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Rich In Naira, Poor In Hope: The Burden On Nigeria’s Super-Rich

Published

4 weeks ago

May 21, 2025

By Israel Adebiyi

If there was ever a time Nigeria needed her rich and powerful to rise beyond boardrooms, political godfatherism, gated estates, and opulent lifestyles, it is now. We are not merely at the edge of a cliff — we are slipping over it. The Nigerian state is grappling with a crisis so deep that even government interventions seem like feeble whispers in a roaring storm. And yet, those with the power, wealth, and influence to ignite transformative change — the elite class — watch from afar, perhaps insulated by privilege but not immune to the consequences that are fast approaching.

Nigeria’s economy is shrinking under the weight of inflation, insecurity, and structural decay. With over 130 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty and millions of young people unemployed or unemployable, it is no exaggeration to say the nation teeters on the brink. But unlike in other moments in history when a determined elite class chose to intervene and redirect the tide, our own seems largely absent — powerful in assets, yet passive in action.

Let’s be honest: many of Nigeria’s billionaires and high-net-worth individuals are not short of capacity. From Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man whose industrial might influences economies across West Africa, to Femi Otedola, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Mike Adenuga, and Tony Elumelu, these men sit atop enormous financial and institutional power. To their credit, several of them have initiated impactful interventions — through foundations, industry expansions, scholarships, and grants. They are doing their part, no doubt. But when a nation sinks this deep into despair, we can’t help but ask for more.

More investments in the core areas of the economy — especially in sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, housing, and technological infrastructure — are desperately needed. Not just to tick the boxes of corporate social responsibility, but to initiate a lasting and scalable impact that can lift millions out of abject poverty. The call is not to do everything, but to do the hard things — the things that matter most when a nation is on the brink.

There’s also the class of “uncaptured wealth” — powerful politicians, contractors, ex-military officers, and civil servants turned millionaires who acquired affluence through state access and systemic loopholes. These individuals may not feature on Forbes’ list, but their impact on local economies — and their potential to lead recovery initiatives — is undeniable.

And yet, where are their efforts when the education system crumbles? Where is their outrage when children in public schools sit on bare floors or when pregnant women die for lack of 5,000 naira at understaffed primary health centres?

History has shown that when the state falters, salvation often emerges from the elite — but only when that class embraces a sense of nationhood over narrow self-interest. In post-apartheid South Africa, wealthy industrialists worked with political leaders to forestall economic collapse. In the U.S., during the Great Depression and post-WWII recovery, elite families and businesses pumped resources into national revival. In Meiji-era Japan, aristocrats and merchants helped build a modern state to avert colonization.

The difference between those countries and Nigeria today is not just leadership — it is responsibility. The Nigerian elite must ask themselves a hard question: when the history of this nation is written, will their role be described as that of watchmen who slumbered or as visionaries who arose zwhen it mattered most?

Nigeria’s rich must now do more than philanthropy. This is not a call for donations or token CSR projects that offer temporary relief. This is a call to reimagine the national enterprise — investing in public infrastructure, rebuilding education, fostering innovation hubs, supporting local agriculture, championing heathcare delivery, building more infrastructure, refineries and independent power grids, standing up for policies that benefit the majority.

It is a call for those who benefit from Nigeria’s markets, resources, and people to see nation-building not as charity but as enlightened self-interest. Because when the poor have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich — if not in violence, then in the slow erosion of the systems that protect all of us.

We cannot afford an elite class that simply outflies Nigeria’s problems in private jets or outsources their children’s future to foreign universities. The time to act is now. Not with silence, not with excuses, but with courage.

Let the rich rise. For if they don’t, Nigeria may fall beyond redemption — and their fortresses, no matter how tall, will not be enough to hold back the tide.

News

Okpebholo Launches 1bn Interest-free Loan For Edo Traders

Published

1 day ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, has officially launched a ₦1 billion interest-free loan scheme, as part of the fulfilment of his campaign promises.

The governor at the launching also said it was a direct alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for national progress.

Okpebholo, addressing market women and men, described the initiative as a beacon of hope for over 5,000 farmers and small business owners across the state, adding that it would inject vitality into grassroots commerce.

He said “There is an adage: follow who knows the road. That is why we decided to follow the footsteps of our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

He added, “Today, what we are doing in Edo State is the implementation of the agenda of the President. We thank God for the kind of leadership He has given to Edo State and Nigeria. Now, it is time for the progress for our people.”

The Governor underscored the personal commitment behind the scheme, recalling his campaign promise to provide soft loans.

He emphasized that this N1 billion fund was the fulfillment of that pledge, but with a crucial safeguard.

“I just wanted to be sure that this money will not go into the wrong hands. That is the essence of this gathering. Because, with my past experience, whenever the Executive gives out loans, the money does not get to the grassroots,” Okpebholo noted.

“If you do not get this, come back to me and report.” He also revealed that this initial rollout is a “pilot test,” with its success paving the way for future replications of the scheme.

In his statement, Honourable Commissioner for Finance, Emmanuel Ehidiamen Okoebor, said: “It is with great pride and a sense of responsibility that I stand before you today to welcome everybody to this occasion of the launching of the N1 billion interest-free loan to Edo people, our traders, our market women, our brothers and our fathers in the state,” he declared.

Okoebor said the scheme would “boost the economy of our rural areas and semi-urban areas, create jobs, and reduce poverty.”

He added, “Now, he has come to empower the people.” Crucially, he explained the zero-interest feature that sets this loan apart. “Before now, our mothers collected loans and paid 10% on N200,000. For this, there is no interest. You pay back what you borrowed.”

