Category: Business Day

The federal government has inaugurated a Special Task Force on Public and Private Building Audit, in a drive to strengthen fire safety compliance across Nigeria.

The inauguration, held on Monday at the FFS Headquarters in Abuja, was themed ‘Strengthening Fire Safety Compliance in Public Buildings: A Call to Action for National Resilience.’

It highlighted the Service’s growing emphasis on proactive fire risk management and the prevention of large-scale disasters.

Olumode Samuel, Controller General of the Federal Fire Service (FFS), cited recent incidents such as the Afritower fire in Lagos and the series of plaza fires in Abuja as reminders of the urgent need for stricter compliance with safety regulations.

He said the initiative became necessary in light of the increasing frequency of fire outbreaks in major cities.

According to him, the Task Force has been specifically mandated to map public buildings across the country, classify them based on their fire risk levels, assess their compliance with safety standards, and submit detailed recommendations to guide enforcement and policy actions. ‘Fire safety is not a choice but a shared responsibility. This initiative is designed to strengthen our collective resilience by ensuring that both public and private facilities meet the minimum safety requirements necessary to protect lives, property, and critical infrastructure’, Adeyemi stressed. The Task Force, chaired by Bolarinde Muhammed, head of Inspection, Investigation, and Enforcement (I.I.E.) Department, includes top officers such as the Deputy Controller of Operations (FCT Command), the Provost Marshal, the National Public Relations Officer, and the Service’s Legal Director, who will serve as the Secretariat.

Adeyemi charged members to demonstrate professionalism, integrity, and diligence in the discharge of their duties, emphasising that their work is central to the Service’s mandate of safeguarding Nigeria’s built environment.

He also appealed to owners and managers of public and private buildings, including high-rise facilities, to cooperate fully with the Task Force during its nationwide audit exercise, warning that negligence or obstruction would not be tolerated.

Leadway Assurance, Nigeria’s leading insurance provider, has once again reinforced its industry leadership, clinching two prestigious honours at the 2025 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards Insurance, as the Insurance Company of the Year (for the second consecutive year) and Excellence in Claims Leadership and Digital Innovation.

These recognitions reaffirm Leadway Assurance’s position as Nigeria’s most trusted insurer, underpinned by fifty-five years of legacy of integrity, innovation, and customer focus. In 2024 alone, the company paid out ?117 billion in claims-the highest in the industry-further strengthening its reputation as the nation’s most consistent and reliable insurer. Each payout reflects restored livelihoods and renewed confidence for families and businesses across the country.

Commenting on the milestone, Gboyega Lesi, managing director of Leadway Assurance, said: ‘These double honours are a worthy recognition of the dedication of our team and our commitment to serving customers better every day. The recognition motivates us to continue building systems and teams that ensure no one faces uncertainty alone. Each innovation and every claim fulfilled reaffirms our promise to provide protection. For Leadway Assurance, these accolades celebrate our sense of purpose, reliability, and the lasting strength of an indigenous brand built to endure. ‘Winning the Insurance Company of the Year for the second consecutive year and adding Excellence in Claims Leadership and Digital Innovation awards reflects our consistent devotion to excellence, consistency, and innovation in delivering value. We thank the leadership of BusinessDay for celebrating our relentless pursuit of efficiency, transparency, and empathy in every customer interaction; from simplifying claims processes to leveraging technology for faster, smarter access to insurance policies, as we continue to redefine trust and innovation in the insurance industry.’

Leadway Assurance’s transformation of claims management has set a new benchmark in the insurance industry. Leveraging cutting-edge technology, the company has digitised its claims processes, enabling customers to file, track, and finalise claims seamlessly. This digital shift has significantly reduced turnaround times and elevated customer experience nationwide.

The BAFI Awards, regarded as the gold standard for financial excellence, celebrate institutions that embody innovation, strong governance, and customer-centricity.

Leadway Assurance is one of Nigeria’s foremost non-banking financial services groups, offering diversified solutions across insurance, pensions, health, and asset management. Founded in 1970, the company has built a legacy of trust and innovation, serving millions of individuals and businesses across Nigeria and West Africa.

This announcement is scoming a aweek after the party had stated that it had disqualified two of the aspirants; Kayode Ojo and Abimbola Olawunmi for the election

In a statement signed by Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, and dated October 14, 2025, the APC said the decision followed the voluntary withdrawal of one of the two cleared aspirants, Atinuke Omolayo, from the race.

