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In a bid to drive investment and boost enterprise growth in the Nigerian tourism industry, Aliyu Ajayi Badaki, president, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), has called for the adoption of clear-cut institutional responsibilities, regulation and professional development, among others.

The above, Badaki stated, is a sure pathway to attracting investment and unlocking Nigeria’s tourism potential, which is hugely untapped.

According to him, the top agenda of the FTAN, which is the umbrella body for private sector operators in tourism, is still to be a meaningful voice in tourism policy formulation and implementation.

In his address at the 20th International Conference and Annual General Meeting of Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria (HATMAN), which held in Awka, Anambra State, Badaki declared the need for clear institutional responsibilities, appropriate regulations, professional development, and an enabling environment that encourages investment and enterprise growth cannot be overemphasized.

”One of FTAN’s major priorities is ensuring that the organized-private sector has a meaningful voice in tourism policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria,’ he said at the Awka gathering.

”The private sector drives much of the daily activity within our industry. Our hotels, tour operators, travel agents, restaurants, event managers, and other tourism professionals understand the realities of operating tourism businesses.

”Their experiences and recommendations must therefore inform the policies and regulations that affect them.”

To achieve the above, according to him, requires FTAN to engage relevant government institutions on issues affecting the industry, including the implementation and harmonisation of the NTDA Act 2022 and the NIHOTOUR Act 2022.

”Our position is not opposition to regulation. We seek policies that promote professionalism, protect standards, and support the sustainable growth of tourism businesses.

”Tourism policies must be developed with the industry, not merely for the industry.

”Government must recognise the organised private sector as a strategic partner, not simply a stakeholder to be informed after decisions have been made,” he said.

Badaki, who is also chairman, Board of Trustees, HATMAN, called for partnership as the only means of achieving the desired end of tourism development and promotion.

”No single institution can transform Nigeria’s tourism industry alone. We need the government, professional associations, educational institutions, investors, technology providers, and tourism operators working towards common objectives.

”Through the Tourism Transformation Mandate, FTAN will continue to promote constructive engagement, stronger collaboration among associations, and evidence-based advocacy to ensure that the concerns and recommendations of tourism operators receive appropriate consideration.

”I call on HATMAN and other tourism associations to strengthen this collective effort. A united, organised, and professionally credible private sector will be better positioned to influence policy and contribute meaningfully to national tourism development.”

He commended the resilience of HATMAN’s members for their dedication to the sustenance of the association in the past 20 years, noting that two decades of sustaining the professional platform demonstrate HATMAN’s commitment to advancing hospitality and tourism in Nigeria.’

Speaking earlier on the theme of the conference, ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Agenda: Implications for Global Transformation in Hospitality and Tourism’, he noted that it is timely as artificial intelligence and digital technology are changing how people go through the journey of discovering and experiencing destinations. ‘For Nigeria, these developments present opportunities to improve service delivery, reduce operating costs, expand market access, attract investment, and create employment,” Badaki said.

For a thriving and sustainable tourism industry, he called for skilled manpower development, infrastructure and collaboration among others.

”However, technology alone cannot transform our industry. We need skilled professionals, reliable infrastructure, supportive policies, and stronger collaboration among stakeholders.

”Our task is to combine technological innovation with the warmth of Nigerian hospitality, the richness of our culture, and the professionalism required to compete globally.”

He reiterated his commitment to the need for a more coordinated, structured, and result-oriented approach to tourism development.

”This informed my commitment to the Tourism Transformation Mandate (TTM)-a vision focused on strengthening tourism associations, promoting investment, improving professional standards, enhancing destination visibility, and building stronger partnerships between government and the private sector,” he said.

With the conference theme aligning with his TTM agenda, Badaki said: ”I therefore encourage HATMAN to prioritise digital skills development, the adoption of affordable technology by hospitality businesses, improved professional standards, and partnerships with educational institutions and technology providers.

”We must prepare our members not merely to adapt to technological change but to use it as a tool for growth and innovation.”

Badaki further disclosed: ”Through the Tourism Transformation Mandate, FTAN will continue to promote constructive engagement, stronger collaboration among associations, and evidence-based advocacy to ensure that the concerns and recommendations of tourism operators receive appropriate consideration.

