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The Federal Government is considering integrating training programmes of the National Institute for Sports (NIS) into its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative as part of efforts to expand employment opportunities for young Nigerians and address skills shortages in the sports sector.

Maruf Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, disclosed this during a meeting with Philip Shaibu, Director-General of the NIS, where both officials discussed ways to align sports training with the Federal Government’s vocational skills development programme.

The proposed integration would provide young Nigerians with access to practical training in sports-related fields, including coaching, sports management, exercise science, sports medicine, facility maintenance and sports technology.

Alausa in a statement signed by Ikharo Attah, his Special Adviser (Media and Communications), said the initiative would help equip young people with employable skills while strengthening the capacity of Nigeria’s sports industry to generate jobs.

He explained that the ministry was exploring how existing NIS programmes could fit into the TVET framework, subject to the necessary consultations and approvals.

The minister said a common curricular framework would be developed in collaboration with relevant regulatory and professional bodies, including the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), National Sports Commission and private-sector stakeholders.

The proposed curriculum would cover Sports and Exercise Science; Coaching and Development Science; Sports Management and Business; Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation; Sports Technology and Data Analytics; and Sports Law.

Basic training in coaching, sports instruction and sports-facility maintenance could also be incorporated, depending on programme requirements and approvals.

Alausa said the government was considering using NIS training centres across eight states to widen access to the proposed programmes. Training courses lasting up to six months could also be considered under the arrangement.

He said the TVET initiative had trained and graduated more than 250,000 Nigerians through approximately 1,200 centres within the preceding 12 to 18 months, with about 98 percent of the centres privately operated.

Participants in the programme receive a monthly stipend of ?30,000 during their training, he added.

The minister said extending the programme to sports-related occupations could create employment opportunities in areas such as groundskeeping, pitch maintenance, coaching and games instruction.

He also identified the need to build local capacity in sports services, noting that better-trained Nigerians could help reduce the sector’s reliance on foreign expertise and workers.

Shaibu, in his remarks, highlighted the shortage of qualified games masters and certified coaches in the country, describing it as a major challenge to sports development.

He said the NIS had expanded its training activities across the six geopolitical zones and graduated more than 1,000 coaches within a year.

According to him, the institute’s 2025-2035 strategic plan places emphasis on coach certification, groundsmen training and creating pathways for retiring athletes to acquire new skills and remain active in the sports industry.

Shaibu called for the integration of the institute’s basic training programmes into the national TVET initiative, saying the partnership would help address the shortage of skilled personnel while improving access to professional sports training.

The proposed collaboration is expected to link vocational training with employment opportunities across the sports value chain, although the scope and implementation framework will depend on further consultations between the relevant institutions.

The Aba business hub can compete favourably in the global business space if given adequate attention. Export experts who made this declaration also said the business centres of all of Abia State and other hubs in Nigeria can also compete.

This is as the Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM), in collaboration with TAGDev 2.0 Program University of Port Harcourt, has trained about 350 Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) on packaging, branding and compliance for consumer goods.

Ofon Udofia, executive secretary of the Institute, said in Umuahia in the week that with the right knowledge, support, and market access, businesses from Aba and all of Abia State and across Nigeria can compete more effectively in both the local and international markets.

The two-day training was supported by RUFORUM in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. It was held at Kolpping Society of Nigeria, World Bank Housing Estate, Umuahia, Abia State capital.

In his opening remarks, Udofia described the South East as a region with enormous entrepreneurial potential and a hub with strong tradition of commerce, manufacturing, and enterprise. He said all that is needed is an articulated agenda to gradually grow the industry with training, exposure, facilities, and good business environment so that goods could be produced at globally competitive costs.

Udofia disclosed that one of the major challenges facing many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria is not necessarily the quality of their products, but how those products are packaged, presented, labeled and prepared to meet applicable regulatory requirements.

He informed that a good product may struggle in the marketplace if its packaging is unattractive, its branding is unclear, or it fails to meet the standards required by consumers and regulators. ‘This is why this training is both timely and important’.

Furthermore, ‘Our goal is to equip participants with knowledge they can apply directly to their businesses, help: them build consumer confidence, improve competitiveness and explore new market opportunities, including export markets ‘.

Udofia was particularly impressed that the training included the ‘differently able persons’, as their participation reflected the importance of inclusive enterprise development and a belief that business opportunities, knowledge, and capacity-building should be accessible to all.

He commended the Abia State Government, partners, facilitators and all stakeholders whose contributions made the training possible.

He advised the participants to see the training as an opportunity to identify gaps in their businesses, acquire practical solutions, and take deliberate steps to prove the quality, presentation, as well as market readiness of their products.

He declared thus: ‘A product must not only be good; it must also be properly presented, appropriately labeled, and complaint with the requirements of its target market’.

Henry Dienye of TAGDev 2.0 Uniport, Entreprneur and Business Development Officer, in an interview, however, said that the training programme was on packaging, labeling, and compliance; and that the reason this was happening was because, most of the entrepreneurs had good products but were unable to scale up through ideation to come up with the products.

‘And their products are just being sold within their confines and environment but have not been able to go beyond where they are produced.

‘So, the essence of the programme is to bring them into the limelight of how their products can be well packaged because packaging is very important’, he stated.

He went on: ‘Appearance is what somebody sees first, no matter whatever product you have inside’.

Dienye said the training would help them the beneficiaries to identify the required packaging for a particular product, and realise that not all packaging is suitable for every product. ‘So, every product has its unique way of packaging.’

According to him, training would help to open their eyes on the kind of packaging they should adopt and the one they should use for a particular product.

‘Outside that, it helps them to create branding, because 10 persons can be doing the same thing but one will stand out. Many may ask why, but they would not know that it is because there is a kind of unique branding that makes it different from what others are doing.’

This programme, he further stated, would also help them be able to brand and label their products. ‘Outside that, for the purpose of export, especially, for consumables, there are compliance that should be adopted; compliance that they need to incorporate in what they are doing.

‘For example Zobo drink and others, there are standards for National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for them to meet before the products are exported.

‘This is an eye opener for them. All these things put together including the registration of your business make your products exportable with unique branding, unique labeling, and quality packaging that will stand the test of time’, Dienye said.

