Nigerian business needs to urgently get into survival mode now that economic uncertainties appear being put under control, as expressed by the government’s finance team; and with fiscal measures that are tending towards strengthening and stabilising growth in the system. The strategic moves, which evidence the growth indices, include decline in inflation, stabilisation of exchange rate and the current increase in foreign reserves. These are in addition to the importantly improved debt to productivity ratio metrics. This strategic move can also be further realised by engaging production as a pivotal key to economic sustainability.
Considering the real sector of the economy (manufacturing precisely), the private sector, as always expected, stands to play the survival mechanism role through making significant investments in the economy. This result-oriented participation is expected of their groupings under the various organised private sectors (OPS) within the system such as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), as well as the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN); among others. These are the business structures that should be seriously engaged and encouraged by the government to achieve these desired economic goals for the economy, once they are given the necessary business support tools, and provided with the enabling environment.
One interesting news that recently made the round was Aliko Dangote’s proposal to double the production capacity of the Dangote Petrochemicals Refineries at the Lekki commercial corridors, from the current 650,000 barrels of crude to 1,400,000 barrels per day by 2028. At the recent African Export Import Bank (AFREXIM Bank) 2025 general meeting, in Cairo Egypt, where the bank’s president and chairman, Benedict Oramah was heartily celebrated for a very successful completion of his ten years (two tenured) term; and he handed over an operational financials, eight times better than when he started, to new President George Elombi, Elombi in his maiden presidential speech mentioned the Dangote’s request of $5 billion loan to fund the proposed expansion. Looking at the economic reforms and the much talked about industrialisation and intra-continental trade, particularly as it affects the Nigerian economy, and the investment in the energy sector for the purposes of improving the energy deficit challenges facing the economy (vis-a-viz energy insecurity, energy poverty, and the focused roadmap towards achieving energy sustainability, this Dangote visionary moves in the energy sector, not only swings in favour of the much sought desires to improve and actualize “productivity” within the economy, it also firms the desire to escape from energy insufficiency in the economy, and migrate to actualising energy “self sufficiency” within the economy, for the domestic daily energy demands and consumption.
The other very urgently needed and very important initiative, which has a serious burden on the nation’s economy, is the energy investment that aligns with the fleeting opportunity to strategically and aggressively optimize utilization of the “dormant and unused capital stock” of the rich abundant hydrocarbon resources (especially natural gas). This is most pertinent for the nation’s wealth creation through the exploits of the fossil based raw materials. Dangote’s proposed plan to double the production capacity is therefore a highly welcomed project, especially against the backdrop of the United Nation’s timeline and target on total shift from fossil-based to renewable energies (the ongoing global energy transition programme), as a strategy for mitigating the impact of global warming caused by carbon emissions on the entire global environment. This move to optimally exploit our natural resources lies on the premise that “the power to economically shape tomorrow lies in our efforts today”.
Productivity, therefore, is the key to reasonably adding value through recreating our resources (in the oil and gas sector) and making appreciable wealth for the economy. Useful and amazing contributions have been made by well meaning Nigerians towards this all important economic principle. Among the numerous contributions made in that light, include the comment from an economist, Kehinde Fadahunsi whose contribution centred on “how local products boost Nigeria’s economy”. There is, therefore, no gainsaying the fact that productivity is the key to economic prosperity. Nigeria needs to exploit and apply this principle of value addition to all our natural resources and agricultural produce. Also, Kola Karim, the chairman of Shoreline Group, while speaking with Ruto of Arise News at the Riyadh Economic Summit in Saudi Arabia recently, said that Nigeria’s gas sector needs investment as he gave a postulation that, “Oil & Gas = Game changer” in that sector of the nation’s economy. Regarding the UNs’ climate change measures, he opined that Africa should set its climate standards, which must remain a priority, in terms of the timeline to exit in the fossils’ energy transition programme. The globally acclaimed business guru, Aliko Dangote also suggested “inclusive economy, where everything is domesticated, in the light of import substitution”. Macroeconomic stability should be vigorously pursued by the government through actual implementation of the economic principles that are already known to help boost the economy, especially from the activities in the energy sector.
