value businesses could create jobs while reducing the economic damage caused by environmental degradation.

That means climate policy could become part of Anambra’s enterprise-development strategy rather than remaining confined to environmental regulation.

Participants said government could provide policy direction, regulation and infrastructure, while private companies bring capital, technology and markets. Civil society groups could support advocacy and community mobilisation, with local communities playing a central role in implementation.

The partnership between ASWRA, SWEEP Foundation NG and the Ministry of Environment was presented as a model for this multi-stakeholder approach.

The key challenge now is moving from discussions to projects.

Stakeholders said the next phase should include community-based erosion restoration programmes, recycling hubs, green-enterprise initiatives, climate-awareness campaigns and mechanisms that connect environmental businesses with funding and investment.

The goal is to make climate action deliver measurable benefits to communities while reducing the environmental risks facing the state.

For Anambra, the ‘From Gully Sites to Green Assets’ approach represents a potential change in the economics of environmental management: from spending mainly to repair damage to investing in systems that prevent damage, recover resources and create new businesses.

The roundtable has opened the conversation. The bigger test will be whether government, investors, communities and environmental actors can turn the proposals into projects that make Anambra cleaner, greener and more economically resilient.

As Nigeria continues to strengthen its regulatory framework for financial technology and cross-border payments, founder of Vector and former senior product leader at Duplo, Kelvin Efosa Obasuyi, has warned African fintech founders against treating regulatory compliance as an afterthought in product development.

Obasuyi, who has built and licensed cross-border financial infrastructure across three jurisdictions on two continents, said many fintech companies make the costly mistake of building products first and engaging compliance experts only when they are ready to launch or seek regulatory approval.

He described the approach as a structural problem within the African fintech ecosystem, noting that regulatory requirements often determine critical product and infrastructure decisions from the outset.

Sharing his experience building Vector’s treasury and settlement infrastructure, Obasuyi recalled that three months into the project, the company’s compliance counsel warned that the architecture being developed would require significant modification before it could be assessed by a serious regulator.

‘I heard her. I continued building the way we were building. Fourteen months later, I rebuilt,’ he said, describing the experience as a lesson for founders building financial products.

According to him, the cost of ignoring early regulatory advice goes beyond legal fees, extending to engineering resources, delayed market entry and difficulties establishing banking relationships.

He explained that decisions about how customer funds are held, how transactions are reconciled and how the provenance of funds is demonstrated are not merely compliance issues but fundamental product decisions.

‘A platform that allows a business to hold and move value across currencies is, in every serious financial jurisdiction, a regulated activity,’ he said.

Obasuyi said Vector currently holds Money Services Business status in Canada, MSB registration in the United States and an International Money Transfer Operator licence in Nigeria.

He added that obtaining the approvals required a product and compliance infrastructure that regulators could properly evaluate, stressing that regulatory engagement must begin before a product architecture is fully established.

He, however, cautioned founders against assuming that regulatory approval in one jurisdiction automatically provides a blueprint for another.

According to him, the requirements for Vector’s IMTO licence in Nigeria differ significantly from those for MSB status in Canada and the regulatory obligations applicable across the United States.

He noted that jurisdictions have different interpretations of issues including custody of funds, reportable transaction thresholds, local presence and directorship requirements.

Obasuyi urged fintech product leaders to treat regulatory requirements as product requirements rather than as a checklist to be addressed after development.

He advocated embedding compliance counsel into product development from the earliest stages, while building reconciliation, reporting and other regulatory capabilities before regulators demand them.

He also advised founders to consider their licensing trajectory when choosing corporate structures and banking relationships, rather than focusing exclusively on speed to market.

Beyond avoiding regulatory setbacks, Obasuyi said compliance-by-design could provide a significant commercial advantage by strengthening the confidence of banks, institutional partners and enterprise customers.

He argued that companies capable of demonstrating genuine regulatory seriousness are more likely to be viewed by financial institutions as credible infrastructure partners rather than potential risks.

‘For product leaders building in African markets specifically, the temptation to defer regulatory engagement is structural, not merely cultural,’ he said.

Obasuyi maintained that fintech companies seeking to scale across multiple jurisdictions must move away from viewing compliance solely as a cost centre and instead regard it as a core design discipline that should be present from the first architecture discussion.