Some of the more than 350 participants glittering with excitement spoke of their hopes. Gladys Samuel, spoke about the programme thus: ‘The programme is very, very beneficial to us. Initially, I didn’t know that this is how it should be. So I have learnt a lot from it in the sense that I have known how to repackage my products.

‘I am a fashion designer, and I have learnt how to repackage and brand my products to make them go far, beyond Abia State. I have also known how to make them look attractive. I thank the organisers of this programme’.

Ogbonnaya Chukwu, on his own, said: ‘The thing I have learnt today will help me grow my business by rebranding my products, and repackaging them to make them attractive to people.

‘I am also very glad with the Institute of Export Operations and Management who brought this programme to us. They should keep it up, and take it to other areas that they have not reached, so that what we have learnt today, others will learn it to grow their own businesses, too. I benefited a lot’.

Solidarity for SMEs

Udofia, the Executive Secretary (and CEO) of the Institute of Export Operations and Management with headquarters in Port Harcourt has rallied groups for SMEs and to help reduce poor product showing especially for export.

He is working with the belief that packaging and complying with various regulations affecting product screening are the major focus which attracted over 250 SMEs in PH and 350 in Umuahia between August and October, 2026.

Udofia says the main target is to reduce or totally eliminate rejection of Nigerian products at the borders and entry points of countries. The Institute worked with in collaboration with TAGDev 2.0 Programme of the University of Port Harcourt, with support from RUFORUM, and in partnership with Mastercard Foundation to mount the two-day trainings for SMEs including printers and designers on packaging, branding and compliance for consumer goods. The focus is on everything from farm to the market.

Udofia believes that Nigeria has entrepreneurs producing quality products, ‘Yet some struggle to compete effectively because their products are inadequately packaged, poorly branded or do not meet the requirements of the market and regulatory authorities.’

He said IEOM believes that a good product must not only be produced well; it must also be properly presented, branded, and compliant. ‘Packaging protects and presents the product, branding communicates its identity and value, while compliance builds consumer confidence and opens the door to formal and international markets.’

He gave a simple charge: ‘Do not just attend this training, use it to improve your business. Look at your packaging differently, strengthen your brand, understand your compliance obligations and begin to position your products for wider markets.

‘So, we have sat down as an Institute with our partners to say, let’s see how we can make our products to compete favorably, especially in the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Nobody wants to buy rubbish. Nigeria is known for abundance of agricultural products and services. So, the essence of this program is to make sure that by the time we are done in the next few months, our products will actually be rebranded.’

Some printers need help, he stated, they copy and paste.

‘We have a place in our Institute, both for processing, product development, packaging, branding, until we get to export. The entire value chain is covered.’ He targets all of Nigeria but said charity must start at home.

TAGDev 2.0 and agric support

One of the pillars of the scheme, Ibisime Etela, a professor and TAGDev 2.0 Programme Coordinator in the University of Port Harcourt, said at the PH event that the scheme is about transforming African agricultural universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development.

‘It’s a Pan-African programme being implemented by 12 universities across Africa that are members of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), with headquarters in Kampala, Uganda. So, they are supporting the TAGDev 2.0 Program in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.’

He talked about three components: one that has to do with academic empowerment with 60 fully paid undergraduate scholarship programmes. The next is the community engagement, and the third component is promoting climate-smart agriculture through the programme. ‘We have a component for tree planting where about 500,000 trees shall be planted over a period of time. So, all these are components that have been designed to promote food security.’

He said to date, they have reached about 1,200 farmers, smallholder farmers.

Nestlé Nigeria has announced the appointment of Toritseju (Toju) Egbebi as Corporate Communications and Sustainability manager. The appointment which takes effective November 2026, followed the retirement of Victoria Uwadoka after decades of service with the company.

Toritseju Egbebi, currently Corporate Affairs Manager, brings 18 years of experience in public relations and corporate communications across the technology, financial services and consumer goods sectors.

Since joining Nestlé Nigeria, she has played a key role in strengthening the company’s corporate reputation, public affairs and stakeholder engagement.

Through the Nestlé for Good platform, she has helped deepen visibility and understanding of Nestlé’s investments in healthier nutrition, thriving communities and environmental sustainability, while strengthening strategic media and stakeholder partnerships.

During her decade with Nestlé Nigeria, Victoria Uwadoka played a central role in strengthening the company’s reputation, stakeholder relationships and Creating Shared Value agenda.

Her leadership advanced communications and sustainability priorities across nutrition, youth empowerment, agriculture, water stewardship, environmental responsibility and community development.

She also championed stronger employee engagement and helped translate complex corporate and sustainability priorities into clear, credible narratives that built understanding and trust.

Beyond Nestlé, Victoria has contributed to the development of Nigeria’s communications profession through industry leadership, advocacy and mentorship, championing strategic communications as a driver of business and societal progress.

Commenting on the transition, Managing Director and CEO of Nestlé Nigeria, Wassim Elhusseini said: ‘Victoria has made an important contribution to Nestlé Nigeria over the past decade, and we are deeply grateful for the leadership, professionalism and commitment she has brought to our business and the communications profession. We wish her every success in this next chapter.

‘As Toju takes on this responsibility, I have every confidence in the experience, judgement and energy she brings to the role. Strong communication and stakeholder engagement are fundamental to building trust and advancing our purpose, and I am confident she will continue strengthening these relationships while helping us demonstrate the positive impact of our business in Nigeria.’

There are unsubstantiated feelers that some Northern political elements within the All Progressives Congress (APC) are ganging up on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While some dismiss this as mere beer-parlour rants, others point to reports that some party candidates display campaign materials bearing their photographs alongside that of the President in city centres, only to discard such arrangements as they move deeper into the hinterland.

Is this indicative of a rumbling volcano and a desperate attempt by politicians to save their own heads?

Handlers of the President’s strategic team have dismissed such contemplations as cheap rhetoric by naysayers and opposition propaganda designed to hoodwink the public into believing that the North is treacherously working against the President.

But the recurring question is: Why would any politician contesting on the platform of the President’s party distance himself from him when, historically, contestants would do anything and go the whole hog to identify with their presidential candidate as a sure bet for acceptability and likely victory at the polls?

A very strong case in point was the scenario with the late President Muhammadu Buhari. When he emerged as the party’s flag-bearer in 2014, virtually every politician in the APC was prepared to pay a premium to have Buhari’s image prominently displayed alongside theirs on campaign materials. From the North to the South and across the length and breadth of the country, not having Buhari’s photograph on one’s campaign material could spell doom at the polls.

