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Last week, we explored global CEOs and how their leadership styles raised the age-old question: Is it better to be feared or respected? This week, we turned the lens homeward. African CEOs lead in some of the most challenging business environments in the world-markets shaped by volatility, infrastructure gaps, regulation, and intense public scrutiny. In such settings, the temptation to rule by fear is strong. Yet, some of the continent’s most influential leaders demonstrate that respect, grounded in integrity and empathy, creates a more enduring legacy.

Respect in action: African CEO stories

Lunga Siyo – Telkom South Africa

Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Consumer and Small Business in South Africa, is known for building what staff call a ‘happy culture’. He instituted ‘Yep Talks’-casual, open sessions where employees across levels share achievements, frustrations, and ideas. By flattening hierarchy and amplifying junior voices, Siyo models a leadership style that dignifies staff. His emphasis on empathy and resource support, even while demanding results, has created a culture where employees work harder not out of fear of punishment but out of respect for his fairness.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede – Access Bank, Nigeria

When Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede became Group Managing Director of Access Bank in 2002, it was a small player in Nigeria’s crowded financial sector. Under his leadership, the bank grew into one of the country’s top-tier institutions. He chronicled this journey in his memoir Leaving the Tarmac, where he candidly admits early mistakes and misjudgments. By showing humility, learning from setbacks, and surrounding himself with people empowered to challenge him, Aig-Imoukhuede built trust both within his team and among investors. Beyond banking, his pivot to philanthropy and governance reform further deepened his reputation as a leader respected for vision and integrity, not fear.

Strive Masiyiwa – Econet, Zimbabwe

Strive Masiyiwa’s story is one of resilience in the face of formidable odds. When he founded Econet Wireless, he faced years of regulatory resistance from the Zimbabwean government, which repeatedly blocked his licence. Rather than bending under pressure or instilling fear in his team, Masiyiwa led through transparency and faith. He kept employees motivated by constantly framing the struggle as bigger than business-about justice, opportunity, and African innovation. Today, Econet is a telecoms giant across Africa, and Masiyiwa is respected globally not only for his business acumen but also for his ethical courage.

‘In African business cultures, hierarchy often creates deference. Staff may bow, nod, and echo ‘yes, sir’ out of habit, not genuine respect. True respect shows when employees volunteer ideas, take initiative, and go the extra mile.’

What these leaders teach small business owners

African CEOs operate under far greater constraints than their global peers. Yet their experiences distil key lessons for small business owners in Nigeria and across the continent:

Respect fosters loyalty, even in hardship. Employees who feel valued will stay and fight alongside you through tough times.

Humility attracts wisdom. Leaders who admit mistakes, like Aig-Imoukhuede, often gain better insights and stronger teams.

Integrity builds reputational capital. In contexts where corruption is rampant, leaders like Masiyiwa demonstrate that respect is earned when values are non-negotiable.

Inclusion drives innovation. Siyo’s ‘Yep Talks’ show that the best ideas often come from the bottom up-if employees feel safe enough to share them.

Respect does not mean weakness. These leaders all held high standards. They balanced empathy with accountability.

The cautionary side

In African business cultures, hierarchy often creates deference. Staff may bow, nod, and echo ‘yes, sir’ out of habit, not genuine respect. True respect shows when employees volunteer ideas, take initiative, and go the extra mile. Leaders must remain vigilant to distinguish between surface-level compliance and deep commitment.

Conclusion

The proverb reminds us: ‘Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it.’ No CEO-no matter how visionary-can succeed without others. Fear might secure silence, but respect secures contribution.

For the African small business owner, the path is clear. Respect is not softness-it is strategy. It is what attracts talent, inspires investors, reassures customers, and sustains an enterprise through storms.

Next week, we will bring the conversation even closer to home by examining Nigerian CEOs-leaders whose choices have shaped our industries and whose stories offer sharper lessons for entrepreneurs building legacies in our unique context.

The aviation industry is often associated with pilots and cabin crew, but the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is shedding light on the numerous other career opportunities that exist beyond the cockpit.

In a bid to encourage more people to explore the vast potential of the aviation sector, the NCAA has highlighted several in-demand roles that offer job security, growth opportunities, and the chance to be part of a dynamic industry.

From aircraft maintenance technicians to air traffic controllers, these careers are not only fulfilling but also offer opportunities for global employment. As the aviation industry continues to evolve, NCAA says it’s time to look beyond the traditional roles and explore the many career paths that can take you to new heights.

Michael Achimugu, the NCAA’s director of public affairs and consumer protection, emphasised the importance of researching areas where there are skill gaps and adding value to the industry.

By doing so, individuals can tap into the numerous opportunities available in the aviation sector and build a rewarding career. With the right training and expertise, aviation professionals can explore job opportunities both locally and internationally.

‘Many young Nigerians are investing in cabin crew training. They love the glamour of that career. It is a beautiful line of work. You get to serve people from all works of life. Your patience gets tested as much as your character. You learn to smile whether you are happy or not. You wear cute uniforms and travel freely but there are other careers in aviation that add value and probably have more work openings.

‘I would strongly recommend/encourage more young people to train to become any of the following: Aircraft maintenance technician, aerospace engineer, flight instructor, flight dispatcher, marshaller,

Air traffic controller, amongst others,’ Michael Achimugu, director, public affairs and consumer protection, NCAA stated in his X handle.

He advised that if people want to go into aviation, they should research, beyond just their passion, the areas where there are more needs for operators and other service providers.