Kelvin Efosa Obasuyi is the founder of Vector and a former senior product leader at Duplo. He has built and licensed cross-border financial infrastructure across three jurisdictions on two continents.

The Nigerian military has recorded a 213 per cent increase in the number of terrorists and their associates surrendering to troops in the North-East, amid sustained offensive operations aimed at degrading terrorist groups and disrupting their logistics networks across the theatre.

The surge in surrenders was recorded over the past week by troops of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), the military’s counter-insurgency operation in the North-East, as troops intensified coordinated ground operations, targeted identified terrorist positions, and disrupted routes used to move personnel, weapons, food, and other supplies.

Mohammed Goni, Acting Military Information Officer, Headquarters Joint Task Force (North-East), disclosed the development in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The military said the number of terrorist surrenders recorded during the period represented a 213 per cent increase compared with the preceding week.

‘During the period under review, the Theatre recorded a 213 per cent increase in terrorist surrenders compared with the preceding week,’ it said.

According to the statement, the development followed continued military pressure on terrorist formations and their logistics networks in different parts of the North-East.

It said the increasing number of terrorists abandoning their activities and surrendering to troops indicated a growing willingness among members of the groups and their associates to disengage from violence and submit to established surrender procedures.

The military attributed the development to the cumulative effect of sustained offensive operations designed not only to attack terrorist positions but also to deny the groups access to the logistics and supply networks required to maintain prolonged operations.

It further said the operations conducted during the week involved coordinated ground actions, engagements against identified terrorist positions and deliberate efforts to disrupt terrorist logistics and supply routes.

In a related development, two high-profile terrorist members surrendered to troops on Wednesday, bringing with them arms, ammunition and other military equipment.

The recovery, according to the military, provided further evidence of the pressure being exerted on terrorist groups operating in the region.

‘The recovery of these weapons and ammunition further reinforces indications that sustained military pressure is having a significant effect on the cohesion, morale and operational sustainability of terrorist elements,’ the military said.

It explained that the surrender of the two members, alongside the recovery of their weapons and other military items, suggested that terrorist groups were experiencing increasing difficulties in retaining fighters and sustaining their operational activities.

It added that the development pointed to a gradual reduction in the ability of terrorist elements to maintain prolonged operations, particularly as troops continue to target their positions and disrupt the channels through which they receive supplies.

The military also disclosed that additional terrorist members surrendered to troops of 202 Battalion in Bama on August 7 at New Abaram.

It said the surrender followed sustained military operations in the area as well as internal disagreements within the terrorist enclave.

It also said the individuals were subjected to screening after surrendering, while mobile phones and other items in their possession were recovered.

The surrendered persons were subsequently handed over to the appropriate authorities for further action in line with established procedures.

The military said the development underscored the combined effect of battlefield pressure and internal challenges within terrorist groups, which it said were increasingly influencing fighters and associates to reconsider their continued involvement in violence.

The Theatre Command said the rising frequency of surrenders reflected its multi-dimensional approach to counter-insurgency operations.

According to the military, the strategy combines offensive ground operations, precision engagements and systematic disruption of terrorist logistics and supply networks.

‘By denying terrorists the opportunity to freely manoeuvre, regroup and replenish, troops continue to restrict their operational options and undermine their ability to sustain terrorist activities,’ it said.

It described the growing number of surrenders as the cumulative outcome of sustained military pressure and the gradual erosion of terrorist capability, cohesion and willingness to continue fighting.

The military’s strategy has increasingly focused on restricting the ability of terrorist groups to move freely between locations, reinforce their positions and replenish their stocks of weapons, ammunition, food and other essential supplies.

The Theatre Command said the disruption of these networks was critical to weakening terrorist groups because their ability to sustain attacks depends heavily on continuous access to logistics and manpower.

It said Operation HADIN KAI would continue to maintain pressure on terrorist elements across the North-East while providing appropriate channels for individuals willing to abandon violence and surrender.

‘The objective remains clear: to further degrade terrorist capabilities, restore security and create the conditions necessary for lasting peace and stability across the North-East,’ the statement noted.

The Theatre Command urged residents and other members of the public to support ongoing military operations by providing timely and credible information to security agencies.

It stressed that cooperation from communities remained critical to the success of counter-insurgency operations, particularly in identifying terrorist movements, logistics activities and hideouts.