While allegations of rejection are treated as exaggerated claims, the concerns are palpable, although they remain unsubstantiated and require closer scrutiny. Many have argued that these alleged distortions in campaign materials may be occasioned by the need to assuage grassroots anger across the North.

However, this argument is debatable because the optics from the APC’s engagement with the people in Northern Nigeria present a picture of solid local connections and an established party structure, powered by state governors, as demonstrated by the recent campaign flag-off in Kaduna.

Unequivocally, no party can, at this point, easily claim to have a more extensive, active, well-funded, mobilised and well-structured political framework in the region than the APC.

Therefore, dismissing these realities lacks rigour. For an opposition not ready to develop creative strategies to cut down the APC’s widening influence among the locals, it may as well begin to assess its fortunes before election day. The North remains a formidable battleground where the war will be won or lost.

Ironically, the casual observer cannot help but wonder: Where are the opposition parties? The campaigns are now underway, but the presidential candidates of the leading opposition parties appear preoccupied with television news flashes and appearances on talk shows, while their posters are conspicuously absent in many Northern neighbourhoods.

Is that a strategy, or is it simply a dearth of funds to match the APC’s aggressive campaign onslaught?

Could this be a tactical move to conserve resources against the backdrop of a possible mega rainbow coalition of G-100, with presidential candidates holding back until the coast is clear to put their money where their mouths are and engage vigorously?

What does Northern Nigeria bring to the table that both the incumbent and the opposition cannot ignore?

Since 1999, votes from the North have consistently and significantly influenced the outcomes of presidential elections. From Obasanjo to Yar’Adua and Jonathan, the story has largely been the same, although the political dynamics have varied from one election to another. In 2011, the South rallied strongly behind Jonathan. But by 2015, Buhari’s votes from the North alone were only slightly below the total votes Jonathan garnered nationwide in that election.

Jonathan polled 12,853,162 votes nationwide, while Buhari secured 12,228,491 votes from the North alone, alongside another 3,196,430 votes from the South, giving him a national total of 15,424,921. Buhari thus defeated the incumbent President for the first time in Nigeria’s democratic experiment since 1999. These figures are based on the reported regional breakdown of the presidential results; INEC’s official national figures confirm the candidates’ respective totals.

These further underscore the argument that votes from this region matter to any serious-minded presidential candidate and must be given the utmost attention.

But the contemplation on the streets is that many of the dynamics, and possibly voting patterns, may change in 2027, given the increasing agitation among the talakawas against the region’s political elite.

While some harsh critics submit that Buhari’s government was among the worst Nigeria has experienced, others contend that there is no justification for the present administration to take Nigerians through what appears to be the longer route to the Promised Land.

So, are Northern voters, especially the emerging army of knowledge-driven and politically savvy young people, daring enough to ask the right questions of their leaders? Or is this just another round of grandstanding, similar to what some Northern power blocs have done over time in pursuit of their self-interests?

In this light, the alleged rejection of the President among the talakawas, as some have projected, is hinged on the harsh economic realities arising from his administration’s policies, which have affected them like other Nigerians.

But when the President declared that there would be no going back to Egypt on his policies, was that indicative of the government’s insensitivity to reactions from the North, as projected by some people? Or was it a case of telling the opposition, in effect, that this is the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau-go do your worst?

Given the optics across the region and the persistent engagement of the APC with its people, the party appears to be reading the room appropriately and responding with all it takes to win the region.

Sadly, the opposition seems not to have taken off. The campaign that the North will come out strongly against the President may just be a ruse. The APC appears to be knocking on every door and deploying every known strategy to court the people, while the opposition struggles to match its momentum.

Will the 2027 presidential election be another major anti-climax, with the fervour and steam from the opposition seemingly arrested and crippled?

By this time in 2023, the country was literally on fire, and the heat generated by the opposition, especially Peter Obi’s campaign, was suffocating, even without a formidable nationwide party structure.

As many analysts have projected, if a disadvantaged Tinubu could mop up 5,598,686 votes from the North out of the 8,794,726 he garnered nationwide in 2023, it is conceivable that he may not do badly as an incumbent with the backing of a substantial number of state governors. However, that remains a political calculation, not a guarantee of electoral victory.

Little wonder, then, that the APC’s campaign schedule begins in Kaduna, with Yola, Adamawa State, scheduled for January 4, 2027, ahead of the grand finale in Lagos on January 9. The choice of Yola, home state of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, is particularly significant. The party appears determined to demonstrate its reach across the country before bringing the campaign to a close in Lagos.

Could it be that the party is saying, by all means necessary, Lagos must fall this time around?

Nigerians are anxiously waiting to see whether the North will throw President Tinubu under the bus, as many believe it did Jonathan in 2015. But the handwriting on the wall appears to point to a potentially different outcome.

After all, as many would say, this President is one of the last surviving godfathers of Nigerian politics, and he appears to have the political machinery locked down.

But will the North oblige him, or will it spring a surprise? That is the million-naira question.

Abiola Salami, Performance Strategist and founder, CHAMP Global Leadership Consulting, a leadership development and performance advisory firm, speaks to institutional investment in technology, people, infrastructure and innovation; and argues that innovation and adoption are not sufficient measures of institutional success. In this interview, Salami discusses why Nigeria needs a stronger approach to measuring institutional performance leadership ahead of the 2026 Peak Performer Africa awards scheduled for November 20. Excerpts by JOHN SALAU:

As a performance strategist, what role would you say governance and accountability play in institutional performance?

They are central. Strategy without accountability can become aspiration without delivery.

Governance without decision quality can become procedural compliance without effective oversight. Good governance should help an institution make sound decisions, identify risks, allocate resources responsibly and ensure that authority is matched by accountability.

Accountability also has to extend beyond assigning blame when something goes wrong. It requires clarity about who owns an outcome, the resources and authority available to that person, the standards against which performance is assessed, and the mechanisms for learning and correction. When these elements work together, accountability becomes a performance discipline rather than a disciplinary event.

What is the implication of having an institution heavily dependent on the chief executive when it comes to performance?