“Each of the 5,000 beneficiaries will receive N200,000, with a generous 12-month repayment period and a one-month moratorium, offering vital breathing room for businesses to stabilize.”

News

Open Letter To The Speaker, Parliament Of The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide

Published

1 day ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

The writer, Mr Godswill Doubra Wuruyai (Right) andHon. Gabriel Allen Tomoni

Date: 14th June 2025

To:
Rt. Hon. Gabriel Allen Tomoni
Speaker,
Parliament of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide

Dear Mr Speaker,

RE: THE STATUS OF OPTION A4 AS VOTING MECHANISM AND MATTERS ARISING

I bring you warm greetings of solidarity and unwavering commitment to the Ijaw struggle.

It has become necessary to issue this Open Letter in response to your recent communication dated 13th June 2025, titled “Clarification on Applicable Constitution Guiding Electoral Activities in Lagos Chapter”, and to set the record straight regarding the status of the Option A4 voting mechanism as duly adopted by the Convention of Ijaw Youths at the Odi Constitution Convention 2024.

Permit me to respectfully state from the outset that the matter of Option A4 is neither open to debate nor subject to discretionary legislative ratification by Parliament, the NEC, or any Zonal or Chapter organ of Council. It is a constitutional matter, having been overwhelmingly adopted at the Odi Constitution Convention 2024—the supreme legislative convention of the Ijaw Youth Council, which carries the highest constitutional authority within our organisation.

The Convention is the apex legislative authority on matters of constitutional amendment and review. By both precedent and constitutional logic, once a Constitutional Convention concludes with the majority adoption of any provision, it becomes valid and binding immediately upon adoption by Congress—the highest sovereign body of the Ijaw Youth Council. The notion of “presidential assent” is ceremonial in nature; it does not possess the force to invalidate or delay the decisions of Congress. Signing ceremonies remain symbolic, not constitutive, in effect.

It is, therefore, anomalous and potentially unconstitutional for Parliament, or any of its officers, to purport to subject the decision of Congress to further parliamentary debate, rectification, or ratification. This represents not only a fundamental misreading of the IYC’s constitutional architecture but also a dangerous precedent that could undermine the very foundation of our collective legitimacy.

Furthermore, no Zonal structure, Chapter, or stakeholders’ forum possesses the jurisdiction to review, reject, or suspend a decision reached by a duly convened Constitutional Convention. The only valid forum that can revisit the matter of Option A4—or any other constitutional provision—is another Constitutional Convention convened specifically for that purpose.

The role of Parliament as a stabilising institution within the IYC structure is to promote order, not to precipitate constitutional crises by attempting to override the sovereign will of Congress. Should Parliament insist on such actions, it risks dragging the IYC into an avoidable constitutional conflict that could jeopardise the unity of our noble Council.

The Lagos Chapter, like all other organs of Council, is bound by the supreme decisions of the Constitutional Convention and must conduct its electoral processes in strict adherence to Option A4, as adopted.

Accordingly, I call on you, as Speaker of Parliament, to respect and uphold the supremacy of Congress and its resolutions. Anything short of that amounts to an attempt to overturn the will of the Ijaw people through administrative fiat, which must be firmly resisted by all well-meaning Ijaw youths.

Let me conclude by reminding all concerned that we must not allow petty personal interests or ego-driven conflicts to derail the hard-earned democratic processes within our Council. This is not a time for power tussles, but a time for unity, maturity, and constitutional discipline.

I trust that you will act in accordance with the Constitution and in the enduring interest of the Ijaw nation.

Yours in service of the Ijaw struggle,

Mr Godswill Doubra Wuruyai
Stakeholder/Member
Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide

Cc:
Comr. Williams Ayoromiegha Junior, Clerk of Parliament
All Members of Parliament, IYC Worldwide
The President, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide
NEC Members, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide
All Zonal and Chapter Chairpersons, IYC
Ijaw Youth Stakeholders Nationwide

News

Reps To Quiz Edun, Cardoso Over Non-compliance With Fiscal Responsibility Act

Published

1 day ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

The Joint House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts and Public Assets has invited the Minister of Finance, Mr Olawale Edun, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Olayemi Cardoso, to appear before it on Monday over allegations bothering on non-compliance with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.

The duo are also expected to respond to the 2021 audit queries relating to internal control weaknesses identified by the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (oAuGF).

In a letter jointly signed by the Chairmen of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Rep. Bamidele Salam, and the Committee on Public Assets, Rep. Ademorin Kuye, the lawmakers requested the Finance Minister and the CBN Governor to provide details on the remittance of operating surplus to the Federation Account by the apex bank in line with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations.

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Auditor General for the Federation had, in reports submitted to the joint committees, accused several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the CBN, of failing to remit or under-remitting their operating surpluses as required by extant financial laws and regulations over the last six years.

According to the Public Accounts Committee Chairman, “these violations have negatively impacted the liquidity of the federal government and constitute a hindrance to effective implementation of the budgets passed by parliament.”

The committees stated that both the Finance Ministry and the apex bank had been given ample opportunity to reconcile their accounts and present their positions in order to determine the degree of financial liabilities involved, hence the need for a final hearing to resolve the issues.

The committee is equally reviewing a report in the Auditor General for the Federation’s statutory report which suggests that a number of public assets, which had been fully paid for, have not been completed or put into use for many years.

“Some of these projects in Dutse, Abeokuta and other locations were awarded between 2011 and 2016 but yet to be completed according to audit reports.”