”I call on HATMAN and other tourism associations to strengthen this collective effort. A united, organised, and professionally credible private sector will be better positioned to influence policy and contribute meaningfully to national tourism development.”

”As chairman, Board of Trustees, I encourage HATMAN to translate the knowledge gained from this conference into practical programmes that benefit its members.

”Let us equip our professionals with relevant digital skills, support small and medium-sized hospitality businesses, encourage innovation among young people, and strengthen collaboration with FTAN and relevant government agencies.

”Above all, let us measure our progress by the results we achieve-not merely by the conferences we organise or the policies we announce.

”Nigeria possesses enormous tourism potential. What we need is the collective commitment to convert that potential into investment, jobs, business growth, and sustainable economic development.”

He also reaffirmed his commitment, both as chairman of the Board of Trustees of HATMAN and president of FTAN, to advancing a more competitive, innovative, and professionally organised tourism industry.

”Let HATMAN champion professional excellence and digital readiness. Let FTAN strengthen private sector coordination and advocacy. Let the government provide an enabling policy environment and also take cognisance of the provisions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to avoid conflicts.

”And let all stakeholders work together to build a tourism industry that is inclusive, investment-ready, and globally competitive.

”The future of Nigerian tourism depends not only on the technology we adopt but also on the policies we implement, the partnerships we build, and the value we create for our people.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Akin Osuntokun’s latest intervention, titled ‘Atiku Abubakar Cannot Heckle His Way to the Presidency,’ published in THISDAY on October 16, 2026, is a curious mixture of selective history, political prejudice and recycled allegations masquerading as informed commentary. It is remarkable that at a time when Nigerians are grappling with unprecedented economic hardship, insecurity and growing uncertainty about their future, Osuntokun considers it more important to excavate alleged private conversations from over two decades ago in an attempt to disqualify former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from seeking the presidency.

Of particular interest is his resurrection of a story attributed to former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke, who claimed that former military President Ibrahim Babangida once told President Olusegun Obasanjo that Atiku could not rule Nigeria. This is precisely the sort of tale by moonlight that should have no place in serious political analysis.

According to the account, Babangida allegedly pretended to have forgotten his keys, returned to Obasanjo’s private study and whispered a warning about Atiku. We are then invited to treat this extraordinary recollection of a supposed private exchange as a definitive assessment of Atiku’s presidential suitability.

But where is the independent corroboration? Has Babangida publicly authenticated those precise words? Even assuming, without conceding, that the conversation occurred exactly as narrated, since when did an alleged private judgment made over twenty years ago become a permanent disqualification from democratic leadership?

The irony is that Osuntokun chooses to dwell on what Babangida allegedly said in private while conveniently sidestepping what Obasanjo subsequently declared in public. On October 11, 2018, Obasanjo openly endorsed Atiku for the presidency. He acknowledged their past disagreements, reconciled with his former deputy and offered an unambiguous assessment of his leadership credentials. His words deserve to be recalled: ‘You surely understand the economy better.’ Obasanjo went further, praising Atiku’s business experience, national and international reach, accessibility and capacity to provide leadership superior to that of the incumbent administration.

These were not anonymous whispers behind closed doors. They were public declarations made before political leaders, religious figures and the Nigerian media. Indeed, Obasanjo acknowledged that there had once been an understanding for Atiku to succeed him. That documented admission is considerably more relevant than Osuntokun’s speculative reconstruction of conversations from another political era. One would have expected a commentator concerned with historical accuracy to reconcile these facts rather than cherry-pick episodes that reinforce his preferred conclusion.

As for Babangida, any serious examination of his assessment of Atiku must account for the full history of their political relationship, including subsequent engagements, rather than elevate an uncorroborated remark into an eternal verdict. Neither Obasanjo nor Babangida holds a hereditary franchise to determine who may govern Nigeria. Whatever they may have thought about Atiku at different points in their political lives, the final authority belongs to the Nigerian electorate.