It may perform impressively during that leader’s tenure, but the more important question is whether the institution has built the capability to continue performing when that individual leaves. Enduring performance requires leadership depth, succession planning, institutional memory, effective processes and a culture that supports sound decisions beyond the personality of the chief executive. A leader’s legacy should not be measured only by the results achieved while in office. It should also be measured by the institution’s readiness to continue delivering afterwards. This is why leadership continuity and succession are among the dimensions examined by the Performance Leadership Index.

What is the Performance Leadership Index?

The Performance Leadership Index 2026 is an evidence-led assessment developed by The Peak Performer Africa to examine institutional capability for sustainable performance. It is not designed to reward size, popularity or visibility.

It examines the evidence of how institutions establish direction, execute priorities, take ownership of performance, govern decisions, develop leadership capability and sustain results. The assessment uses ten dimensions i.e. Strategic Coherence; Execution Discipline; Performance Ownership and Accountability; Leadership Capability and Readiness; Leadership Continuity and Succession; Governance, Decision Quality and Behavioural Integrity; People, Culture and Organisational Alignment; Innovation and Organisational Adaptability; Stakeholder Confidence and Market Signals; and Enduring Performance.

Together, these dimensions encourage a more integrated view of institutional effectiveness.

How does the Index differentiate genuine performance from good corporate storytelling?

Our methodology uses the 5D Standard (i.e. Direction, Discipline, Depth, Dynamism and Durability) through evidence and disciplined assessment. It also applies the Four Proof Rule, which examines evidence of the system, the outcome, the time dimension and independent corroboration. The assessment considers the strength and consistency of the available evidence, rather than relying solely on what an institution says about itself. Evidence confidence and integrity checks are also part of the process.

A distinction must be made between a claim and proof of that claim. Having a policy does not automatically demonstrate that it is implemented effectively. Reporting an achievement does not, by itself, establish that the achievement is sustainable. The assessment is designed to reward substantiated institutional capability – not merely compelling narratives.

What does the Index mean for institutions that are recognised?

Recognition should mean something more than visibility. It should reflect evidence that an institution meets a defined standard. The Performance Leadership Index 2026 assesses institutions against a common methodology, with sector context considered in interpreting institutional performance. It is not intended to produce a simplistic league table of the largest or most popular organisations. The 2026 assessment covers 100 institutions, with 25 qualifying as PLI 25 Leading Institutions under the established assessment criteria. The assessment uses a threshold of 80 percent, alongside minimum requirements across the five dimensions, evidence confidence and integrity criteria. Recognition is therefore tied to the applicable evidence and qualification standard.

It should be understood in that context.

Do you think there is a need to measure performance leadership differently in Nigeria?

We have become accustomed to measuring institutional success through familiar indicators like revenue, profitability, market share, growth, asset size and visibility. These are important, but they do not tell the complete story. We must also ask how consistently an institution translates its strategic direction into results, how well it executes, whether accountability is embedded in its operating culture, how sound its governance, and whether it can sustain performance beyond the tenure of a particular leader. An institution can be profitable without being sufficiently resilient. It can be innovative without delivering a better customer experience. It can have an impressive strategy that never becomes an organisational reality. Performance Leadership challenges us to examine the connection between direction, capability, execution and outcomes. The question is not simply whether an institution is successful today. It is whether it has the leadership systems, organisational discipline and institutional foundations to sustain that success.

On Friday, November 20, 2026, at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, The Peak Performer Africa will convene two connected experiences under the theme Unlocking Capacity. Redefining Performance. The evening programme, TPP Awards 2026, featuring the Performance Leadership Honours, begins at 6:00 p.m. It will include my keynote on The State of Performance Leadership in Nigeria and the unveiling of the Performance Leadership Index 2026, alongside institutional and individual recognitions under the applicable criteria. The morning experience, No More Shrinking; The Full Capacity Experience, begins at 8:00 a.m. and examines the utilisation of female capacity in Nigeria. The two conversations are connected by a national imperative: we must enable people to contribute fully and build institutions that convert capacity into sustainable performance.

Are you saying financial performance indicators are no longer relevant?

Not at all. Financial performance remains essential. My argument is that we should distinguish between measuring results and understanding the institutional capabilities that produce and sustain those results. Profitability tells us something important about an institution. But it does not, by itself, tell us how effectively the organisation manages risk, develops future leaders, maintains governance standards, aligns its people, adapts to disruption or prepares for leadership succession. The objective is not to replace financial indicators. It is to complement them with a more complete understanding of institutional performance. A stronger measurement approach helps boards and executives understand not only what happened, but also the systems and leadership disciplines that made it possible and whether those systems can continue to deliver.

How should businesses do outside investing in innovation to boost institutional performance?

They should begin by defining the outcomes that matter before celebrating the activity. If an institution invests in digital banking, for example, it should examine not only transaction volumes and adoption but also reliability, security, complaints resolution, inclusion and customer trust. If it invests in employee development, it should examine whether leadership capability improves, execution becomes stronger and business outcomes change. If it introduces a new strategy, it should track whether priorities are understood, resources are aligned, responsibilities are clear and intended outcomes are achieved. In my latest Guardian column, I make a related argument about digital banking that the deployment of technology is not the same as the achievement of better performance. The same principle applies across sectors. The discipline is simple; connect investment to capability, capability to execution, and execution to evidence of results.

What do you consider a call to action after a possible engagement with this approach?

I would encourage boards and chief executives to ask five questions. First, is our strategic direction clear enough to guide choices and resource allocation? Second, do we have the discipline to execute our priorities consistently? Third, is accountability connected to outcomes rather than activity alone? Fourth, do our governance, leadership and people systems support the performance we expect? Finally, are we building an institution that can sustain its results over time? These questions can expose gaps that conventional reporting may not make sufficiently visible. The value of measurement is not the score itself. It is the quality of the decisions that follow.

Finally, what is your advice to Nigerian business leaders on deepening institutional performance?

Do not confuse activity with achievement, visibility with capability, or short-term success with enduring performance. The institutions that will matter most in the years ahead are those that can demonstrate a clear direction, execute with discipline, take ownership of outcomes, govern responsibly and sustain results. Nigeria does not lack ambition. We must become more deliberate about building the institutional capability to turn ambition into performance.

Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, is exploring investments of up to $15 billion in Egypt, with oil refining and petrochemicals expected to anchor the Nigerian conglomerate’s expansion into North Africa.

The proposed investment, which could range between $10 billion and $15 billion, is part of Dangote’s plan to expand industrial operations across the continent and achieve its Vision 2030 ambition. The scale and composition of the commitment are still under discussion with Egyptian authorities.