The command also appealed to terrorists and their associates still operating in the region to abandon violence and take advantage of the available surrender channels.

The military said such surrenders would provide individuals seeking to leave terrorist groups with an opportunity to disengage from violence and submit themselves to the established screening and rehabilitation procedures of the authorities.

No fewer than 73 percent of young Nigerians are considering leaving the country, with unemployment, limited economic opportunities and poor access to capital emerging as major factors driving the growing interest in migration, according to the Nigerian Youth Pulse Survey.

The survey, presented at the Youth Pulse Dialogue organised by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and its Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), Abuja, to mark International Youth Day, found that young Nigerians are primarily seeking better opportunities to work, acquire relevant skills and build sustainable livelihoods.

The findings showed that 60.9 percent of young Nigerians seeking stable incomes identified lack of capital and access to finance as their biggest barrier, while 49.1 percent cited inadequate job opportunities.

Skills gaps accounted for 42.7 percent of responses, while 37.3 percent identified a poor business environment, including high interest rates and weak credit systems, as a major constraint.

The survey, which gathered the views of more than 100 young Nigerians, also found that the decision to migrate is not necessarily permanent, as 85.5 percent of respondents said they would prefer to remain in Nigeria if better economic opportunities were available.

Speaking at the event, Bengt van Loosdrecht, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Nigeria, said the findings showed that young Nigerians were not simply looking for opportunities abroad but were seeking the conditions required to build meaningful lives at home.

‘Young people want opportunities, not only in the West, but definitely in Nigeria.

‘They want useful skills, not skills that they cannot use in the labour market. Useful digital skills. They want decent work, decent pay, and they want access to capital if they start a business,’ he said

Van Loosdrecht said unemployment was identified as a greater push factor for migration among the young people surveyed than insecurity.

According to him, better opportunities at home could significantly influence young Nigerians who are considering what is popularly referred to as ‘Japa’.

‘If you had a thriving economy with opportunities and skills, people would stay,’ he said.

The ambassador said Nigeria’s young population was already contributing significantly to the economy through businesses, technology, creative industries, fashion, music and other sectors.

He, however, stressed the need for government and other stakeholders to move beyond analysing youth challenges to implementing policies that address them.

‘We must act on those findings, change the systems so that skills, work and capital really become accessible. We need to act, not only analyse,’ he said.

The survey also framed youth unemployment and economic exclusion as security issues, with young Nigerians advocating a ‘Jobs before Policing’ approach.

The position reflects the view that economic stability, inclusion and access to livelihoods can reduce some of the vulnerabilities that expose young people to insecurity and other social risks.

The survey recommended that governments and financial institutions develop more inclusive funding models for young entrepreneurs by removing barriers such as stringent collateral requirements and complex application processes.

It also called for greater use of mobile technology and local mentorship to expand access to finance for young businesses.

On employment, the report recommended a shift from training programmes focused largely on certification to initiatives that lead directly to income generation.

The report presented by Derefaka Derefaka, Co-Chairperson of the Youth Advisory Committee to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, proposed stronger employer integration, paid work-based learning and commercial agribusiness programmes to improve the transition from training to employment.

The report further recommended policies to encourage local job creation, including entry-level employment programmes, youth hiring quotas and tax incentives for businesses that employ young people.

Van Loosdrecht said the Youth Pulse policy brief was intended to provide decision-makers with a better understanding of the concerns and aspirations of young Nigerians.

He said the Netherlands Embassy was committed to creating space for young people to advise, challenge and influence its work.

‘Creating meaningful opportunities for young people requires the government, the private sector, civil society, development partners and, most importantly, the young people themselves, to be part of the conversation,’ he said.

Also speaking, Abiodun Essiet, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Community Engagement (North Central), said the concerns and demands of young Nigerians had the power to influence policy and drive change.

Essiet commended the young people involved in the Youth Pulse initiative, saying the government remained committed to ensuring that the voices of young Nigerians were heard.

She also called for greater inclusion of women in youth-focused platforms and decision-making processes, stressing that women should not be treated merely as additional numbers but as contributors to national development.

The Youth Pulse Dialogue, themed ‘Nigerian Youth at the Heart of National Development,’ brought together young people and stakeholders to examine the findings and discuss practical responses to the challenges identified by the survey.