Osuntokun also suggests that Atiku’s age and repeated presidential contests should persuade him to surrender his ambition and become a mentor to younger politicians. This argument is as selective as it is unpersuasive. If age, experience and repeated electoral contests are legitimate subjects of political scrutiny, they must apply equally to all candidates, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They cannot suddenly become disqualifying considerations simply because the candidate under examination is Atiku Abubakar.

Age does not confer competence, but neither does it automatically extinguish it. The appropriate questions concern judgment, capacity, policy, integrity and the ability to assemble a credible governing team.

Atiku has offered Nigerians his experience in public administration, economic management, enterprise development and national leadership. These credentials are open to legitimate scrutiny, just as Tinubu’s performance after more than three years in office must be subjected to rigorous examination.

On zoning, Osuntokun advances the argument that another northern presidency would violate an expectation that power should remain in the South for eight years. Regional balance is important to national cohesion. But zoning is a political arrangement, not a constitutional prohibition against qualified Nigerians seeking elective office. More importantly, it cannot become an instrument for shielding an incumbent from accountability.

Nigerians are entitled to consider regional equity alongside competence, performance, national security and economic survival. It is for voters, not columnists, to decide how these considerations should influence their ballots.

Osuntokun’s attempt to portray Atiku as the principal architect of opposition fragmentation is equally simplistic. The crisis within the opposition cannot credibly be attributed to one individual while ignoring the ambitions, choices and conduct of other political actors. Political parties are collective institutions, and responsibility for their successes and failures must be assessed accordingly. Atiku has participated in efforts to build a broader opposition coalition and now leads the ADC presidential ticket alongside Rotimi Amaechi. Whether that coalition persuades Nigerians is a matter to be settled democratically, not through predetermined assertions about his supposed unelectability.

Then there is Osuntokun’s fascination with Atiku addressing the President as ‘Bola.’ When did addressing a public official by his given name become a constitutional offence or a measure of political desperation? Bola is the President’s name, not an insult. Those who regard its use as an affront should explain why the substance of public accountability matters less to them than presidential titles.

The real political pollution is not calling a president by his name. It is the growing tendency to treat legitimate criticism of public officeholders as an act of disrespect. What Nigerians require from political commentators is a searching examination of governance. How have the administration’s economic policies affected household incomes? What has happened to the purchasing power of wages? How secure are communities? What measurable relief has reached ordinary Nigerians?

These questions deserve more attention than an alleged conversation about misplaced keys in Aso Rock more than twenty years ago. Osuntokun is entitled to his preferences, prejudices and political conclusions. He is even entitled to believe that Atiku should not be President. What he is not entitled to is the pretence that his personal judgment constitutes the verdict of the Nigerian people. In a democracy, presidential ambition is neither granted nor extinguished by the approval of political columnists.

On January 16, 2027, Nigerians will have the opportunity to examine the competing candidates, evaluate their records, consider their proposals and exercise their constitutional right to determine who governs them. They will not be required to consult Osuntokun’s preferred political history before casting their ballots. Atiku Abubakar does not require Akin Osuntokun’s permission to seek the presidency, any more than Bola Tinubu requires his endorsement to pursue re-election.

Both must submit themselves to the sovereign judgment of Nigerians. Ultimately, Atiku’s presidential fate will be determined by the votes of Nigerians, not by Akin Osuntokun’s biases, recycled anecdotes or tales by moonlight. That is democracy. And that is the verdict that matters.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nigeria’s fragile electricity supply is leaving households and businesses increasingly vulnerable as an intensifying El Niño threatens to expose millions of people to extreme heat, raising the cost of cooling homes, disrupting businesses and increasing health risks in a country where reliable power remains out of reach for many.

Nigeria has some of the world’s largest energy access deficits, with about 92 million people lacking access to electricity, according to data from Austria-based Sustainable Energy for All, an international organisation working in partnership with the United Nations.

This data is compounded by warnings from researchers at the University of Chicago’s Climate Impact Lab, who said Nigeria could record 31,400 additional heat-related deaths between September 2026 and February 2027, making it the country with the highest projected toll from the weather phenomenon of El Niño. The estimate is part of a wider forecast of 66,800 additional deaths across Africa’s Sahel region.