The latest engagement followed a visit to Dangote Industries’ Lagos headquarters on Sunday by Mohamed Farid Saleh, Egypt’s minister of investment and foreign trade, accompanied by senior government and industry officials. Dangote received the delegation, describing the meeting as an opportunity to advance African economic integration and strengthen industrial cooperation between the two countries.

Dangote had indicated last month that the initial investment in Egypt could reach about $10 billion, with the total potentially exceeding $15 billion depending on the outcome of discussions with the government.

He said refining and petrochemicals would likely form the foundation of the investment, with the ambition of positioning Egypt as a major exporter of refined petroleum products rather than relying largely on imports.

The proposed expansion comes as Egypt seeks to attract more investment from major African businesses and build long-term partnerships with regional conglomerates.

On October 15, Mohamed Awad, chief executive of Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, conveyed the government’s interest in a strategic partnership with Dangote Group at an event held at the historic headquarters of the Egyptian Exchange in Cairo.

Representing Farid, Awad said Egypt wanted to deepen investment ties with major African conglomerates and develop a long-term relationship with the Nigerian group.

A major Egyptian investment would extend Dangote’s industrial footprint beyond its established operations in cement, sugar, flour, fertiliser and petroleum refining, while giving the group a stronger presence in one of North Africa’s largest economies.

The proposed expansion also fits into Dangote’s wider Vision 2030 strategy, which targets annual group revenue of $100 billion by the end of the decade. The businessman has pledged to invest as much as $50 billion in industrial projects across Africa over the same period, financed through a combination of internally generated funds, equity and debt.

Beyond the potential Egyptian projects, the group’s investment pipeline includes a proposed 530-kilometre subsea gas pipeline, up to 10,000 megawatts of power generation capacity and a linear alkylbenzene plant with an annual capacity of 400,000 metric tonnes.

The group is also pursuing expanded urea fertiliser and polyethylene production, alongside a target of increasing Dangote Cement’s annual production capacity to 100 million tonnes.

The scale of these plans reflects the group’s ambition to expand across energy, manufacturing and infrastructure, although their delivery will depend on financing, project execution and market conditions.

Dangote’s links to Egypt also predate the proposed investment. He studied business at Al-Azhar University in Cairo before building his business empire through investments in cement, sugar and flour, followed by expansion into fertiliser and petroleum refining.

A substantial commitment in Egypt would mark one of the group’s largest cross-border investments and deepen commercial ties between Nigeria and Egypt, two of Africa’s biggest economies. It would also test the extent to which African industrial groups can expand across national borders and build production networks within the continent.

Nigeria’s digital economy faces growing cybersecurity risks as organisations experience an average of 4,361 attempted cyberattacks weekly, exposing weaknesses in the country’s internet infrastructure and strengthening calls for tougher protection of the systems that direct users to government, financial and business websites.

The warning comes as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) moves to make Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) implementation part of its cybersecurity assessment of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), in a bid to prevent attackers from exploiting weaknesses in the internet’s domain-name infrastructure.

Speaking at a cybersecurity awareness webinar organised by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general of NITDA, said the agency would include DNS security in its cybersecurity assessment protocol and push for government-owned .gov.ng domains to adopt DNSSEC.

Represented by Oluwasegun Falayan, the NITDA chief said having a government domain was no longer sufficient without security mechanisms to protect it against manipulation and other cyber threats.

‘So we must lead, we must ensure that every .gov.ng is signed as much as possible, and we provide DNS as an inclusion in every security assessment that we do. So it’s not enough to just have a domain, but it must be secured and must be signed,’ he said.

The directive highlights a less visible but increasingly important vulnerability in Nigeria’s digital transformation: the security of the infrastructure that connects internet users to online services.

The Domain Name System (DNS) functions as the internet’s address book, translating website names into numerical internet addresses that computers use to communicate. When attackers manipulate this process, users can be redirected to fraudulent websites even when they enter what appears to be a legitimate web address.

DNSSEC adds a layer of protection through digital signatures that allow internet resolvers to verify whether DNS responses are authentic and have not been altered.

However, its adoption remains a challenge across Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, where government institutions, businesses, internet providers and domain registrars have different responsibilities for securing the infrastructure.

Adesola Akinsanya, president of NiRA, said Check Point Research reported that the average Nigerian organisation faced about 4,361 attempted attacks weekly in June, compared with a global average of approximately 2,270.

The figures underscore the pressure on organisations as digital services expand and cybercriminals increasingly exploit vulnerabilities in online systems.

Akinsanya also cited Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) figures showing that digital-payment fraud amounted to N25.85 billion in 2025, despite a decline in reported incidents. He cautioned that the reduction could reflect under-reporting rather than an improvement in security.

‘DNS security is not a technical hobby. It is an economic question,’ he said.

The economic implications extend beyond the theft of funds. Compromised domain infrastructure can undermine trust in digital payment platforms, expose customers to phishing attacks, disrupt access to essential services and damage the credibility of Nigerian businesses operating online.

For a country seeking to expand digital financial services, electronic government platforms and technology-driven businesses, weaknesses in the internet’s naming infrastructure could create risks that extend across multiple sectors.

Akinsanya, however, cautioned against treating DNSSEC adoption as a standalone solution, noting that the technology does not encrypt internet traffic, prevent distributed denial-of-service attacks or protect against compromised domain registrar credentials.

He warned that improperly configured DNSSEC could also make domains inaccessible to users whose internet resolvers validate digital signatures.

This means that adoption must be accompanied by technical competence, proper implementation and coordination among the organisations responsible for managing domain records and internet infrastructure.

NiRA operates Nigeria’s .ng domain registry, but individual organisations remain responsible for managing their DNS infrastructure, registrar accounts and service providers.

Akinsanya disclosed that only 15 of Nigeria’s 164 accredited registrars had adopted DNSSEC, describing the figure as inadequate and calling for stronger implementation across the ecosystem.

He urged government institutions to review who controls their domain credentials, activate multi-factor authentication and establish clear procedures for responding to unauthorised changes to domain records.

He also called on internet service providers to enable DNSSEC validation, while urging regulators to incorporate the naming layer into Nigeria’s forthcoming cybersecurity framework and critical infrastructure planning.