‘Where is the scarcity? Fill that space and add value. All of the above-mentioned also get job opportunities outside Nigeria. Give it a thought. Aviation is a satisfying industry where all of the parts working together make an excellent whole. Start that training today, Achimugu said.

Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, has said the country’s foreign policy is now firmly aligned with its economic agenda, as the government works to drive regional integration, attract investment, and strengthen partnerships that promote growth and stability.

Speaking at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Tuggar said Nigeria’s diplomacy under President Bola Tinubu’s administration is anchored on ‘economic pragmatism, strategic autonomy, and partnerships of purpose.’

He noted that the annual summit, organised by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in collaboration with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), has evolved into a cornerstone of Nigeria’s development framework, bridging the gap between policy ambition and real-world implementation.

Tuggar described this year’s summit theme, ‘The Reform Imperative: Building a Prosperous and Inclusive Nigeria by 2030,’ as both timely and necessary, given Nigeria’s ongoing economic transformation.

According to him, the rapidly changing global economy requires countries like Nigeria to rethink how their economies function and for whom they work.

‘We are fortunate, during this transformative period, to have a President who understands the intersection of Nigeria’s political and economic structures.

‘That is why President Tinubu is implementing bold, people-centred reforms that are catalysing macroeconomic stability, enhancing investor confidence, and reigniting the nation’s productive capacity’, Tuggar said.

He stressed that the reforms being implemented under the Renewed Hope Agenda are not just improving economic figures, but are beginning to positively impact the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

The Minister said Nigeria’s foreign policy is now strategically aligned with its domestic economic goals through what he described as the ‘4D Foreign Policy Agenda’, focused on Democracy, Development, Demography, and the Diaspora.

‘Our diplomacy continues to unlock trade corridors, attract investment, secure partnerships, and expand opportunities for Nigerian businesses,’ he said.

He explained that the Tinubu administration’s approach avoids rigid alliances, focusing instead on mutual interests.

‘Tinubu’s strategic autonomy is for partnerships of purpose, not alliances of obligations. Nigeria is too big and too significant to engage in band-wagoning. The stories we tell about ourselves as a nation matter’, Tuggar added.

Referencing the Flying Geese Paradigm, which describes how East Asian nations industrialised in structured succession, Tuggar said Nigeria must position itself as the leader of Africa’s industrial transformation.

‘With our demographic weight, market size, and strategic position, we have the scale and potential to lead Africa’s own ‘flying geese’ formation.

‘But leadership must be earned through sound policies, productive investments, regional coordination, and institutional credibility’, he said.

He added that regional integration remains crucial to Nigeria’s economic success, arguing that development on the continent cannot rely solely on donor funding, but must be driven by private sector investment, sound industrial policies, and smart import substitution strategies.

‘Import substitution is not a bad word,’ he said, referencing lessons from Southeast Asia’s industrial rise.

Tuggar also highlighted the recently launched West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) as a vital platform for deepening trade, infrastructure, and policy coordination across the sub-region.

He said WAES reflects the reality that ‘Nigeria’s prosperity is tied to West Africa’s progress.’

‘The more we invest in regional value chains, cross-border infrastructure, and policy harmonisation, the more resilient and competitive we become as a bloc,’ he said.

He further called for stronger collaboration between government, academia, civil society, and research institutions, urging investment in ‘policy intelligence’ to guide Nigeria through an increasingly complex global environment.

Institutions like the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), he noted, must work closely with economic and development actors to translate policy ideas into viable diplomatic strategies.

Tuggar reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to advancing Nigeria’s global position through trade facilitation, investment promotion, and climate diplomacy.

‘Whether through advancing trade under AfCFTA, facilitating investment flows, supporting climate finance, or championing Africa’s voice in multilateral fora, our diplomacy must serve the people and priorities of Nigeria,’ he said.

He expressed optimism that the outcomes of the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit would go beyond policy declarations to produce actionable, people-centred results.

‘The outcome of this summit must transcend mere policy formulation and translate into collective ownership that delivers tangible dividends to Nigerians,’ he said.

Economic experts have raised the alarm over lack of transparency in the federal government’s borrowing plans, warning that the country risks plunging deeper into debt.

In separate interviews, economists Prof. Tajudeen Tella and Prof. Akpan Ekpo, who spoke to BusinessDay, expressed strong reservations about the government’s request for parliamentary approval to raise $2.35 billion in new and refinanced external loans to partly fund the 2025 budget and redeem a maturing Eurobond.

The President had, in a letter read by Godswill Akpabio, Senate president, at the Wednesday plenary requested approval for a fresh borrowing plan.

The federal government is seeking to implement a N9.28 trillion borrowing plan, including N1.84 trillion in foreign loans.

However, both experts questioned the necessity and transparency of the request, especially given the administration’s claim of achieving its revenue targets.

Tella, professor of Economics at Olabisi Onabanjo University, described the new loan proposal as ‘unnecessary.’

‘The 2024 budget is still being executed. So why are they talking about a loan to part-finance the 2025 budget that hasn’t even started?’ he queried.

‘The President said they have been able to generate enough funds to meet the requirements for the budget. If they have done that, it’s not necessary to borrow money again. For what purpose?’

He noted that Nigeria’s rising debt service burden has become unsustainable and is crowding out vital sectors.

‘What we pay presently servicing debt is more than four times the budget for education and six times the budget for health,’ Tella said.

‘So, the money that should have gone into improving schools and hospitals is being used to pay debts. Yet, we don’t even see the effect of those loans.’

Tella lamented that many of the loans are disbursed abroad without clear evidence of impact within the economy.

He urged the National Assembly not to rubber-stamp the President’s request.

‘The National Assembly should not just approve that,’ he warned.