According to the statement, Omolayo in a letter to the party conveyed her decision to withdraw from the contest and endorsed the incumbent governor, Biodun Oyebanji, as the consensus candidate.

‘The change from the earlier indicated direct primary to consensus mode of primary was necessitated by the voluntary withdrawal of one of the two cleared aspirants, Mrs. Atinuke Oluremi Omolayo,’ the statement read.

‘In a letter to the Party, Mrs Omolayo conveyed her decision to withdraw from the contest and endorse His Excellency, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, as a consensus candidate, and expressed her support for any arrangement adopted by the Party in nominating its flag bearer in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Party’s Constitution.’

Morka explained that the party had duly informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of its decision through a letter dated October 13, 2025, in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

‘Having satisfied the requirements stipulated under Sections 84(9) and (11) of the Electoral Act 2022, for the consensus mode of primary election, the Party has approved the timetable of activities for the nomination congress,’ he said. The approved timetable, according to the APC, is as follows: Delegate Congress – Saturday, 25th October 2025; Delegate Congress Appeal – Sunday, 26th October 2025; Special Nomination Congress to Ratify the Consensus Candidate – Monday, 27th October 2025.

The party commended Omolayo for her ‘spirit of sportsmanship’ and ‘commitment to party unity and progress,’ describing her action as one that reflects maturity and loyalty to the APC’s ideals. ‘The Party commends Mrs. Atinuke Oluremi Omolayo for her spirit of sportsmanship, and commitment to party unity and progress,’ the statement added.

Morka further called on party leaders, members, and stakeholders in Ekiti State to remain united and focused ahead of the June 2026 governorship election.

‘We urge all leaders, members and stakeholders of our great Party in Ekiti State to stand united and work assiduously for the Party’s victory in the June 2026 Governorship Election,’ he said.

The consensus arrangement now positions Governor Biodun Oyebanji as the APC’s sole candidate for the 2026 Ekiti governorship race, pending formal ratification at the nomination congress later this month.

Two years ago, when Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS and the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the decision reverberated far beyond the institutional corridors of West African diplomacy. It marked the crystallisation of a new political axis – one forged in defiance of regional orthodoxy and openly sceptical of the post-colonial order that has framed West African cooperation for nearly half a century. What began as a defensive reaction to sanctions against military juntas has since evolved into a declaration of intent: a bid to reconstruct the meaning of sovereignty, legitimacy, and independence on Sahelian terms.

The AES emerged from the crisis, but its endurance is anchored in conviction. Its founding members present themselves not as renegades but as reformers, confronting what they view as a regional order compromised by dependency and Western tutelage. In their rhetoric, ECOWAS is no longer the custodian of integration but the enforcer of an external agenda – an institution whose insistence on procedural democracy has too often ignored the lived insecurities of its citizens. The AES, by contrast, defines legitimacy not through ballots or constitutions but through control – of land, of resources, and of security. This inversion of values, while troubling to some, speaks powerfully to publics fatigued by years of state fragility and unfulfilled democratic promise.

‘The bloc’s messaging fuses populist defiance with post-colonial reclamation, presenting sovereignty as both a shield and a weapon: a shield against interference and a weapon to renegotiate power relations.’

At its heart, the AES is not a mere coalition of juntas, nor a fleeting alliance of expediency. It is an articulation of political frustration across the Sahel – a revolt against a system that has too often preached sovereignty while practising dependence. The bloc’s messaging fuses populist defiance with post-colonial reclamation, presenting sovereignty as both a shield and a weapon: a shield against interference and a weapon to renegotiate power relations. It is a language that travels easily in a region where insecurity has become the backdrop of daily life and where foreign interventions have promised stability but delivered neither peace nor prosperity.

The symbolism of the AES has proved potent. In Bamako, Ouagadougou, and Niamey, the rhetoric of ‘taking back control’ resonates with citizens who perceive external actors as complicit in the failures of their states. France, once a central military ally, has become the primary target of resentment. Its troops have been expelled, its bases dismantled, and its influence publicly repudiated. In their place, Russian operatives have appeared – a visual representation of a shifting global alignment. Mining contracts are being rewritten to favour national control, often with populist overtones that blend economic nationalism with anti-Western sentiment. The language of governance has changed: technocratic optimism has given way to the vocabulary of pride, self-determination, and autonomy.