The concerns received further attention during a panel session where Daniel Onyekpeze, head of incident handling at the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), operating under the Office of the National Security Adviser, proposed an Executive Order to give DNSSEC Critical National Information Infrastructure status.

He argued that implementation should extend beyond government institutions to include the financial sector, given the importance of secure internet infrastructure to digital transactions and national resilience.

Other participants highlighted the changing nature of cyber threats. SP Kuma Ikyereve of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre identified phishing as the leading category of cybersecurity cases, while Lateef Hamzat, founder and chief executive officer of CyberPlural, said attacks were gradually shifting from individuals towards systems.

The shift raises the stakes for organisations whose digital infrastructure supports large numbers of customers and interconnected services. A vulnerability in a central system can potentially affect more users than an attack directed at an individual account.

For Nigeria, the challenge is therefore not simply to increase the number of secured domain names but to ensure that the underlying infrastructure is properly configured, monitored and protected.

NiRA has maintained that expanding the .ng domain should not come at the expense of security. Akinsanya said Nigeria had roughly one registered .ng domain for every 1,000 citizens, compared with approximately two per 1,000 in Kenya and 20 per 1,000 in South Africa.

He said the association was targeting 30 percent growth but would not pursue expansion without adequate security standards.

The broader policy challenge is ensuring that NITDA’s new assessment requirement translates into measurable improvements rather than another compliance exercise.

DNSSEC can help prevent attackers from manipulating DNS responses, but its effectiveness depends on organisations securing their registrar credentials, maintaining their systems, enabling validation and responding quickly to incidents.

As cyberattacks become more sophisticated and Nigeria’s economy becomes increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure, securing the internet’s underlying systems is emerging as an important part of protecting financial transactions, public services and business confidence.

Unipolarism, in the context of international political order, is when a single nation holds superior military, economic and technological powers over other nations. Without a counterforce, unipolarism is liable to serve purposes other than good. This is because man, whether as individual or head of institution, tends to be evil in the absence of checks and balances. Pax Britanica, 1815-1914, was the first instance of unipolarism in the modern time. The opposite is bipolarism.

In ‘Africa and the International Political System,’ Professor Lawrence Baraebibai Ekpebu defined bipolarism as a system of Balance of Power based on two opposing blocs of alliance that must not necessarily be confrontational (Ekpebu:159). Nevertheless, it carries with it the seed of its own destruction as seen in the deadly rivalry between the Nato Bloc and Warsaw Bloc. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 led to the reemergence of the extant unipolar world in which the United States, the surviving Super Power, reigns supreme (Ekpebu: 160). On 3rd January 2026, the US unilaterally invaded Venezuela and abducted President Nicolas Maduro.

The watchword is ‘apex’ in configuring Ohanaeze as the most powerful socio-cultural organization for the Igbo at home and in the Diaspora. Its superiority over other associations like the World Igbo Congress, Aka Ikenga, Ekwe Nche, Ndigbo Lagos, etc, effectively created a unipolar Igbo world where the body cannot be censored. There is no opposing counterforce to check and balance it.

I propose to tender two documents showing instances of how Onanaeze’s inactions impacted negatively on the Igbo interests.

Document One: NMGP/AAGP

The first document contains particulars of a suit filed by the leadership of the Ijaw Nation Forum, INF, titled, ‘In The Community Court of Justice of The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) Holden At Abuja, Nigeria: Case Number: ECW/CCJ/APP/20/26; Case Title: 1. Kabowei Akamande. 2. Felix Tuodolo PhD (Applicants) AND 1. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (Respondent); dated 20th May 2026.’ The Applicants are challenging the genocidal Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, NMGP, (also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, AAGP) as resource terrorism against the Ijaw.

This is the historical background of the suit: In 1591, Moroccan Arabs conquered Black African Songhai Empire at the Battle of Tondibi and imposed their suzerainty over much of what is today’s West Africa. From that date the Islamic world recognized West Africa as Moroccan exclusive sphere of influence. The INF leaders are grounded on this Islamist history and rightly saw the trap in Morocco building this pipeline without even bothering to talk to the apex Ijaw National Congress, INC. Before going to court, the Applicants protested to Europe in whose name Morocco is building the pipeline (see Dr Felix Tuodolo and Kabowei Akamande’s ‘Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline is Crime Against Ijaws of the Niger Delta: Open Letter to Ms Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, President of European Commission’).

In 1969, nine years after British colonialism, Morocco reasserted its suzerainty over Nigeria ordering General Yakubu Gowon to enlist Nigeria as Observer in the Organisation of Islamic Community (later Cooperation), OIC. Gowon complied. In 1986, Morocco again ordered General Ibrahim Babangida to upgrade Nigeria to full membership of OIC. Babangida complied but Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe objected and was removed from office. Morocco was signatory to the OIC Abuja Declaration of 1989 to the effect that Nigeria should be fully Sharia compliant with no place for Western democracy (see Uma O. Eleazu’s ‘Nigeria as I See It: Reflections on the Challenge of Leadership,’ Green and Cherished, 2020. p.222).

The 2014 Islamist decision to remove the Ijaw-born President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan from office was taken in Morocco. Jonathan was removed in 2015 and in 2016 President Mohammadu Buhari and King Mohammed VI of Morocco hatched the illegal NMGP/AAGP without recourse to Nigerian National Assembly. In 2017, Morocco applied as full member of ECOWAS while using Muslim-headed member states to oppose Observer Status for Israel.

The NMGP/AAGP agreements effectively transferred the ownerships of Ijaw and Igbo gas fields to Morocco. Measuring 5600 kilometers from Brass in Bayelsa State to Morocco, the pipeline is 48 inches wide. It will carry 3 billion standard cubic feet, scf, of gas daily, from Igboland and Ijawland to Morrocco where Liquified Natural Gas, LNG, plants will then be built for Morocco to sell gas to Europe. The OIC, Arab-Islamic Summit, Muslim Brotherhood, etc, are backing Morocco in this pipeline being funded by the Islamic Development Bank (see ‘West African leaders sign pact for $25bn Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline.’ The Punch, 20th July 2026).

Akamande and Tuodolo understand how the Islamist ‘crawling revolution’ operates: After the pipeline, ECOWAS common currency will be next. Then Arabic will be imposed over ECOWAS countries. Already, Morocco negotiates ECOWAS security with the African Command, Africom. The Applicants went to the ECOWAS Court armed with pre-colonial treaties between their Ijaw ancestors and the British. The treaties recognize Ijaw rights over Ijaw territories and minerals. Some 334 of these treaties are valid today (see Ambily Etekpe et al’s ‘HAROLD DAPPA-BIRIYE: His Contributions to Politics in Nigeria,’ pp. 17-18).

