Nigeria: A poor country? By Naiki Adex

Sequel to my last post and a continuum of a burden stirred up in me last night by some xtian religious leaders writing misleading posts on the issues on Nigeria and getting their followers misled with unverified and false information, I deem it fit to write these words.

The good book says to get wisdom and in all your getting, get understanding. Spiritual gifts and abilities will never substitute for knowledge, information and understanding of systems as complex as the economic situation of over 200 million people (the touted number is questionable by the way. When did we have a census and only about 50 million Nigerians have bank accounts?).

Ours as a country is a convoluted, complicated and complex union webbed together by intertwined ropes and links. To extricate one part without caution and skill is akin to separating siamese twins conjoined at the brain and stomach. It will take diligence, specialised abilities and sensitivity for both parties such that none gets disabled for life.

Now to the Nigerian economics.

Dear Nigerian citizen,

Please listen to me as your fellow citizen and sister when I say Nigeria is a poor country!! Yes, our Daddy, Zaddy and Papa is poor. By that I mean he doesn’t have enough resources to cater for us although he dons himself in the latest well-starched Babariga , at times, an oversized and posture -altering Agbada donned with a nice cap as though he owns the universe. His attire and posture is historical: past glory not that of today.

Daddy Nigeria had oil money and refused to take care of all his other assets apart from oil wells for about 4 decades.

Now , all our Mummys (geopolitical regions) are fighting Zaddy for the sauce only that there is little sauce for 200 million hungry and extravagant pikins.

Ok, let’s compare Daddy Nigeria to our African neighbours’ Daddy’s and global Daddies.

For 2024/25, South Africa with a population of 63 million people, had a budget of $100Bn.
Revenue for SA in the same year being that $100Bn
The GDP for the nation being approximately $440Bn in 2025.

Baby Bro Kenya on the eastern side, with 57 million children (citizens) had an annual revenue of $19.9Bn in 2025. Her total GDP being $133Bn. GDP per capita being $2500.

Let’s look at our other brother with the sand dunes, Namibia. Really younger brother but with an annual revenue of $4.6Bn for her 3 million citizens. GDP being $14.7Bn and per capita $4800.

Let’s go to the north of Africa with our Egyptian brother. Annual revenue in 2025 was $60.67Bn. GDP being $399.51 for her 118 million children (citizens). GDP per capita being $3500 per person.

Our rival brother whose mother never allowed our mothers drink water and drop cup, Ghana comes into the picture too. With a 2025 revenue of $31Bn, her GDP being $112Bn for her 35 million children and GDP per capita being $3100.

Now to our flamboyant and vivacious cum effervescent Daddy Nigeria…. Are we ready?

Nigeria revenue in 2025 was around $30Bn with her GDP being $285Bn for her over 200 million childrens (pun intended). GDP per capita being about $1000.

From these figures, can you agree with me that Nigeria is poor? We are a broke country although there is a lot of money in the country, held by only a very tiny percentage. Perhaps, the 1% of the 1%.

If you’re reading this, the likelihood of you being in that 1% of the 1% is less than 5% which makes it infinitesimally very minute. Now that we agree on that, let’s talk, shall we? Like a proper family meeting.

I know.. I know… The heartbeat and aches these news must have dealt on your fragile perhaps egoistic heart. Bro, Sis, brace up. It is what it is. We are not a rich country!!

What about all the oil we export? How about the cocoa etc? Nna! With all those we are still broke. If we double those, our income for over two hundred million people would be saying around $60Bn. That’s still low compared to our African brothers and sisters.

Juxtapose our last year budget of $20Bn to that of the mayor of London which is around the same amount. A city of London with about 10 million people scrambling for the same amount as a country of 200 million people.

I hope with these facts and figures, I have succeeded in convincing you and not confusing you that we are a broke, poor but loud country. Well, at least if we don’t have money, we can make some noise. Yes. Noise it is and noise we will manufacture to the heavens. Don’t blame us, it is what it is.

In my next treatise, I will go further on what we can do, how to position ourselves for economic emancipation. Only if you allow this truism that we have a broke Daddy Nigeria sink in first.

As Bob Marley spoke of emancipating ourselves from mental slavery, ain’t nobody going do it for us, we need to emancipate ourselves from economic slavery too.

Watch out for my next piece where we’d delve deeper into our economic issues and how to battle them.