For Africa’s most populous country, the development is becoming more urgent as electricity distribution companies struggle to secure sufficient power from the national grid, forcing consumers to endure shorter supply hours and rely on generators, inverters and other costly alternatives to keep essential activities running.

Data from Nigeria’s electricity distribution system showed that 11 distribution companies had a combined allocation of 3,176 megawatts as of 1 p.m. Nigerian time on October 23.

Abuja Disco received the most at 575 MW, followed by Ikeja Disco at 467 MW and Eko Disco at 458 MW. Ibadan Disco was allocated 355 MW and Port Harcourt Disco 291 MW. Benin (240 MW), Enugu (230 MW), Kano (173 MW), Kaduna (167 MW) and Jos (146 MW) got far less. Yola Disco, serving the north-east, received just 74 MW.

The northern allocations matter because that is where the heat is most severe due to distance from the Atlantic Ocean, proximity to the Sahara Desert and low rainfall. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency recorded 41°C in Nguru, in Yobe State, in recent days. Lagos reached 34°C.

Heat of that magnitude, combined with unreliable power, leaves people with few ways to cool their homes or keep food and medicine cold.

‘Not having stable electricity during this heatwave period is very disastrous,’ said Toyosi Akinbobola, head of energy at Sofidam Capital.

Gas shortages compound the problem. The generators’ association says supply to thermal plants is below 43 percent of daily need. Pipeline vandalism destroyed 128 transmission towers in 2024.

‘Nigeria’s stranded power crisis is a transmission failure, not a generation failure,’ Joy Ogaji, chief executive of the generators’ association, said in July.

She described the toll on small businesses: ‘A small tailor earning N4,000 a day can spend N3,000 of it on generator fuel.’

Greg Odogwu, national coordinator at Centre for Renewable Energy, said Nigeria’s power shortages make it vulnerable to global heatwaves.

‘Even households connected to the grid may be unable to depend on electricity throughout the hottest hours of the day,’ Odogwu said. ‘When supply fails, consumers with sufficient resources turn to petrol or diesel generators, solar systems, batteries and inverters. Others have no practical alternative.’

BusinessDay’s findings showed the resulting costs extend beyond household comfort.

Shops may need to run generators for longer, manufacturers face additional operating expenses, and healthcare facilities must maintain power for essential equipment and medicines that require controlled temperatures.

Apart from rising costs, the weather risk is climbing at the same time.

Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said the current El Niño could peak toward the end of 2026, with effects lasting well beyond that.

El Niño is a natural pattern, marked by warming surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. But climate change is adding to its force, raising baseline temperatures and widening the gap between what people face and what they can cope with.

Researchers behind the Climate Impact Lab analysis said the numbers reflect poverty and power shortages as much as the weather.

Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago and Tamma Carleton of the University of California, Berkeley, wrote in an analysis published by Gavi’s VaccinesWork that ‘this makes Nigeria the country most likely in the world to have the highest heat mortality under the super El Niño.’

They added that ‘much of Africa lacks the electricity needed for air conditioning,’ and that ‘poorer, hotter countries will lack the money and reliable electricity needed to protect people.’

‘More than 60 percent of Nigerians were estimated to live below the national poverty line in 2025,’ Chicago researchers noted, and even homes with electricity connections face frequent outages.

The most exposed are people who work outdoors, such as farmers, traders, construction workers and commercial drivers. They are joined by residents of communities with little access to cooling, steady power or health care.

Hospitals and clinics that rely on diesel generators face higher fuel costs and the risk of equipment failure just as heat-related admissions rise.

In Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, residents have been enduring sweltering conditions with limited relief.

‘The heat is unbearable, and with no power, we can’t even turn on fans or air conditioners to cool down,’ lamented Adeola Okonkwo, a resident of Mushin Local Government Area in Lagos. ‘It’s like being trapped in an oven.’

For those who can afford it, the answer is self-supply. Generators and solar-battery inverters have become routine in Nigerian homes and shops, but they are expensive to buy and run.

Diesel and petrol costs eat into household budgets, and small firms that need cold storage, such as food sellers and pharmacies, face rising overheads or spoiled stock.

This development means wealthier urban households can buy their way through a heat wave while poorer families in dense neighbourhoods and rural northern states, where temperatures are highest, mostly cannot.