Apart from the NMGP/AAGP, the OIC also influenced the construction of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, TSGP, from Warri to Algeria. The project was halted by the Henry Okah-led Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND. Okah is today a Prisoner of War (POW). Since his incarceration in South Africa, work on the TSGP is near completion. But it is on record that on 1st October 2025, the INF sent Akamande to the Office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to hand-deliver its petition demanding for the immediate release of its POW Okah.

My point is, what did the Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey-led Ohanaeze do to halt the capture of the Ohaji/Egbema gas fields by Morocco? Question must also be asked why the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Okwu Nnabuike, issued a press statement in 2024 claiming Ohanaeze was happy with the corrupt Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for appointing Adedapo Segun as Chief Financial Officer, Isiyaku Abdullahi as Executive Vice President (EVP) for Downstream, and Udobong Ntia as EVP for Upstream.

Not to be outdone, in 2025 one Igboayaka who fronts for Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, petitioned the House of Representatives to remove an Igbo woman, Mrs. Sophia Mbakwe, as the EVP for Business Services of the NNPCL because she was not from the South East. Afenifere, the apex Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, defends Yoruba women. But clueless Ohanaeze led in the campaign against Mrs. Mbakwe. Of the NMGP/AAGP, Nnabuike and Igboayaka showed no interest. You must close your eyes to see how Ndigbo are being decimated by Ohanaeze.

Document Two: Aba State Creation

My second document emanated from the Chief John Nwodo-led Ohanaeze, titled, ‘RECOMMENDATION OF OHANAEZE COMMITTEE ON STATE CREATION.’ It was jointly signed by Professor Chigozie Ogbu and Barrister Uche Okwukwu, dated 10th October 2018 and addressed to Governor Dave Umahi, Chairman of the South East Governors Forum.

Background to this document: In 2018, Buhari informed Afenifere he was willing to recognize MKO Abiola as winner of the June 12 1993 Presidential Election and declare June 12 as Democracy Day. Afenifere cooperated with Buhari. Buhari also told Ohanaeze he acknowledged the post-war injustices visited on Ndigbo. As a remediation measure, he said he was willing to create a sixth state for Ndigbo in the South East. He asked Ohanaeze to bring him the name of our preferred state for creation. Chief Nwodo constituted the Ohanaeze Committee on State Creation. The committee did its job and I quote the relevant sections of its report:

On 11th September 2018, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Barr John Nnia Nwodo, inaugurated a committee of the whole house headed by the Vice President-General (Ebonyi), Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, OFR, and the Secretary-General, Barr Uche Okwukwu as Secretary, charged with the responsibility of recommending a new state for creation in the South East.

The Committee met first on September 27th, 2018 where the leaders of the following State Creation Movements, namely, Aba, Adada, Anim, Equity, Etiti and Orimili, addressed the Committee and presented documents in support of their demand…. The Committee considered the merit for the creation of Aba and Adada States respectively, resolved and recommended for the creation of Aba State with 12 members supporting and 5 abstaining….The Committee further resolved to immediately submit the recommendation for the creation of Aba State to the South East Governors Forum.

When the committee tendered its 10th October 2018 report in favor of Aba State creation, Nwodo, who favored Adada State creation, coming from Enugu State, refused to tender the report to Governor Umahi for onward transmission to Buhari. That was how Nwodo used Ohanaeze to deny Ndigbo a sixth state.

Complementary Duality/Conclusion

According to Professor Nwoga, the Principle of Complementary Duality shaped the Igbo ontological and eschatological philosophies. Ndigbo believe nothing stands alone as there must be something standing beside anything for support or opposition. We see things in two: ‘Ndu na onwu’ (life and death); ‘Chineke na ekwensu’ (God and Devil); ‘Nne na nna’ (mother and father), etc. Nothing is absolute unto itself; the Igbo reject unipolarism or central authority figure.

Onuma is at peace with complementary duality. Rather than a parallel Ohanaeze, he favours ‘ako na uche’ as the bedrock of his reforms aimed at creating the requisite checks and balances to make the association more responsive to the changing times. His reforms include: One, Democratization of ako-na-uche to make it more transparent, term limit for Ohanaeze office holders, rotational presidency; and women and youth inclusiveness. Above all, ‘We need formal channels for dissent, ways for people to disagree without being seen as troublemakers’ (Onuma: 110).

Two, ako-na-uche must be translated to strategy with clear timeline, benchmark and accountability if Ndigbo must be patient with Ohanaeze. Targets must be clearly defined and measured for Ndigbo to know when Ohanaeze if drifting. The immense possibilities ushered in by the Information Revolution must be adopted to bring the association closer to Ndigbo.

And three, Ohanaeze must mobilised the Igbo Diaspora (Onuma: 110,111).

The author is optimistic Ohanaeze can do better. Even if it cannot control Nigeria’s trajectory, it can position itself to respond effectively to whatever the future unfolds. He wants the body to maintain relationships across Nigeria while preserving the autonomy to criticise and challenge. It could advocate for Nigeria to reform while maintaining an open mind that such reforms may not come. That means keeping all options open- including, for some, the option of self-determination- while remaining committed to dialogue and negotiation (Onuma: 466).

The Kogi State Government, in collaboration with the Malaria Consortium and the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), is set to distribute more than 3.1 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets to households across the state from November 8 to 15, 2026.

The representative of the state government, Maji Enoch, disclosed this on behalf of Abdulazeez Adams Adeiza, Commissioner for Health, while addressing journalists at the Kogi State Insecticide-Treated Universal Coverage Campaign Orientation of Media Parley, noting that the distribution would be carried out under the state’s Malaria Elimination Programme.

According to him, the programme is to reduce malaria infections and strengthen preventive healthcare across the state’s 21 local government areas.

‘A total of 3,141,485 insecticide -treated nets would be distributed to households as part of efforts to reduce the burden of malaria in the state,’ he said.

The government explained that malaria remained a major public health concern, contributing to school and workplace absenteeism, reduced productivity and significant economic losses through treatment costs and lost working hours.