‘Our debt is already more than double our reserves. The debt is over $90 billion, while our reserves are just $41 billion. So when do we stop borrowing to finance our budget?’

Tella further warned that Nigeria’s debt exposure could become catastrophic if global economic conditions worsen.

‘If the world economy goes into recession, we’ll be in serious trouble,’ he cautioned. ‘It’s a big problem for us.’

Echoing similar concerns, Akpan Ekpo, a former director-general of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, accused the Tinubu administration of operating without transparency or accountability in its borrowing practices.

‘There is something they are not telling us,’ Ekpo said.

‘There is no transparency. The president said he is not borrowing from commercial banks, but this external borrowing is becoming disturbing.’

Ekpo noted, ‘While acknowledging that borrowing for ‘hard infrastructure’ is not inherently bad, Ekpo said the government’s debt profile has reached alarming levels.

‘It’s getting too much,’ he said.

‘Recently, the power minister was reported to be borrowing billions from China to finance power projects.

‘This borrowing is getting out of hand. This president and I will not even pay for it, it’s the next generation that will bear the burden.’

He noted that the government’s contradictory fiscal posture is ‘paradoxical.’

‘On one hand, you say we have met and even surpassed revenue targets. On the other hand, you are borrowing. It doesn’t add up,’ Ekpo said.

‘If revenue is increasing, why not use it to finance projects or adopt other models like public-private partnerships (PPP) or build-operate-transfer agreements?’

Ekpo also criticised the lack of clarity about the specific projects being financed.

‘We are not seeing what they are borrowing for,’ he said. ‘Sukuk for what? For which project? The 225 projects you claim to be financing haven’t even started. So, what are you funding exactly, capital or recurrent expenditure?’

Prof. Ekpo expressed deep worry about the intergenerational implications of Nigeria’s debt accumulation.

‘You are putting the future generation into indebtedness,’ he said.

‘When that generation comes and they see that we borrowed recklessly, they will abuse us even in our graves.’

He dismissed the government’s frequent justification that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio remains low.

‘They keep saying the GDP-debt ratio allows us to borrow more, but GDP does not pay debts, revenue does,’ he insisted. ‘And you claim revenue is rising. So why borrow?’

Ekpo urged lawmakers to subject the new loan request to rigorous scrutiny.

‘I hope the National Assembly will look at this very well, scrutinize it, and ask tough questions,’ he said.

Both economists agreed that the National Assembly must act as a check on the executive to prevent further debt mismanagement.

‘This borrowing spree must stop,’ Ekpo said.

‘We need a national dialogue on Nigeria’s debt problem before it gets out of hand.’

Tella concurred, saying, ‘Until the legislature begins to reject unnecessary borrowing, we’ll continue to mortgage the future of this country.’

According to the President’s request to the National Assembly, the federal government plans to raise $2.35 billion through a combination of Eurobonds, syndicated loans, and borrowings from international financial institutions.

The funds are meant to part-finance the 2025 budget deficit and refinance a maturing $1.118 billion Eurobond due in November 2025.

While the government insists the move aligns with ‘global best practices’ and is essential to ‘maintain investor confidence and Nigeria’s credit standing,’ experts like Tella and Ekpo maintain that without transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline, the loans may only deepen Nigeria’s debt crisis.

Artificial intelligence is no longer an experiment on the fringes of innovation. It now shapes how African businesses operate, how governments deliver services, and how societies make decisions. Yet as organisations integrate AI into their systems, a critical governance question emerges: who truly owns AI risk?

For many organisations, that answer remains blurred. Too often, AI risk is viewed as a problem for data scientists or chief technology officers – a technical matter rather than a governance one. This thinking is dangerously outdated. AI, like cybersecurity before it, is a business risk. Its ownership does not lie with those who build models, but with those who decide how and where those models are used. Boards and executives, not technologists, carry the ultimate accountability for how AI impacts trust, reputation, and enterprise value.

The board’s new accountability

Across Africa, boards now face a fiduciary and ethical duty to ensure AI is governed responsibly. This is not about signing off on ‘innovation’ budgets or celebrating digital achievements; it is about asking the difficult, strategic questions that determine whether AI strengthens or undermines the business. What risks are we accepting? What ethical trade-offs are being made? How transparent are our AI-driven decisions? And what is the real cost if things go wrong?

AI systems evolve continuously. They learn, adapt, and sometimes behave in unexpected ways. The risks they create – bias, misinformation, regulatory breaches, discrimination, or erosion of consumer trust – can be systemic and enduring. When these outcomes occur, the blame rarely rests with the technical team that wrote the code. Accountability sits squarely with the leadership that failed to ensure governance was fit for purpose.

‘Building ownership begins with literacy. Directors must understand the capabilities and limits of AI, stay informed about emerging laws, and require management to maintain registers of AI use cases, risk assessments, and assurance reports.’

Owning AI risk, therefore, demands more than technical literacy; it requires risk literacy. Boards must treat AI with the same seriousness they apply to financial, operational, or reputational risk. They must ensure clear governance frameworks, well-defined responsibilities, and transparent reporting lines. This is not about understanding every algorithm; it’s about understanding the organisational decisions made because of those algorithms.

Lessons from cyber-risk

The trajectory feels familiar. Only a few years ago, cybersecurity was misunderstood as an IT issue until boards recognised that the fallout from a breach (regulatory fines, market losses, reputational damage) landed on their desks, not the CISO’s. The same awakening is now necessary for AI.