The death toll from a gunmen attack on Binnari village in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State has risen to 48, with 15 residents fleeing the assault reportedly drowning in a boat mishap while escaping from the attackers.

The Taraba State Police Command confirmed that 10 people were killed on the first day of the attack on Friday, while 38 others died or were found dead on Saturday morning, comprising 15 victims of the boat mishap and 23 whose bodies were recovered from the bush.

Victor Mshelizah, Police Public Relations Officer of the Taraba State Command, confirmed the figures to BusinessDay, explaining that the boat mishap occurred as residents attempted to escape the gunmen.

Mshelizah said the boat may have been carrying more passengers than its capacity, while the inadequate number of life jackets contributed to the deaths of the 15 victims.

The police spokesperson said officers were deployed immediately after the incident was reported, while additional personnel were sent to the area on Sunday morning to reinforce security.

He added that calm had returned to the affected community as of the time of filing this report.

The latest police figures exceed the initial casualty count reported by Amnesty International, which said at least 40 people were killed in the attack.

The attack reportedly occurred on Friday afternoon, shortly after Muslim Juma’at prayers, when armed men invaded Binnari village in large numbers.

Reports indicated that the attackers arrived on about 50 motorcycles, with each motorcycle carrying two armed men.

They reportedly opened fire indiscriminately on residents, setting houses, shops and stores containing food supplies ablaze.

The assailants were also reported to have looted cash and provisions before fleeing the community, leaving residents dead, injured or missing.

Amnesty International criticised the Federal Government over what it described as a slow response to the attack, arguing that vulnerable rural communities had been left exposed to armed criminal groups operating with considerable impunity.

Residents were also reported to have sustained injuries, while several others remained missing after the assault.

The full extent of the damage to homes, businesses and food supplies was not immediately established.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) will unveil the manifesto of its Lagos State governorship candidate, Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, on Friday with a pledge to sustain policy continuity while making governance more inclusive and addressing the state’s growing infrastructure and public service needs.

Musiliu Obanikoro, director-general of the PBAT-KOH Campaign Council, announced this on Sunday at a press conference in Lagos, saying the manifesto would outline Hamzat’s priorities and plans for the state ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

Obanikoro said the campaign was anchored on ‘continued shared progress and inclusivity’, arguing that Lagos needed experienced leadership capable of building on existing achievements while responding to the demands of its growing population.

The manifesto launch is scheduled to hold at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly known as the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.

‘It will provide a platform for Dr. Hamzat to present his vision, priorities, and plans for the continued development of our dear state,’ Obanikoro said.

He recalled that President Bola Tinubu unveiled a development manifesto when he became Lagos governor in 1999, describing it as a foundation for successive administrations in the state.

For the APC campaign, continuity would involve preserving effective policies, correcting shortcomings and extending development programmes rather than retaining existing approaches without improvement.

‘Continuity is not about doing things the same way simply because they have been done before; it is about protecting what works, correcting what needs improvement, and building on existing progress,’ Obanikoro said.

He argued that Lagos could not afford to abandon the foundations established by previous administrations, given the pressures associated with its population and economic importance.

‘With an estimated population of over 25 million, relatively limited landmarks, and the pressures that come with a cosmopolitan society, Lagos faces severe demands in transportation, human capital development, housing, infrastructure, security, healthcare, and environmental management,’ he said.

‘These challenges require experienced leadership, careful planning, and the ability to deliver results.’

Obanikoro said Hamzat’s experience in government and the private sector positioned him to address the state’s development needs. He cited the candidate’s degree in Systems Processes Engineering from Cranfield University, England, and his experience with international financial institutions, including Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Citibank.

Hamzat, who is serving as deputy governor under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, would draw on his experience in the administration to consolidate existing projects and tackle outstanding challenges, Obanikoro said.

He cited developments in rail transportation, road construction, education, healthcare, housing and the creative economy as areas where successive administrations had made progress.

The campaign director-general also said Hamzat and his team had consulted religious leaders, traditional rulers, traders, market women, professionals, artisans, community leaders and other stakeholders across Lagos.