Citing the 2025 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey, he said that malaria prevalence in Nigeria had declined from 22 per cent in 2021 to 15.2 per cent in 2025, while Kogi State recorded a prevalence rate of 8.9 percent, noting that Nigeria accounted for 24.3 percent of global malaria cases annually, while approximately 30.3 percent of the estimated 579,000 malaria-related deaths recorded worldwide each year were attributed to the country, according to the World Health Organisation’s 2025 figures.

The government emphasised that sleeping under insecticide-treated nets remained one of the most effective ways to prevent malaria, citing studies indicating that their use reduced malaria incidence by 50 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Commissioner equally disclosed that Kogi State had not benefited from a free distribution of insecticide-treated nets in the past nine years, describing the forthcoming campaign as an important opportunity for residents to strengthen household protection against the disease.

Under the distribution arrangement, personnel wearing uniforms bearing the malaria campaign logo would visit households to register residents and distribute the nets free of charge.

The government urged households to ensure that at least one representative was available during the exercise to complete the registration process and collect the allocated nets.

Beneficiaries were also advised to air their newly collected nets in a shaded area for 24 hours before hanging them for use, stressing that residents should sleep under the nets every night throughout the year, ensuring that the nets were properly tucked around their sleeping areas for maximum protection.

The state government equally called on residents to cooperate with the distribution teams and make proper use of the nets, stressing that collective participation was essential to reducing malaria infections and achieving a malaria-free Kogi State.

Three similar keywords to boost Nigeria’s oil palm plantations, the products or outputs, and utilisation in oil palm industries are Resurrection, Restoration and Revival of the oil palm economy. Today, Nigeria is enjoying the oil boom from mineral resources, but it is good to recall that it was the palm produce, groundnut, benniseeds and Cocoa, etc that sustained our economy before the 1960s and up to the 1970s. Nigeria dominated the world trade in palm produce in the 1960s.

A greater percentage of Nigeria’s Palm Oil exports came from the Eastern Region in the 1960s. Nigeria was the largest producer of palm produce, but as of date, Indonesia and Malaysia are dominating world production. It is good to remember that Malaysia collected improved oil palm seeds from Nigeria.

It seems that Nigerians should have a rethink and go back for massive production of oil palm so that we can enjoy both the oil boom from oil palm and the oil from mineral resources. Nigeria is already blessed by God with fertile land for this production.

Oil palm production could be made giant industry to sustain our Agricultural Economy. It played major role in the past. It can now play more role than those of the past if we really know that all parts of oil palm as a plant are very useful and the products from the plants are used as raw materials in many industries.

The palm fruits can be processed to get palm oil. The palm kernels are processed for Palm Kernels Oil [ PKO]. The palm oil is used for making soap. The margarine industries depend on these produce as major sources of their raw materials. The palm kernel cake left after extracting the PKO is used in production of livestock feeds. The oil palm trees are trapped for palm wine.

The palm leaves are used to feeds animals like sheep, goat, cattle, etc and also can be used to build thatched house, livestock buildings and farm houses. The brooms produced from oil palm trees are used for sweeping.

The central fronds are used as yam stakes and to make supporting frame for building house. The palm bunches left after removing the fruits from them are burnt into palm burnt ash as plant nutrients and as insecticides for prevention and control of pests and diseases of farm crops. The trunk of the oil palm tree can be made into wooden planks for constructing farm structures like animal shades and farm stores.

The fibre from the palm fronds is used for making local basket and fishing net as well as for making ropes. The palm oil is used for making candles. The African black soap is made from palm product, the palm burnt ash soap is very good antiseptic. Abroad just like in Nigeria, the palm oil is put into multiple uses…. In industry and making margarine, soap, candle, cooking fats. The PKO is used for making glycerin and many toilet and other preparations which appear in chemist shop.

Having seen the wide range of uses of oil palm and it produce; the government of Nigeria should help to revive oil palm industries. The massive production of the plant is needed. Moreover, encouragement is needed for modern industries for processing of the oil palm product like Palm Oil and PKO Mills across all the oil palm producing zones. The exportation of the oil palm products should be given more attention it deserves as one of the major foreign exchange earners.

Oil palm is one of the crops that does well in Eastern State of Nigeria. Anyone who has travelled through the Eastern states within the rain forest zone would have seen oil palm in continuous belts. The British official photographs from Archives showing oil palm bush in Eastern Nigeria in the 1960’s testified to this. The oil palm is indigenous to the West Tropics and does best in fertile soils.

Oil palm originated from Tropical Forest of West African Region which included Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, etc. The extraction and use of oil palm can be dated back to 5,000 years ago.

Archaeologists discovered a substance concluded to be oil palm dating back to 30,000 BC. It was believed that the Arab traders brought the oil palm to Egypt. In essence oil palm seeds were exported in large quantity from West Africa to other continents especially Europe and America. The export of palm kernels began in 1832.

The palm industry made up significant sector of Nigeria Economy. The oil palm belts include state of Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Delta, Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Rivers etc.

The Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research [NIFOR] was established in 1939 although at that time it did not bear its present name, it was a British Colonial Oil Palm Research Station and was formed to provide support through Research and Development to the entire Oil Palm industry in West Africa.

The Oil Palm Research Station was financed by the Nigeria Oil Palm Produce Marketing Board, a statutory Body set up to control the Oil Palm industry in Nigeria. Beginning in 1950’s and till mid 1960’s, Nigeria remained the largest producer of crude Palm Oil in the World.

Upon gaining independence in 1960, the Research Institute Station’s Act No 33 of 1964, Nigeria renamed it to Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research [NIFOR]. By the same Development, the Institute’s mandate was expanded to include Coconut, Date Palm, Raffia Palm and other Palms of Economic Importance. The writer Livinus Nnebedum was at NIFOR in Benin-City in 1987 when he was doing his NYSC.

Nigerians and indeed Government of Nigeria should always think about this adage. ‘We shall not put all our eggs in one basket’. When we talk of Oil boom in Nigeria, let us not only focus our attention on mineral oil. We shall also focus attention on the oil palm boom as both of them can boost the economy of Nigeria with adequate attention.

Establishment of Oil Palm Estates just like most Investors establish Housing Estates is one out of many Investments in Agriculture which can boost Nigeria Economy. It can contribute its quota towards moving Nigeria into production-oriented Economy and aware from the present consumption-oriented economy.