Technical teams can flag vulnerabilities and recommend safeguards, but it is the board and C-suite who must decide: are we willing to take this risk, or do we pay to reduce it? That decision is an exercise in judgement, not coding. The board defines the boundaries between innovation and integrity, between efficiency and ethics.

If African boards fail to grasp this, the consequences will extend far beyond compliance failures. They risk eroding public trust and forfeiting the continent’s growing reputation for responsible digital transformation. But those who rise to the challenge will lead in governance and in influence, shaping how Africa defines trust in the age of intelligent systems.

The African leadership moment

AI governance may well become Africa’s most defining leadership differentiator. The boards that take ownership will inspire investor confidence, attract ethical innovation, and set the tone for sustainable transformation.

Building ownership begins with literacy. Directors must understand the capabilities and limits of AI, stay informed about emerging laws, and require management to maintain registers of AI use cases, risk assessments, and assurance reports. Some may even establish AI governance committees parallel to audit or risk committees, as a signal that AI has become integral to enterprise oversight.

Ultimately, the question ‘Who owns AI risk?’ has only one right answer: the board and executive leadership. AI may run on algorithms, but its consequences run on human judgement. And that judgement and the courage to govern with foresight, integrity, and accountability start at the very top.

On October 01, 2025, Nigeria marked its 65th year of independence. The echoes of this year’s celebration, like those of previous years in this fourth republic, are tempered by a sobering reality: security remains the linchpin of Nigeria’s national stability and economic ambition. From the bustling markets of Lagos to the resilient farmlands of the North, the shadows of insurgency, gang violence, cultism, banditry, and communal strife continue to test the federation’s resolve. Yet, in his Independence Day address, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu struck an unapologetically optimistic chord, declaring that ‘the worst is over’ and crediting Nigeria’s security forces with tangible victories against these threats. We are optimistic that the President’s message will not be empty rhetoric but a benchmark for what lies ahead-a nation poised to translate hard-won gains into enduring peace.

Tinubu’s broadcast was a masterclass in measured hope, weaving personal anecdotes of his own encounters with insecurity into a broader narrative of progress. He lauded the armed forces and agencies for their ‘blood and sweat’ in stamping out Boko Haram (Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad and the Islamic State of West Africa Province) in the North-East, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) threats in the South-East, and the scourge of banditry and kidnapping across the land. ‘They are winning the war against terrorism, banditry and other violent crimes,’ he affirmed, pointing to hundreds of liberated communities where peace has tentatively returned, allowing thousands to reclaim their homes. This is no small feat in a country where headlines continuously scream of debilitating security occurrences. The President’s words point towards a shift: from reactive firefighting to strategic dominance, bolstered by enhanced intelligence, security forces operations and community partnerships.

But optimism must be stress-tested against the ground truth. The Fragile States Index, by the Fund for Peace, has Nigeria at 15th position out of 179 countries, a reflection of the fact that at 65, Nigeria’s National Security Enterprise remains in desperate need of enhanced security sector governance and security sector reform as it grapples with multifaceted challenges that transcend borders and ideologies. According to Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited (BSIL), a company I founded and run, a total of 6,874 abductions have been documented from January 01 to September 30, 2025, and 8,886 fatalities within the same period. This places Nigeria among the top five countries that are worst affected by insecurity globally. More remarkable is the progressive improvement in security metrics since May 2025, where BSIL’s database has shown reductions in security-associated fatalities and abductions on a monthly basis starting from May 2025, from over 1200 in May 2025 to about 500 plus in September 2025.

Yet, despite these month-to-month improvements, the impact of insecurity on Nigerians and foreigners residing in Nigeria is huge. In the North-West, herder-farmer clashes and resource-driven banditry disrupt agricultural supply chains, inflating food prices and exacerbating inflation, which, while down to 20.12% in August 2025, remains a household burden. Construction companies and factories generally have seen security overhead increase to nearly 20% of their operating cost. The Niger Delta simmers with oil theft and environmental sabotage, syphoning billions from federal coffers and deterring foreign direct investment. Cyber threats, too, loom larger in our digital economy, with ransomware attacks on banks and infrastructure testing the resilience of our nascent fintech boom. These are not isolated incidents but symptoms of deeper fissures: youth unemployment hovering at 40 percent, porous borders exploited by transnational criminals, and a climate crisis amplifying resource scarcity.

‘The President’s words point towards a shift: from reactive firefighting to strategic dominance, bolstered by enhanced intelligence, security forces operations and community partnerships.’

What makes Tinubu’s speech particularly resonant for business leaders is its explicit linkage between security and economic renewal. He highlighted how subsidy removals and exchange rate unification have freed up resources for ‘education, healthcare, security, and infrastructure’, fuelling a 4.23 percent GDP rebound in Q2 2025 and five straight quarters of trade surplus. Secure environments are the oxygen of enterprise; without them, no amount of fiscal wizardry can sustain growth. The President’s call to sub-national governments, ‘I urge the sub-national entities to join us in nation-building. Let us be a nation of producers, not just consumers’, is a clarion for collaborative federalism. States like Borno and Kaduna, which have piloted community policing models, offer blueprints: integrating local vigilantes with federal security forces and tech, such as drone surveillance and AI-driven predictive analytics, to preempt threats.

Looking forward, the focus should be on enhanced security sector governance and security sector reform to achieve accountability, sustainability and resilience. Mr President, Sir, we urge you to evolve a system to hold the security sector accountable, both financially and operationally, using monitoring and evaluation as well as effective audit measures. The National Assembly must step up its legislative duties in support of this and to achieve an effective National Security Enterprise that is consistent with our national aspirations. Then we must jointly, as part of collaborative federalism, in a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society manner, stem the violence, reduce conflict, rebuild community trust and promote economic resilience.