According to him, the consultations are intended to ensure that the manifesto reflects the needs of different communities and groups in the state.

Obanikoro said the manifesto would be made available for download after its presentation, allowing members of the public to examine its proposals and submit feedback through party channels.

He added that the campaign’s approach was based on the belief that development should reflect Lagos’s diversity while preserving the interests and heritage of its indigenous population.

‘Nobody should be left behind because of religion, tribe, gender, social status, or place of origin. Lagos belongs to all of us, for those who call it home, while respecting and preserving the indigenous people of Lagos State,’ he said.

ýMore than 860 traffic incidents and 17 deaths were recorded on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road between January and October this year, while the Otedola Bridge corridor logged 365 incidents and 15 fatalities over the same period, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), disclosed.

ýOlalekan Bakare-Oki, general manager of the authority, disclosed the figures on Thursday during a media briefing organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation in Lagos, raising fresh concerns over road safety along major transport arteries facing heavy vehicular pressure.

ýBakare-Oki said that the high casualty figures reinforced the urgent need for stronger safety advocacy, improved emergency response, and more effective traffic management across the state.

ýHe explained that the agency had expanded its operational focus beyond conventional traffic control to encompass public engagement and rapid incident response on state roads.

ý’Over the years, LASTMA has been able to evolve from a mere traffic control organisation into a sophisticated institution that has focused on road safety, citizens’ engagement, and quick response to traffic incidents on Lagos roads,’ Bakare-Oki said.

ýHe noted that Lagos faced persistent mobility challenges due to its compact landmass and intense vehicular concentration, which placed immense strain on existing transport infrastructure.

ýLagos occupies approximately 0.4 percent of Nigeria’s total landmass but accounts for one of the highest concentrations of vehicles in West Africa, creating a persistent imbalance between available road capacity and traffic volume.

ý’Our core responsibility is to ensure seamless mobility despite this limitation. Our concentration has been on the major crossing points, especially to reduce the damage on these roads,’ Bakare-Oki said.

ýHe revealed that the agency was collaborating with federal authorities to investigate the underlying causes of road deterioration and traffic accidents along the Otedola Bridge-Kara axis. A joint inspection team led by the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos and the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation recently examined the corridor to evaluate structural and operational vulnerabilities.

ýBakare-Oki added that technical assessments would extend beyond Otedola Bridge to encompass other high-density transport links requiring targeted interventions.

ýMeanwhile, LASTMA is expanding operational readiness ahead of the December festive period, during which heightened commercial activity, leisure travel, and tourism historically increase gridlock across the metropolis.

ýBakare-Oki said the agency would deploy more than 2,000 personnel to high-density hubs, including Victoria Island, Lekki-Ajah, Surulere, and Ikeja, to maintain traffic flow and curb congestion. Heavy-duty recovery vehicles will also be pre-positioned at strategic locations to expedite the clearance of broken-down vehicles and reduce crash response times.

ýThe agency will also introduce a 24-hour operational shift system, deploying personnel on overnight duties from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to manage late-night traffic.

ý’For Detty December proper, LASTMA has put in place robust traffic management. We have done it before; it is not new to us. But what we are bringing in this time is to step up our traffic management,’ Bakare-Oki said.

No fewer than 40 persons have been reportedly killed in an attack on Binnari Village in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria, by yet-to-be-identified gunmen

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, shortly after the Muslim Juma’at prayers. Unconfirmed reports put the number of casualties at at least 40 people.

BusinessDay gathered that while Amnesty International also put the casualty figure at 40, local police in Taraba State put the figure at 10 before more bodies were recovered.

BusinessDay also gathered that many of the residents were reportedly missing, while some were injured, from the attacks.

Reports indicated that the armed men arrived in the community in large numbers on about 50 motorcycles, with each bike carrying two attackers. It was gathered that they opened fire indiscriminately, while also setting homes, shops, and food supply stores ablaze.

They also resorted to looting cash, provisions, and abandoned motorcycles, as they fled the town. Amnesty International have however, criticised the Nigerian government for a slow response, noting that the rural communities and vulnerable areas were abandoned to armed criminal gangs (‘bandits’) who operate with high levels of impunity.