Yet the power of AES is more symbolic than structural. It is, at present, a fragile constellation of poor, conflict-ridden states with limited fiscal space and heavy internal burdens. Collectively, their economies account for less than five per cent of the GDP of ECOWAS. Their militaries are overstretched, their institutions brittle. But in politics, symbolism often outruns capacity. What the AES lacks in resources, it compensates for in narrative clarity. Its message – that weak states can resist, that sovereignty is worth more than stability imposed from abroad – has begun to find sympathetic ears elsewhere on the continent.

The emergence of this new axis presents ECOWAS with an existential dilemma. The organisation, once the uncontested framework of regional cooperation, is now forced to confront its legitimacy deficit. The moral authority it has long derived from championing democracy is being eroded by the perception that its enforcement of constitutional order has produced neither peace nor governance. In the Sahel, the very word ‘democracy’ is increasingly associated with fragility – endless elections, unfulfilled expectations, and corruption without accountability. Against this backdrop, the AES’s claim that sovereignty and security matter more than ballots strikes a chord.

For Nigeria, the implications are profound. As the traditional anchor of ECOWAS and the region’s largest democracy, Nigeria has long viewed itself as both stabiliser and standard-bearer. But its leadership is now being contested not by an external rival but by an ideological alternative emerging within its neighbourhood. The AES represents a challenge not just to Nigeria’s diplomatic reach but to its philosophical foundations. If democracy is seen as incapable of delivering security or prosperity, Abuja’s normative authority in the region will inevitably diminish.

The practical stakes are no less serious. Niger shares a border of over 1,500 kilometres with Nigeria – a frontier of trade, migration, and insecurity. Instability in the Diffa or Tahoua regions spills directly into Borno and Sokoto. The dissolution of regional coordination mechanisms threatens the fragile intelligence-sharing and joint operations upon which Nigeria’s own counterinsurgency efforts depend. A divided West Africa weakens the collective ability to contain extremist networks that already blur the boundaries between the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.

The future of AES remains open. It may consolidate into a permanent alternative to ECOWAS, drawing in other states disillusioned by the status quo. It may remain a tactical arrangement designed to extract concessions or legitimacy. It may fragment under the pressure of economic collapse or leadership rivalries. Or it may become a platform for external influence-a proxy through which new global powers compete for African allegiance. Each scenario carries consequences for regional security, economic integration, and diplomatic coherence.

What is certain is that the AES has already altered the mental map of West African politics. Its leaders speak the language of rupture, but they have tapped into an enduring sentiment-that sovereignty, long promised and seldom delivered, must now be defended without apology. Their defiance has forced ECOWAS to confront its own fatigue and Nigeria to reconsider what leadership means in a region where moral persuasion no longer suffices.

For Nigeria, the response cannot rely on nostalgia for an older order. The AES has exposed the fragility of the consensus that once underpinned West African integration. If democracy and regionalism are to remain viable, they must be renewed from within – made relevant to citizens whose patience with rhetoric has run thin. Nigeria’s leadership, therefore, must evolve from declarative to demonstrative: less about preaching norms, more about performance results.

The contest now unfolding in the Sahel is not simply about borders or blocs. It is a contest of narratives – between those who promise control and those who promise inclusion; between sovereignty as insulation and sovereignty as interdependence. The outcome will shape the moral and strategic landscape of West Africa for a generation.

The Alliance of Sahel States has redrawn the geometry of the region. Whether it endures or implodes, it has already changed the conversation about power and legitimacy. The burden now falls on Nigeria and ECOWAS to prove that democracy, properly practised and tangibly delivered, remains the surer path to stability. In this new era, leadership will not belong to the loudest voice but to the most credible example.

When a governor chooses to make ordinary people the measure of success, policy stops being performance art and starts being durable. That is the quiet, steady logic driving Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration in Ebonyi State. Since taking office in May 2023, he has framed his agenda around the ‘People’s Charter of Needs’-a manifesto that reads less like campaign rhetoric and more like a programme for human flourishing. The result, to date, is not spectacular headline-grabbing drama but incremental shifts across rural education, primary healthcare, and basic infrastructure that, taken together, look like the early bones of enduring development.