The Presidency and the National Economic Council should work with the newly created regional commissions and the Nigeria Governors Forum to strengthen regional development plans and have them serve as frameworks for public-private partnerships for addressing the developmental challenges peculiar to the regions. Accordingly, Nigeria’s security renaissance demands high-stakes innovation. First, invest in human capital: channel the enhanced revenue generation into vocational programmes that turn idle youth into skilled labour and cybersecurity sentinels as well as agro-entrepreneurs, directly undercutting recruitment pipelines for insurgents and other non-state armed groups. Second, regional diplomacy: deepen ECOWAS ties to seal Sahel borders, where jihadist spillovers thrive. Third, private-sector synergy: incentivise conglomerates to fund ‘secure zones’ around industrial parks, blending corporate social responsibility with national defence. These steps align with President Tinubu’s vision of a ‘new foundation cast in concrete, not on quicksand’, transforming security from a cost centre to a growth engine.

At 65, Nigeria stands at an inflection point, not as a fragile giant, but as a phoenix mid-rise. President Tinubu’s assurance that ‘yesterday’s pains are giving way to relief’ invites us all to co-author the next chapter. For businesses, this means betting on stability: expanding operations in reclaimed territories, forging public-private pacts, and viewing security as the ultimate competitive edge. The dawn he heralds is not inevitable; it is ours to seize. In the words of our forebears, from this moment onwards, the future is pregnant, let us deliver it secure, prosperous, and unequivocally Nigerian.

The World Bank has outlined key strategies Nigeria must adopt to achieve and sustain long-term stability for the naira, emphasising the importance of deeper foreign exchange (FX) market reforms, improved communication of monetary policy, and enhanced non-oil revenue generation.

These recommendations are contained in the October 2025 edition of its Nigeria Development Update titled ‘From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home’, released on Wednesday.

According to the report, while recent reforms have helped stabilise the naira and improve FX market functioning, the country remains vulnerable to external shocks due to a narrow export base and dependence on short-term capital inflows. To ensure lasting stability of the local currency, the World Bank urged the government to focus on longer-term foreign exchange inflows from oil, remittances, and especially non-oil exports. It also called for a more transparent FX policy framework and progressive adjustments to regulations governing banks’ foreign currency positions.

FX Market Still Dependent on Short-Term Inflows

The World Bank observed that the Nigerian FX market, despite notable reforms, still heavily relies on inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPI) and interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). High yields on Open Market Operations (OMO) instruments have continued to attract short-term foreign capital, while the CBN has used positive net FX inflows to build reserves and maintain exchange rate stability.

However, for the FX market to become sustainably liquid and market-driven, the World Bank stressed that Nigeria must focus on attracting more durable sources of foreign exchange, particularly through increased oil earnings and formalised remittance channels. Equally important is the urgent need to expand and diversify the country’s export base beyond oil, which requires tackling longstanding supply-side constraints.

Allowing Banks Greater FX Flexibility

The report proposed a gradual relaxation of restrictions on banks’ net open FX positions within safe macroprudential limits as part of a broader strategy to deepen the FX market and support exchange rate flexibility. With higher domestic yields and reduced incentives to hold U.S. dollars, the World Bank noted that this policy shift could help stabilise the naira by aligning market forces more closely with fundamentals.

The CBN in January 2024 said the Net Open Position (NOP) limit of banks’ overall foreign currency assets and liabilities both on and off-balance sheet should not exceed 20 percent short or 0 percent long of shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses using the gross aggregate method.

Nonetheless, the report emphasised that any such adjustments should be made cautiously and alongside measures to build market confidence. It also underscored the need for the CBN to clarify and consistently communicate its FX intervention policies, including its reserves management strategy and thresholds for intervention during external shocks.

FX Reforms Yielding Positive Results

Recent reforms have already yielded significant improvements in Nigeria’s FX market. The unification of exchange rates, upgrades to interbank trading platforms, and clearing of the FX backlog have led to the re-emergence of an active, willing-buyer-willing-seller market. Additionally, regulatory reforms targeting the bureau de change (BDC) sector and remittance channels have helped formalise inflows and stabilise the official exchange rate.

During the global market turbulence of April 2025, the reformed FX market demonstrated resilience. While the CBN intervened to reduce volatility, it also allowed the naira to depreciate modestly by 5% in response to declining oil prices, an indication of increased exchange rate flexibility.

External Accounts Supporting Naira Stability

The World Bank noted that Nigeria’s external position has remained strong in 2025 following significant improvement in 2024. The current account balance (CAB) rose sharply from a 0.1 percent GDP surplus in early 2023 to 6 percent in Q1 2024, driven by naira depreciation, which boosted exports and curtailed imports. In Q1 2025, the CAB posted a surplus of $3.9 billion (6.1% of GDP), supported by a robust trade-in-goods surplus of $4.2 billion.

The increase in non-oil exports, up 50 percent year-on-year played a major role in this performance, alongside reduced petroleum product imports following the removal of the fuel subsidy and resumption of domestic refining. However, inward remittances declined by 4.2 percent year-on-year in Q1 2025, partly due to a slowdown in global economic activity and lower employment prospects for Nigerians abroad.

Despite these gains, the report warned that Nigeria’s higher inflation relative to the U.S. has begun to erode the competitive edge gained from earlier exchange rate adjustments.