The attackers invaded the village with heavy gunfire and looted food items from shops, police said.

Recall that many Northern communities have consistently experienced a surge in attacks by heavily armed criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, who raid villages, abduct residents for ransom and steal livestock.

The Nigerian military is, however, yet to officially provide information on the attack.

Taraba State, located along the Nigeria-Cameroon border in the North Eastern part of the country, also has one of the largest forest reserves known as the Gashaka Gumti Forest Reserve.

Several leaders in the region have called on the federal government to protect the region against terrorists who constantly raid the region and retreat to the unmanned spaces within the state.

Better access to irrigation and roads is opening possibilities for farming communities in Kano. Turning those opportunities into dependable livelihoods will require sustained training, effective maintenance and fair access to water.

Faruku Musa Haruna and other farmers in Kumfada used to pool their money to buy plastic sheets, trapping enough water to irrigate small patches of land. They wanted to keep farming after the rains, but their ambitions depended on how much water they could save.

‘We always had the desire to farm, but we lacked the means,’ Haruna said.

When the rainy season was poor, dry-season cultivation could become impossible. The consequences extended beyond an unplanted field: fewer opportunities to work, fewer crops to sell, and another period of uncertainty before the next rains.

Now, Haruna describes a different experience. Water reaches the farms without the need to run a generator.

‘You just turn the valve, and water flows right into your field.’

He grows carrots, followed by onions, tomatoes, and peppers on the same land. With a more reliable supply, he hopes to add rice and wheat-crops he previously considered beyond reach because of water shortages.

For Haruna, irrigation offers greater freedom to decide what to plant and when. For the communities around Tiga, Challawa Gorge, and the Kafin Chiri dams, the larger question is whether that freedom can become a dependable livelihood.

More than water

The federal intervention around the three dams combines irrigation rehabilitation and expansion with erosion control, road improvements, and agricultural support. The Ecological Project Office, under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, oversees the intervention, while contractors undertake civil works, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture provides agricultural technical support.

Its importance reaches beyond Kano. Producing beyond the rainy season could help farmers supply markets more consistently and extend rural employment. But additional harvests must cover their costs before they can improve household finances.

Haruna says the improved water supply has reduced the need to leave his community in search of work. His experience illustrates what irrigation could mean for seasonal employment, although it does not establish a wider decline in migration.

Access to water may also change production expenses. Haruna no longer needs a generator to deliver irrigation water to his field. Yet seed, fertiliser, labour and transport remain part of the calculation, as does the price a buyer eventually offers.

The distinction is essential: growing more food and earning more money are connected, but one does not automatically guarantee the other.

Professor Lucky Osabuohien Omoigui, a plant breeding and genetics specialist at IITA’s Kano station, argues that farmers need support to make productive use of the infrastructure.

‘But you need to train them on how to use the water effectively, productively,’ he said.

IITA’s intervention covers water management, crop management, soil fertility and improved farming practices across 16 local government areas. The institute reports 1,890 beneficiaries overall, including 501 smallholder farmers who received training. Eight farmer field schools and 86 demonstration plots provide opportunities for practical learning.

These activities establish that agricultural support is taking place. Whether the lessons are adopted widely-and remain useful after the initial intervention-will determine their lasting value.

Making another season count

Omoigui describes initial reluctance among some farmers to make land available for demonstrations. That hesitation is understandable: a household relying on its harvest must weigh the risks of committing land and labour to an unfamiliar practice.

Demonstration plots can help farmers assess those risks. They allow techniques and varieties to be tested under local conditions, giving participants something more concrete than a promise of higher yields.

Omoigui also stresses the importance of farmers’ preferences. Improved varieties must suit the environment and the people expected to grow them. Technical performance alone cannot settle whether a farmer will adopt a new crop or change an established practice.

Even then, the assessment takes time.

‘So, you will see the effect, may be, in two or three years,’ he said.

His caution puts the early enthusiasm in perspective. Some participants report benefits already, but dependable conclusions about adoption, productivity, and income require evidence across successive seasons.

That includes understanding what happens to the soil when cultivation becomes more frequent.