There’s an important political signal behind the policy choices: Nwifuru has repeatedly said he places his own children in Nigerian public schools, three in Ebonyi and two in neighbouring Enugu, paying modest fees – a claim he uses to demonstrate personal confidence in the system he is rebuilding. Whether or not you accept the gesture as political theatre, it is factual evidence of an accountability posture rarely seen in Nigerian subnational governance – a governor literally staking his family’s welfare on the performance of public services. That message matters in a country where elite flight to private or foreign schools removes political incentives to fund and fix public education.

On paper, the People’s Charter of Needs is broad and pragmatic: education, health, roads, welfare, and livelihoods are prioritised as interlocking pillars. That architecture has translated into concrete decisions. The state’s 2025 budget, presented as part of the same people-first narrative, commits substantial resources to basic services, and the government has moved to institutionalise funding for education through an Education Development Trust Fund to create a more predictable financing stream for schools. Predictable financing matters; it changes tasks from firefighting to planning.

In rural education, the approach is deliberate rather than theatrical. Instead of headline schools in the capital alone, provincial investments have focused on school rehabilitation, unified textbooks and standards, and measures to close the quality gap that pushes parents toward private options. Those steps, reinforced by state policy and budgetary allocations, aim to raise the baseline quality of schooling that rural families can expect. Taken over time, a strategy that reduces private-school flight and keeps children in community schools reshapes human capital formation: better teacher attendance, higher enrolment and retention, and more equitable skills acquisition for students who will form the next generation of innovators, leaders, farmers, traders and civil servants. Recent government communications and policy briefs show these priorities being advanced.

Healthcare is being treated with similar pragmatic attention. The state has recently approved recruitments and administrative reforms intended to shore up primary health clinics, and the governor has shown a willingness to hold officials accountable – suspensions and reshuffles have sent public signals that services must improve or commissioners and advisers will answer for failings. The policy emphasis is on expanding frontline capacity rather than only building tertiary hospitals – a recognition that mortality gains in poor communities come from functioning primary care, immunisation, maternal services and drug supply at the point of need. Coverage of the health reforms has highlighted both progress and continuing gaps, which is to be expected in an ongoing reform effort.

Infrastructure choices are also calibrated to rural realities: road repairs that restore market linkages, small bridges that shorten travel time to clinics and schools, and investments in township electrification and water that reduce transaction costs for households. These are not glamorous projects that necessarily make viral headlines, but they are precisely the investments that raise productivity and reduce everyday fragility for rural households. Local reporting and government briefings document a wave of locally focused works and conditional disbursements tied to the People’s Charter priorities.

Two practical features make Nwifuru’s approach promising. First, he is institutionalising reforms – the Education Development Trust Fund is a good example, which increases the odds that gains survive electoral cycles. Second, the personal politics of his public-school stance creates a rare, credible accountability mechanism: if a political leader publicly places his family within the system, the political cost of collapse becomes personal, and incentives align for sustained attention.

Yet the model is not without flaws. The first is capacity and scale: transforming scores of dilapidated rural schools and dozens of failing primary clinics into reliable institutions requires more than intent; it demands technical capacity in procurement, monitoring, teacher training, supply chain management and data systems. Early signs show administrative reforms and recruitments, but building that managerial muscle is a medium-term task. The second flaw is the slow pace of visible outcomes. Structural reforms take time; voters and donors often expect faster, more visible wins. Those competing temporalities can create impatience and political risk. However, the governor’s focused commitment to enduring development results holds the balancing scale to overcome these flaws.

A separate and important shortcoming is one of public perception rather than policy design: a gap in coverage. Partly it is structural: media attention in Nigeria remains highly concentrated in the megacity corridors of Lagos and Abuja and often orientates to national politics and spectacle. Partly it is strategic: an administration that prefers steady, low-key implementation will naturally generate fewer dramatic news cycles than one that stages ribbon-cuttings and high-visibility events. Finally, there is a feedback problem: without consistent reportage of incremental policy wins, success stories do not spread, and policy learning across states suffers. The result is a paradox – a people-centric approach that produces real but quiet gains remains underappreciated precisely because it avoids spectacle.

OpenAI and Broadcom have revealed a long-term collaboration to jointly design, build, and deploy up to 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators and networking systems.

OpenAI will lead the architecture and design of the accelerators, while Broadcom will provide its networking, Ethernet, PCIe, and optical connectivity solutions to integrate them into large-scale systems.

