Nigeria appears to be in what economists call a poverty trap, a vicious circle that takes hardwork and massive investment to break. The population is rising faster than the economy can cater for. It is thus breeding poverty and it is spreading like wild fire in the country.

Occupy Nigeria, as the Lagos arm of the protest against fuel price increase was tagged, has come and gone. The memories of the mammoth crowd that gathered at the Gani Fawehimi Park in Ojota, lingers. The sheer number of people who were there was frightening…

The probe going on at the nation’s House of Representatives is both interesting and funny. Interesting in the sense that it is bringing out startling revelations about the massive corruption in the downstream sector of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry; funny for the fact that those presiding over the probe are themselves guilty of the same offence they are investigating.

The current debate on the profligacy of public office holders, size and cost of governance in Nigeria is interesting and very healthy for the economy. The argument itself gives credence to the need to ensure that government performs only those duties that are of public interest. What should be the right size of government has been a long drawn debate.

Occupy Nigeria was a novel experience in Nigeria. It has come and gone but the memory will linger in the minds of Nigerians for a long time to come. It has opened the eyes of those governing and the governed to a lot. A clear message was passed to Nigeria leaders that it is no longer business as usual.

Nigeria is a funny place to do business. It is a country where blame game thrives. It neither respects the sanctity of contract nor respect individual property rights. Most time when those in authority are called to account for their stewardship they look for scapegoats in the private sector. Subsidy removal has…

The Federal Government took Nigerians by surprise on New Year’s Day, when it announced the formal removal of fuel subsidy with immediate effect. The pronouncement has set in motion the plans by government to commence deregulation of downstream sector of the petroleum industry…

The 2012 budget contains policies that may on the surface attract adverse or perhaps outright opposition to government. The desire of the President to promote locally made products and grow the economy will certainly set him on a collision path with those who have benefited from the economy through commissions, rents, and corruption.

President Goodluck Jonathan last week lamented the growing unemployment situation in the country stating that it may lead to some social unrest in the near future. The President said: “As I said in my Budget Presentation speech late last year, unemployment among our youth is one of our biggest challenges as a nation.

Exchange rate management is critical to a nation’s economic aspiration as it sets the rate at which goods and services are exchanged with other sovereign states. Countries watch their exchange rates and sometimes it becomes a strong economic and political power for trade and investment negotiations.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN)has lamented that the Nigeria’s Manufacturing Industry has suffered from neglect as a result of Nigeria’s high dependence on the oil and gas for over 90 percent of her revenue.

When the Federal Government early this year approved N30.066 billion for the take off of the National Identity Management Commission, there was uproar across the country. Even in the newsrooms of most media houses in the country, there was a serious debate as to the desirability of another National Identity card.

The CBN said two weeks ago that it was planning to review its target band for the naira in the next few days, and depending on where the exchange rate settles, may move its midpoint to between N155 and N156 to the dollar, compared to its current N150.

Nigeria is an interesting country. The political class plays a game of chess with the people they are supposed to cater for. In the end, there is a lot of mistrust. The Governors’ forum was supposed to be…

When the Nigerian Bankers Committee muted the idea of a cashless economy, many thought it would be the global practice of financial inclusion which attempts to take banking to the doorsteps of both the rich and the poor.