Financial Account Weakness and Reserve Depletion

The World Bank also highlighted continued challenges on the financial account front. First quarter (Q1) 2025 witnessed net financial outflows driven by divestments in investment positions, foreign debt repayments by the CBN and corporate entities, and outflows from bank deposits. Although foreign direct investment (FDI) recorded a net inflow of $798 million during the period, it remained below 1% of GDP, constrained by structural bottlenecks in the business environment.

These outflows, in contrast to the current account surplus, contributed to a temporary depletion of external reserves from $40.9 billion at the end of 2024 to $38.3 billion by March 2025. However, reserves later rebounded to $41.3 billion by the end of August 2025, equivalent to 8.6 months of import cover, as net FX inflows turned positive again.

Sustaining the Gains Requires Commitment

The World Bank stated that Nigeria has made significant strides in stabilising the naira through bold policy reforms and improved FX market functioning. However, sustaining these gains will require a continued focus on attracting longer-term FX inflows, expanding non-oil exports, enhancing policy transparency, and strengthening investor confidence.

Without these efforts, the naira’s current stability may prove short-lived in the face of future economic shocks or global financial volatility.

President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the first indigenous oil terminal, $400 million Otakikpo project, which is located in the Oceanic area of Ikuru town in the easternmost part of Rivers State.

This is as the president announced that the era of anxieties over offshore financing are almost over because of the $5 billion African Energy Bank (AEB) fund, which, he said, is set to begin operations.

Excitement is already in the air as the terminal is expected to create a new route to export. The company behind the deal, Lekoil, said the Otakikpo terminal would make them one of the leading indigenous oil companies in Nigeria.

Lekoil said the inauguration of the strategic export channel, through which Lekoil evacuates crude oil from the Otakikpo field, is in line with ongoing reforms to expand Nigeria’s production capacity towards Nigeria’s economic development.

President Tinubu, who was represented at the inauguration by Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), said the era of battling with a lack of finance is over.

According to him, the worst challenge in the upstream operation is access to finance, and the promoters of AEB have met all its obligations for the operations.

He thus assured Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) and all others that the era of perhaps looking elsewhere for finance will soon be over.

‘We have discovered that the biggest challenge we have in Africa is access to, you know, finance. And that was why we’ve come up with the African Energy Bank, which is ready to go. Nigeria, as the host country, has met its obligations.

‘We have met all our obligations, legal, financial. We have met all our obligations. We are waiting, you know, for the bank to take off, which I think will take off, you know, any moment from now.’

President Tinubu commended the management of GEIL, recalling that the indigenous firm started from a marginal field the same time as other awardees who spent their finances on private jets, while GEIL decided to build an export terminal to create value in the industry.

He assured the company and other operators that are keeping to the terms of their licences of total support and collaboration.

Tinubu gave update on the resumption of oil operations in Ogoni. ‘I need to state that in the commitment of the government that is already talking with the Ogoni people to resolve the Ogoni problem.

‘And once the Ogoni problem is resolved, this will be the best terminal that will evacuate the crude oil we produce from Ogoni.’

He appealed to the Ogoni leaders to consider that for as long as the oil asset remains in the ground, neither the Ogoni nor the FG would extract any benefit from it.

Speaking, Gbenga Komolafe, the CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), said the terminal is historic on two levels.

According to him, it expands Nigeria’s crude export infrastructure at a critical time and demonstrates the capacity of Nigerian operators to deliver world-class projects once thought possible only for international major players.

He further noted that the Otakiko terminal is significant to the present national crude oil production, that is, about 1.8million barrels, because the efficiency of evacuation and export is critical.

Komolafe also said that by creating an alternative export hub in Rivers State, the Otakikpo terminal reduces over-reliance on existing terminals, many of which are operating at near capacity and are exposed to security and pipeline challenges.

He said the industry’s indigenous operators had evolved to the stage of accounting for 30% of the national production.

In a statement, Lekan Akinyanmi, CEO of Lekoil, one of partners in GEIL, said the Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal is not just infrastructure; ‘It is a symbol of progress, credibility, and the determination of indigenous producers to deliver value on a global stage.’

Meanwhile, Anthony Adegbulugbe, the CEO of GEIL, said the storage capacity of the terminal is 750,000 barrels, which is expandable to three million barrels.

He also said it has a pumping capacity of 360,000bpd. The CEO added that since June 2025, the company has already completed four export operations, totaling one million barrels of crude oil.

In today’s startup world, the loudest stories are often those of massive funding rounds, yet the quiet truth behind most business failures is a neglected customer. Founders celebrate capital injections and valuation milestones, but rarely do they celebrate the conversations that truly build a company: those with their users.

I’ve watched this pattern repeat itself across continents, from Silicon Valley’s venture-backed experiments to Australia’s thriving innovation hubs, where technical founders build impressive products, but not always meaningful businesses. This growing gap between building for the customer and building with the customer inspired my new book, Sales Start with the Customer.

The book is not a conventional manual. It’s a story-driven reflection on what really makes businesses grow: people, processes, and technology, in that order. It invites technical founders, especially those without a business background, to rethink how they approach product-market fit and growth. Because the truth is simple: no process or technology can save a business that doesn’t start with empathy for the people it serves.

The real problem with modern entrepreneurship

We live in an era where speed is glorified and ‘disruption’ is a badge of honour. But in that rush, too many entrepreneurs have become detached from the everyday realities of their customers. When a founder is more focused on investor decks than user feedback, the company begins to drift, not from lack of funding, but from lack of listening.

The irony is that the most successful global companies, from Amazon to Flutterwave, are not built on groundbreaking technology alone. They are built on a relentless obsession with solving the customer’s problem better than anyone else. Funding can amplify that effort, but it cannot replace it.