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, noted that collaborating with Broadcom is a critical step in building the infrastructure needed to unlock AI’s potential. While Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom, called the partnership a pivotal moment in the pursuit of artificial general intelligence, noting the importance of co-developing next-generation accelerators and networking systems at scale. ‘Our collaboration with Broadcom will power breakthroughs in AI and bring the technology’s full potential closer to reality. By building our own chip, we can embed what we’ve learned from creating frontier models and products directly into the hardware, unlocking new levels of capability and intelligence,’ Greg Brockman, co-founder and president of OpenAI, stated. By controlling both the hardware and the networking infrastructure, OpenAI aims to better embed the lessons from its cutting-edge AI models directly into the physical systems that run them. The planned accelerator racks will be fully Ethernet-based and are intended for deployment across OpenAI’s own facilities as well as partner data centers.

Under a signed term sheet, the joint effort will begin deploying these systems starting in the second half of 2026, with completion of deployment expected by the end of 2029. This collaboration reinforces Broadcom’s commitment to custom AI accelerators and reaffirms industry bets on Ethernet as a scalable networking strategy for AI data centers.

‘Our partnership with OpenAI continues to set new industry benchmarks for the design and deployment of open, scalable, and power-efficient AI clusters,’ said Charlie Kawwas, president of the Semiconductor Solutions Group for Broadcom.

‘Custom accelerators combine remarkably well with standards-based Ethernet scale-up and scale-out networking solutions to provide cost and performance optimised next-generation AI infrastructure. The racks include Broadcom’s end-to-end portfolio of Ethernet, PCIe, and optical connectivity solutions, reaffirming our AI infrastructure portfolio leadership,’ Kawwas stated.

Nigeria’s House of Representatives has resolved to immediately intervene between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in a bid to facilitate a mutually acceptable and lasting resolution to the ongoing strike.

The House also urged both parties to exercise restraint, embrace constructive dialogue and prioritise the interests of students and national development above all other constitutions.

This follows a motion on the ‘urgent need for legislative intervention to avert a breakdown in the University system following ASUU’s warning strike’ sponsored by Sesi Whingan, Lawmaker representing Badagry federal constituency.

Members of ASUU had declared a two-week warning strike over unresolved issues relating to the implementation of prior agreements with the federal government, particularly on revitalisation funding, earned academic allowances, salary structure, and university autonomy.

The House said the lingering impasse between ASUU and the federal government requires renewed dialogue anchored on mutual respect, transparency, and good faith, with the Legislature serving as a neutral facilitator in the interest of students and the nation.

The federal government has approved a comprehensive reform of admission entry requirements into all tertiary institutions across Nigeria, with the goal of expanding access and admitting an additional 250,000 to 300,000 students each year.

According to a statement signed by Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations, ministry of education, the new policy championed by Maruf Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, marks a major milestone in the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at democratizing access to higher education and empowering Nigerian youths through inclusive and equitable learning opportunities.

Alausa explained that the reform became necessary following years of limited access that left many qualified candidates unable to secure admission despite their competence.

He noted that while over two million candidates sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) annually, fewer than 700,000 gain admission into universities, polytechnics, and colleges.

‘This imbalance is not due to a lack of ability, but outdated and unnecessarily stringent entry requirements that must give way to fairness and opportunity,’ the Minister stated.

Under the newly approved National Guidelines for Entry Requirements into Nigerian Tertiary Institutions, English Language remains compulsory for all candidates, while Mathematics will now be mandatory only for candidates applying to Science, Technology, and Social Science courses.

The revised framework, which applies to universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and Innovation Enterprise Academies (IEAs), is designed to remove access barriers while maintaining academic quality and relevance to industry and national needs.

For universities, the minimum requirement remains five credit passes in relevant subjects, including English Language, obtained in not more than two sittings.

For polytechnics and colleges of education, the new guidelines stipulate four to five credit passes depending on the program level and field of study, while Innovation Enterprise Academies are to adopt the same standard as polytechnics for the National Diploma (ND).

In line with the reform, the National Innovation Diploma (NID) previously issued by Innovation Enterprise Academies will be phased out and replaced with the National Diploma (ND) to ensure uniformity, credibility, and progression opportunities for graduates.

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has begun a re-accreditation exercise to align all IEAs with the new ND standards, with non-compliant institutions facing de-accreditation. ‘Universities: Minimum of five (5) credit passes in relevant subjects, including English Language, obtained in not more than two sittings. Mathematics is mandatory for Science, Technology, and Social Science courses.

