One thing that has been consistent with President Bola Tinubu is that it not a man for the optics. His political life has never been about playing to the gallery, and he has never once bothered about the insults or curses his actions will attract.
Right from his decision to back Fashola as Governor, a relatively unusual choice, to leaving AD, to supporting Buhari, to his Muslim - Muslim ticket, to the subsidy is gone and the floating of the Naira.
For him, it's about the most expedient, not the Ariwo Oja… and, in all honesty, it has been working for him because, at the end of the day, his fiercest critics will always agree with him and praise his decisions they once opposed.
The man is truly Abami Akanbi eda.
Ten Fact-Based Reasons Why Nigeria's Economy Is Far From Being In Shambles
Just yesterday, Bloomberg, perhaps the leading business-focused media on Earth, reported that the world’s largest meat producer, JBS SA, is investing $2.5 billion in Nigeria. Please see https://t.co/b0yJtvFetq
This news, coming at the time it did, stands in sharp contrast to the claim by a Nigerian entertainer that Nigeria's 'economy is in shambles'.
The good news from Bloomberg is a pointer to the fact that pundits should be factual rather than emotional when talking about the economy. So I decided to help equip patriotic Nigerians with facts to show that their economy is headed in the right direction.
One: At 35%, Nigeria currently has the highest return on investment (ROI) worldwide, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit published by The Economist Magazine.
Two: The two biggest and most credible rating agencies in the world, Fitch and S&P Global Ratings, upgraded Nigeria's economy to a Stable B.
Three: Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.19% in the second quarter of 2024. This growth rate is higher than the 2.51% recorded in the second quarter of 2023 and higher than the first quarter of 2024 growth of 2.98%.
Four: Due to a substantial increase in capital inflow, Nigeria's foreign reserve hit a year-to-date high of $40 billion in November 2024.
Five: Nigeria earned ₦10.33 trillion in non-oil revenue for the first eight months of 2024. By August 2024, our non-oil revenue had already surpassed the year's target by 43.4%.
Six: Net foreign exchange inflow onto Nigeria's economy rose by 67.8% to $27.6 billion in the first half of 2024 from $16.44 billion in 2023, principally because the National Security Adviser blocked leakages, especially from Binance.
Seven: Due to Nigeria's new liberalised monetary and fiscal policy, which led to significant upgrades of our economy, American Express introduced its first ever business credit card in Nigeria, the O3 American Express Gold Business Card, thus expanding access to credit to Nigerian businesses.
Eight: President Tinubu Signed the 2023 Electricity Bill into Law to end federal monopoly in the power sector and empower states and the private sector to generate, distribute and transmit power. Due to this law, the private net worth of entrepreneurs in Nigeria's power sector, such as Mr. Adedeji Adeleke, grew by a conservative estimate of a collective $1.8 billion.
Nine: Due to the upgrade of Nigeria's economy by Fitch and Standard and Poor, Meta (Facebook) introduced monetisation for Nigerian content creators in June of 2024.
Ten: The Nigeria Customs Service broke its daily revenue record with Area 11, Command Onne, raking in ₦22 billion daily, while the Apapa Command hit ₦2 Trillion in revenue by October of 2024
From the above, it is crystal clear that Nigeria's economy is the opposite of being shambolic. As the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, said on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the world is beginning to see the benefits of Nigeria's reforms. The IMF MD described the reforms as 'decisive' and declared that they have the effect of 'fostering economic growth and creating jobs'.
If you have an opportunity to speak to the world, use it to market Nigeria. I am not saying you should market the government, President Tinubu, or the All Progressives Congress. No. Market Nigeria. You owe that to yourself, at least.
Reno Omokri
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. Ruffler of the Feathers of Obidents. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year 2022.
If you voted for BAT you shouldn’t have less than 2000 followers, Follow Me and Drop your handles and retweet and follow each other massively let’s take you to 2000 followers before Inauguration 🦇
Bola Tinubu follow train. 🦇🦇
Happy 80th Birthday to our very own Mr President. The quintessential Muhammadu Buhari 🎉. 🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬
Posterity will pay everyone their due, and your is kindness. 🙏
No Bola Tinubu supporter should have less than 1000 followers. Follow me, Drop your handle and retweet and follow me massively..
Bola Tinubu follow train. 🦇🦇🦇
Two things will happen this week
1. They will get back to you with a positive response.
2. You will receive a heavy news that will call for Celebration.
FLASH : Tompolo’s boys uncover another pipeline hiding in plain sight that’s diverting crude oil from a 400,000 barrel per day Forcados pipeline, with the use of this abandoned AGIP pipeline . From here the crude is then ferried into the sea for onward delivery to buyers abroad.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
The Nigerian Government, through the Presidential CDSAC, has today secured the release of the remaining hostages captured during the tragic Abuja-Kaduna Railway attack in March.
We applaud their efforts even as we remain sober to the greater tasks ahead. 🇳🇬