In Sales Start with the Customer, the story follows two entrepreneurs as they navigate the complexities of turning an idea into a living business. Their journey shows what every founder eventually learns: that ‘sales’ is not merely a transaction; it’s the art of understanding human behaviour, designing around it, and earning trust.

Beyond products: Building value systems

At the heart of every sustainable business are three intertwined elements: people, processes, and technology. Yet in many startups, this hierarchy is reversed, technology leads, processes follow, and people come last.

That order may deliver a minimum viable product, but it rarely produces a minimum viable business. A founder’s real job is to build systems that empower people, employees, partners, and customers to create value consistently. Processes must simplify, not suffocate. Technology must serve, not overshadow.

As one reader, Umashankar Shivanand of the Forbes Technology Council, aptly noted, the book’s ideas are ‘a valuable resource for both novice and experienced professionals aiming to adopt a customer-centric approach.’ That validation reinforces a universal truth: businesses fail not from lack of innovation, but from losing sight of the humans they innovate for.

Why founders must slow down to scale up

The pace of modern entrepreneurship can be intoxicating, but speed without direction leads nowhere. I often tell founders: growth is not about how fast you can build; it’s about how well you can listen.

A founder who listens builds products that last. A founder who listens builds a team that stays. A founder who listens builds customers who return. And in that sense, listening, not funding, not marketing, not virality, becomes the most underrated business strategy of all.

To scale sustainably, founders must slow down long enough to understand what their customers are truly trying to achieve. Not what they say they want, but what their actions reveal. This shift from ‘what works for the business’ to ‘what works for the customer’ transforms not just sales outcomes but also company culture.

Relearning what business really means

Sales Start with the Customer is an invitation to relearn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. It challenges founders to stop chasing validation and start building value. Because when you design every process, hire every person, and deploy every technology with the customer in mind, success becomes inevitable.

This philosophy isn’t sentimental; it’s strategic. In a world where technology changes daily, customer empathy is the only durable competitive advantage. Capital may open doors, but only customers keep them open.

So, as the startup world continues to celebrate funding rounds, valuations, and exits, it’s time we celebrate something more enduring, founders who build from the inside out, with empathy, clarity, and a deep commitment to the people who make their business possible.

Because in the end, every sale starts and survives with the customer.

With the retirement on Tuesday of Yakubu Mahmood as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the stage is set for the appointment of his successor. Will political consideration trump love for the country?

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was excessively excited the other day and decided to tell President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a pleasant story that gladdens the hearts of kings. He related a certain vision of welcoming more defecting governors into the ruling party’s fold soon. But is there nothing more important than defection?

Beyond the selection of Mahmood’s successor

‘Soldier come, soldier go, the barracks remains’ is a time-tested aphorism that has continued to be relevant today. Those who come on a stage and behave as if they have come to stay indefinitely discover that they are working against nature. After all, it is said that there is a time and season for everything under the sun.

On Tuesday, October 7, Yakubu Mahmood exited the power stool as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after serving two terms of 10 years consecutively.

Listening to the high command of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday singing ‘Till we meet again.’ as they saw off their retired boss from the office, it was more than emotional. But the way they chanted the song sounded more like a dirge than praise. If the rendition was meant to show camaraderie or to convey a ‘we will miss you’ message, the choice of a song popularly sung at wake-keeps and during interment was terribly misplaced! But that’s a story for another day.

The focus today is on who succeeds Yakubu Mahmood on a substantive note, not in an acting capacity. Many Nigerians are eagerly looking forward to hearing the name of the individual.

Many Nigerians speak in tandem that the new INEC chairman must be a person of impeccable character and unquestionable integrity; that he or she must be non-partisan and must not be affiliated with any political party, whether past or present; that the individual must be an expert in elections or a related field; and above all that he/she must be courageous and independent-minded to withstand political pressures and undue interference.

It must be stated straightaway that the problem with the retired Mahmood was not about competency. It was about the things he chose to do or not do, even though they mattered a lot. It is about the things he closed his eyes to. It is about his inability to insist that the right things be done under his watch without minding whose ox was gored. It was his being too malleable and his decision to yield to political manipulations that were his undoing.

He may have exhibited competency, but the outgoing INEC chairman did not acquit himself creditably in the estimation of many Nigerians.

His decision to hang in there as the INEC chairman until his tenure expired despite the deluge of calls for his resignation easily showed a character that conveyed impunity and insensitivity.

One man who strongly believes that Mahmood is worthy of many stripes by the way he handled the national assignment given to him is Peter Ameh, national secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).

Ameh said that Mahmood’s leadership was characterised by high-handedness, disregard for opposition parties, and a failure to uphold transparency in the electoral process.

‘Under Professor Mahmood’s tenure, the opposition suffered. He was not accommodating when it came to opposition or multi-party democracy; all he wanted was to crush it. The high-handedness was much.

‘When you talk about INEC, the commission’s primary duty is to conduct elections. During Mahmood’s tenure, there was corruption and mismanagement. Legitimacy was bastardised,’ he said.

According to him, ‘The conduct of the 2023 general elections left a bitter taste in everybody’s mouth; that is what he will be remembered for.’

It is not altogether negative about Mahmood. Apart from leaving behind a legacy tainted with a welter of allegations and finger-pointing for wrongdoing, Mahmood introduced the automation of the nation’s electoral process. The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal was proof that the willingness to do the right thing was there. Although those technologies were interfered with by desperate political actors, he deserves commendation for the conceptualisation in the first place.