‘Polytechnics (ND Level): Minimum of four (4) credit passes in relevant subjects, including English Language for non-science courses and Mathematics for science-related programs.

‘Polytechnics (HND Level): Minimum of five (5) credit passes in relevant subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

‘Colleges of Education (NCE Level): Minimum of four (4) credit passes in relevant subjects, with English Language mandatory for Arts and Social Science courses, and Mathematics required for Science, Vocational, and Technical programs.

‘Colleges of Education (B.Ed Level): Minimum of five (5) credit passes, including English Language and Mathematics, as applicable to the course of study.

‘Innovation Enterprise Academies (IEAs): To adopt the same minimum requirements as Polytechnics for the National Diploma (ND) program. The National Innovation Diploma (NID) is hereby abolished. ‘In addition, the National Industrial Diploma (NID) previously issued by Innovation Enterprise Academies will be phased out and replaced with the National Diploma (ND) to ensure uniformity, credibility, and progression opportunities for graduates. The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) is currently re-accrediting all IEAs nationwide to align with the new ND standards. Institutions that fail to transition to full accreditation will be de-accredited,’ the statement reads

Alausa emphasised that the reform is a deliberate and strategic effort to broaden educational access, reduce the number of out-of-school youths, and align Nigeria’s tertiary education system with global best practices.

He reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to inclusive education, human capital development, and youth empowerment, stressing that the move reflects President Tinubu’s determination to provide every Nigerian youth with the opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute meaningfully to national development.

The federal government has launched the Nigerian Farmers’ Soil Health Scheme (NFSHS), a groundbreaking national initiative aimed at establishing 774 soil testing laboratories across the country and doubling crop yields as part of efforts to strengthen food security, reduce production costs, and enhance agricultural productivity.

The programme, unveiled at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, is a flagship component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for agricultural transformation and self-sufficiency.

Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security in his remarks said the initiative would revolutionise fertiliser use and soil management by ending years of guesswork among farmers.

‘The Nigerian Farmers’ Soil Health Scheme will help farmers know what their soil needs, grow more, and spend less,’ he stated.

‘Under the plan, farmers will receive personalised soil health cards containing details such as fertility levels, pH balance, and crop-specific fertiliser recommendations.’

He said a digital platform, the Nigeria Soil Information System (NiSIS), will also be developed to aggregate soil data for evidence-based decision-making, research, and private sector investment.

According to Abdullahi, the scheme has the potential to raise rice yields from 60-80 bags per hectare to 120-160 bags, while wheat and maize outputs could double from 50 to 100 bags per hectare. Onion yields, he added, are expected to increase from 400 to 800 bags per hectare, signaling a major productivity leap across crop value chains.

Implemented through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework, the NFSHS will create jobs for rural youth and women while promoting climate-smart, environmentally sustainable farming.

The project is being supported by key development partners including the World Bank, GIZ, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Also speaking, Abubakar Kyari, minister of Agriculture and Food Security, described the scheme as a major step in rebuilding the foundation of Nigeria’s agricultural systems through scientific soil management, digital innovation, and precision agriculture. He lamented that about 65% of Nigerian farmers are losing soil fertility, with more than 400,000 hectares of arable land lost annually to erosion and desertification.

‘Declining soil quality has become one of the most serious constraints on productivity in sub-Saharan Africa,’ Kyari said. ‘Until we fix the soil, every other investment will yield only a fraction of its potential.’

Kyari added that the Tinubu administration has already distributed 2.15 million bags of fertilizer, 2,000 tractors, and 9,000 implements, alongside expanded cultivation on 500,000 hectares under the Biosecurity Farming Initiative, to boost productivity and reduce import dependence.

He noted that the soil health programme complements these ongoing reforms and will ensure that ‘every kilogram of fertiliser counts.’ Bello Kaoje, chairman, House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services, commended the initiative as ‘a strategic and timely intervention’ that addresses the root of Nigeria’s food security challenge.

‘Healthy soil means higher yield, better nutrition, and resilience to climate change,’ he said.

‘The National Assembly will ensure this scheme is implemented with transparency, efficiency, and tangible benefits for our farmers.’

The Soil Health Scheme, according to officials, marks a turning point in Nigeria’s agricultural policy-moving from guesswork to precision, and from subsistence to prosperity, with every farmer empowered and every soil restored.