Omoigui warns that repeatedly growing cereals on the same field can deplete soil fertility. He advocates cereal-legume rotations and appropriate fertiliser management to help sustain production.

For farmers, this is a practical concern. The opportunity to plant again after harvesting has limited value if declining soil fertility makes each subsequent crop pricier or less productive.

Training therefore needs to extend beyond the arrival of water. Farmers require advice on planting decisions, suitable varieties, fertiliser use, and land management over time. They also need access to the inputs required to apply that advice.

The measure of success will be what farmers can continue doing when organised demonstrations and initial support have ended.

A harvest still needs a road

Water is only one part of the journey from planting to payment.

Abdullahi Hamza, a farmer in Gana, recalls how poor road conditions complicated trips to Bakin-Fa, particularly during rain. Onions could fall, become damaged, or spoil on the way to market.

‘By the time we reached the market, they would be crushed and spoiled,’ he said.

He revealed that repairs have made it easier to transport produce by motorcycle or car. His account shows how transport difficulties can undermine a successful harvest before a farmer reaches a buyer.

For rural businesses, access works can matter just as much.

Hafsat Yakubu, a businesswoman in Kwanar-Dangora, says flooding previously prevented customers from reaching her street. Drainage improvements, she states, have made access easier and helped her business.

Neither account provides a measured change in sales or losses. Both, however, identify a clear connection between infrastructure and everyday commerce: farmers need to move produce, and businesses need customers to reach them.

At Darki, Adamu Salisu of Firm and Resolute Engineering describes a 1.5-kilometre market bypass intended to ease Thursday congestion. Road markings remained outstanding when he spoke.

The bypass illustrates why transport belongs in the irrigation discussion. More production creates additional demand for movement, storage, and buyers. A canal can help grow a crop; it cannot ensure that the crop arrives at market in excellent condition or commands a worthwhile price.

Roads and drainage also affect journeys beyond trading. Their condition shapes how easily residents can reach farms, services, and neighbouring communities. Those benefits deserve attention alongside construction milestones.

In Sumaila town, residents describe how gully erosion threatened homes while inaccessible roads forced car owners to park outside their neighbourhood. Ado Ibrahim, a resident, remembers carrying household goods by hand because vehicles could not enter.

However, through President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, implemented by the Ecological Project Office under the leadership of Permanent Secretary Aishetu Gogo Ndayako, the construction of roads and erosion-control infrastructure has improved accessibility, allowing residents to move more freely.

Who keeps the water flowing?

At Kafin Chiri, Jibril Muhammad Ibrahim, lead site engineer for ECL Construction Limited, describes a completed main canal alongside continuing work on distribution and field channels.

His assessment that rehabilitation was 80 percent complete applied to the embankment section. This figure does not represent the total completion status for the entire intervention.

For farmers, the difference matters. A completed main canal does not establish that every intended plot receives enough water when it is needed. The smaller channels carrying water onward and the arrangements governing its distribution are equally important.

Maintenance will become a recurring obligation. Channels need clearing, damaged structures need repair, and faults need a timely response. Responsibility for that work-and how it will be financed-must be understood before deterioration interrupts supply.

The Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority has supported engagement with water user associations and dam managers on operations and maintenance. The practical test will be whether these arrangements continue to function over successive seasons.

Fair access is another condition for lasting gains. Farmers need workable rules for sharing water and resolving disputes, including arrangements that protect those cultivating plots farther along a canal.

Women’s participation also warrants closer attention. IITA reports that women comprise 20 percent of its overall beneficiaries and 97 of the 501 trained farmers. Those numbers show participation but do not explain who controls irrigated land, receives reliable water, and makes decisions about crop income.

A durable intervention must be judged by those experiences as well as its physical reach.

Back in Kumfada, Haruna’s immediate concern is simpler: the water that once constrained his farming is now more accessible. He can consider another crop and envision more work within his community.

What remains uncertain is how consistently that opportunity will pay. Success will depend on reliable supply, healthy soil, useful advice, maintained infrastructure, and a market return that justifies the effort.

Haruna has described what it means to turn a valve and see water enter his field. The more demanding test will come after repeated harvests, when farming families can judge whether another planting season has brought dependable earnings.