With the expiration of Mahmood’s tenure on Tuesday, the seat is now vacant. All eyes are on the President, who, by virtue of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution, is the appointing authority. The Council of State plays an advisory role. It advises the President on that critical appointment. But it is the prerogative of the President to accept the advice or not. The Senate of the National Assembly plays an important role in the appointment, too.

Many Nigerians have asked the Senate to put the interest of the country first before that of their party by critically looking at the suitability of the individual sent to them by the President. The Senate has been urged to discard the ‘take a bow and go’ method of screening that features on the floor of the chamber. Whatever the Senate does with the screening will either make or mar Nigeria’s future. It will either inspire hope and confidence in Nigerians or further alienate them from taking part in the electoral process.

Some governors and former ministers on Tuesday in Abuja asked the Federal Government to reform the INEC ahead of the 2027 general election to restore public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy and strengthen electoral credibility.

They spoke at a panel discussion hosted by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, with the theme ‘Innovation in Electoral Technology 2015-2025: Gains, Gaps, and the Road Ahead’, in Abuja.

The call was made at the launch of the Athena Election Observatory, an initiative designed to monitor and document electoral reforms, innovations and governance trends in Nigeria and across Africa.

Those who made the call included Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo; Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal; former Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola; and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka, who is also the Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership.

Even Soludo, who appears to have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the APC to leave Anambra alone for him in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state while he will reciprocate by ‘handing over the state to the President’ in 2027, seems unsure about what the INEC is capable of doing in any election; hence, his call on the Federal Government to fix the Commission before 2027.

Today, there are twelve national commissioners of the INEC. While four of them are due for retirement in February 2026, the rest are retiring in 2027.

The call for less politics in choosing a substantive INEC chairman has become deafening. Nigerians have urged those responsible for that selection to make the overriding interest of the country a priority.

Whereas Prof. Abdullahi Abdu Zuru was appointed on September 15, 2021, he will retire on September 14, 2026; Prof. Kunle Cornelius Ajayi, appointed on October 25, 2021, will retire on October 25, 2026; Baba Bila was appointed on September 15, 2021, and will retire on September 15, 2026; and Prof. Sani Muhammad Adam, who was appointed on September 15, 2021, will retire on September 15, 2026.

Moreover, Prof. Rhoda Habor Gumus, Mohammed Haruna, Sam Olugbadebo Olumekun, Kenneth Ukeagu, May Agbamuche-Mbu, Prof. Sunday Nwambam Aja, Abdulrazaq Tukur Yusuf, and Modibbo Alkali were appointed on February 22, 2022; they will retire on February 22, 2027.

Haruna and Agbamuche-Mbu are two-term national commissioners before the latter became the acting INEC chairman on Tuesday. Ukeagu is a career staff member who rose from the rank of director to become national commissioner.

Nigerians are waiting with bated breath to hear the person on whose shoulders will rest the burden of superintending over the 2027 general election.

Akpabio and the vision of ‘captive’ governors

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, last Tuesday put on his binoculars to see more opposition governors getting ready to join the All Progressive Congress (APC). He was simply excited, and, in his hubris, he wasted no time in telling and assuring President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that more governors from opposition parties were already preparing to empty themselves into the ruling party.

He made the remark in Owerri thus: ‘Mr President, with what you have done in the last two years, get ready to receive more governors from the opposition parties. As I speak, there are several governors in Nigeria today who are ready to be received by you.’

Such talks have become common among the high echelon of the APC, particularly those who want to impress the President. Whenever they have nothing to say to please Aso Rock, they mouth opposition and how they have seen in their vision an army of defectors heading towards the APC.

What does it profit a country to have all the states under one political party, yet there is no good governance going on in them? What matters to Nigerians is that all the states, irrespective of their party affiliation, are applying the principles of democracy and the governors keep to the social contract with the people. So, it is infantile for the Senate President to clink glasses in anticipation of more opposition governors allegedly planning to empty themselves into the APC. It was equally childish of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, to boast that his party would take over Abia State in 2027. The question to ask is, is the current government in Abia living up to expectations in terms of good governance? The answer is crystal clear, except for those who delight in politics of mischief – see nothing, hear nothing, and, of course, commend nothing.

The overemphasis on defections by some principal actors in the ruling party has also put pressure on the INEC, further eroding the commission’s credibility in the eyes of Nigerians.

If you are calling on state governors to dump their parties and join the APC, it simply means that you are telling them that no matter what they do as state governors to please their people by way of good governance, the decision of the voters to reciprocate through a massive vote cast may not count, as there would be a resistance using some untoward means to invalidate the voice of the people through the ballot box.

Is anybody creating an impression that the great re-engineering work going on in Enugu and Abia States, for instance, by Governors Peter Mbah and Alex Otti, respectively, is not enough to convince their people to re-elect them on their individual platforms unless they move over to the APC?

It is conversations of this nature that have made the appointment of a more credible INEC chairman very imperative. For instance, with a competent and credible INEC chairman, there would be less fear of likely electoral fraud. There would be a high level of renewed trust in the electoral process, and that would enhance citizen participation, and there would be less pressure on state governors to want to dump their parties for the ruling party in the hope that their re-election is sacrosanct.

What is the point of calling everybody to join the ruling party? The game would become uninteresting if everybody were to be in one team. Today, people compete in different sports, and spectators gather to see different teams slug it out in the field of play. What makes such competition exciting is that two opposing teams are involved. Who would waste his/her time to go watch just one team facing one side and moving a ball in one direction without any resistance? Nobody will buy a ticket to go watch such an infantile display. Politics is exciting when different parties are involved. But it would seem that many politicians of today do not appreciate the true meaning of ‘the more, the merrier’. Akpabio and others must ‘live and let live’, please!