Reel Fruit founder, Affiong Williams speaks to Obidike Okafor on the second episode of Triumph Against Odds about stubborn resilience, and what it really takes to turn a local snack brand into a global export.

Growing up in Nigeria, where fruit was abundant but often perishable, how did those early experiences shape your outlook on business?

I didn’t grow up directly exposed to fruit perishability. I was raised in Calabar, where my grandfather had a farm, but what shaped me most was freedom. As a child, I was very independent-walking to my cousin’s house alone, buying things at the market to resell, even cooking for older cousins. Those small ventures taught me initiative. They didn’t make me an entrepreneur yet, but they built the confidence and risk appetite I rely on today.

After launching your 800-tonne processing facility, where does ReelFruit stand, local expansion or global scale?

Both, but each comes with challenges. When I was raising money, investors worried I was building for a market that didn’t exist. I needed scale to reduce costs, but couldn’t reach large buyers without scale, it was a chicken-and-egg problem.

After we built the factory, I cold-messaged a buyer in the Netherlands on LinkedIn. She visited Nigeria, and that meeting led to our first export. Another buyer soon followed. Now exports take up most of our capacity.

Our new challenge is raw materials, seasonality, price spikes, and supply gaps. We’ve proven demand exists; now we must secure steady supply. It’s a better problem, but still a big one.

When you started in 2012 importing dried fruit from Ghana, did you ever feel the Nigerian market would reject it?

Absolutely. The first few years were painfully slow. It took about six or seven years to build loyal customers. I remember hearing ‘Come and pick your product, it’s not selling.’ It was discouraging.

What kept me going was youthful defiance, ‘Nigeria will not defeat me.’ I also believed from day one that ReelFruit would be global. That conviction kept me steady even when local sales were crawling.

You once had to convince Nigerians to eat dried mango when fresh ones were everywhere. What old market belief did you have to unlearn?

That every product in Nigeria must be a ‘?100 product.’ Everyone said, ‘If it were ?100, it would sell.’ I tried it once, made a ?100 line, opened a market stall, and it failed badly.

Eventually, I accepted ReelFruit wasn’t a mass-market brand. Once I leaned into being premium, premium product, premium price, consistent audience, everything changed. It’s better to own your identity than chase every customer.

Was there a time you genuinely considered walking away?

Around year eight. I was tired of running a small business and wanted something that could scale. I didn’t see it as failure, I just wanted more. I was even at peace with walking away. But right then, investment discussions picked up again. Fundraising can be brutal, term sheets that fall through, investors who ghost, but when my current investors came through, it gave the business a new life.

How did you carve a niche in Nigeria’s $10 billion food import market?

From day one, I focused on visibility. Our packaging, bright orange and yellow, stood out on shelves. People even thought we were imported.

Then we went everywhere: schools, hotels, airports, hospitals. Arik Air once ordered 40,000 packs a week. That gave us credibility. Consistency built trust, and before long, we became the go-to brand for dried fruit.

What’s one business decision you avoided too long?

Pricing. For years, I delayed increasing prices even when costs rose. I was scared customers would stop buying. But you can’t build a lasting business on broken margins.

Once we started adjusting prices intentionally, no emotions, just math, the business stabilized. It’s a common trap among entrepreneurs: underpricing from fear. I learned the hard way that survival depends on margin discipline.

If fear wasn’t a factor, what bold move would you make next?

I’ve faced all the fear already. So, if I had unlimited resources, I’d invest massively in tree crops, coconut, mango, cashew, cross strategic states.

Tree crops are long-term assets. Many trees we harvest from today were planted in the 1970s.

They’re profitable for decades and can secure Nigeria’s raw material base. We’re already starting with our first coconut plantation and a demo farm at our factory. It’s small now, but we’re proving the model so others can follow.

If the next five years of your life were a book chapter, what would the title be?

The Galloping Years.

The first 13 years were steady and slow. Now, we’re moving fast, international certifications, an expanded factory, a major European grocery chain as a client, all within a year. The next five years will be about scale, speed, and consolidation. I believe we’ll achieve double what we’ve done so far.

Finally, what’s one truth about entrepreneurship you wish someone had told you in 2012?

That it takes longer than you think. Whatever timeline you imagine, double it. Entrepreneurship compounds; day to day it feels slow, but over a decade it’s massive.

There’s that quote, people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in ten. That’s exactly my journey. Building something real takes time, and peace with the pace.