Nigeria’s hardworking citizens deserve better business climate
Nigerians are not lazy. Every day, millions of small business owners, artisans, and tech innovators push the boundaries of creativity in an economy that often seems determined to frustrate them. Each day confront a myriad of obstacles in the process of carrying out their businesses. From power shortages and rising costs to insecurity that threatens […]
Nigerians are not lazy. Every day, millions of small business owners, artisans, and tech innovators push the boundaries of creativity in an economy that often seems determined to frustrate them. Each day confront a myriad of obstacles in the process of carrying out their businesses. From power shortages and rising costs to insecurity that threatens lives and livelihoods, they keep producing, selling, and innovating, against all odds. Their resilience is proof that Nigeria’s biggest resource isn’t oil or minerals, but its people. Yet the nation continues to waste that resource by failing to build an environment where enterprise can thrive.
Nigeria’s problem is not the lack of enterprise. It is the lack of enabling conditions. Until Nigeria fixes the insecurity, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and policy uncertainty that cripple private initiative, its promise of inclusive growth will remain a story of talent trapped by circumstance.
Walk through any major Nigerian city and you will see enterprise at work in every corner: young people coding in co-working spaces; women running bustling roadside food businesses; traders navigating digital payments to serve customers far beyond their neighbourhoods. All these happen within Nigeria’s informal economy, estimated to account for more than half of its GDP, which is powered by this restless ingenuity.
A visit to the Lagos Trade Fair, currently taking place at the popular Tafawa Balewa Square, would convince every visitor of the creativity and ingenuity of Nigerians. Locally fabricated equipment, including a cooking stove that is fired by pelleted charcoal. Another, in the same line of business, is fired by pellets of coconut and palm kernel shell. These are products of innovation that are helping ordinary Nigerians survive the current hard times
But beneath this energy lies exhaustion. We have a situation where entrepreneurs spend more time solving problems the state should have fixed decades ago, such as providing electricity, water, and security, than growing their businesses. A recent World Bank report ranked Nigeria among the toughest places to start and sustain a business, mainly due to infrastructure deficits, weak institutions, and regulatory uncertainty. Also, the Chief Economist of Afreximbank, Dr. Yemi Kale, recently described Nigeria as “a very difficult business environment for investors to operate”. These challenges posed by the harsh business terrain drain productivity and discourage investment, both local and foreign.
Insecurity has become the biggest challenge to the Nigerian business environment. No business can thrive in chaos. Today, attacks by bandits have imposed one of the biggest hidden taxes on Nigerian enterprises. Farmers in the North are afraid to go to their farms. Logistics firms face the risk of kidnapping on major highways. So, insecurity adds costs that official statistics rarely capture. It deters investors, raises insurance premiums, and pushes businesses to relocate or shut down.
Nigeria wants to attract and retain private investment. It must therefore guarantee safety. Security is not just a law-and-order issue; it is an economic one. Without it, even the most generous business reforms will deliver little impact.
Entrepreneurs crave predictability. One of the significant achievements of the current administration is the level of stability and predictability in the financial markets. Now, the naira exchange rate is stable. Before now, the rules of the game changed too frequently. Sudden currency policy shifts, abrupt import bans, or contradictory tax directives were the bane of business management in the country as they create confusion and discourage long-term planning. Investors want to know that policies announced today will not be reversed tomorrow.
This inconsistency, combined with weak infrastructure and bureaucracy, creates a climate where effort by businesses rarely matches reward. The consequence is widespread disillusionment among young people who see talent and hard work punished rather than encouraged.
The irony is that Nigeria has one of Africa’s most dynamic populations. It has a young, educated, digitally savvy, and ambitious population. Its start-up scene has produced some of the continent’s most successful tech firms, even in this harsh climate. Imagine what these entrepreneurs could achieve in an enabling environment with stable power, reliable transport, access to finance, and basic security.
The solution to these challenges is a return to the fundamentals. Nigeria must create a favourable business environment that truly supports entrepreneurship. This requires more than slogans. It demands steady, coordinated action in three critical areas. The foremost is to prioritise the protection of lives and property as the foundation for investment, step infrastructure investment, and commit to policy stability.
These are not impossible tasks. They simply require leadership that listens to the private sector and values the productivity of its citizens.
Nigerians have already shown what they can do with limited support. From fashion and fintech to entertainment and agriculture, they are proving that innovation thrives even in adversity. But the harder question is this: how much more could they achieve if the government created a truly enabling environment?
A nation cannot keep depending on the extraordinary resilience of its people while neglecting the ordinary responsibilities of governance. Nigeria’s hardworking citizens have done their part. The time for leadership to do the same has come.