The unyielding giant: Nigeria at 65 – Businessday NG
As Nigeria marks 65 years of independence on October 1, 2025, headlines often dwell on inflation, currency pressures, insecurity, and infrastructure gaps. Yet that view misses the bigger picture: an economy that keeps adapting, building new engines of growth, and compounding hard-won gains. Beyond the thorns lies a forest of resilience, enterprise, and potential worthy of measured celebration.
Beyond oil: an economy rewiring for the future
Nigeria remains Africa’s largest economy, with GDP reaching N372.8 trillion in 2024. Growth climbed 3.84 percent in Q4 2024, led by services expanding 5.37 percent and supplying over half of total output—evidence of diversification away from oil. Non-oil exports rose to $5.456 billion in 2024, up 20.79 percent, as Nigerian firms found new markets. Agriculture’s value added surged to N4.44 trillion from N1.24 trillion a year earlier, creating jobs from cocoa belts in the Southwest to sesame hubs in the Middle Belt. A deepening capital market—market capitalisation above N56 trillion—alongside pension assets exceeding N18 trillion and a consolidated banking sector continue to finance investment and enterprise.
Digital acceleration: tech, fintech, and connectivity
Lagos has emerged as a continental tech powerhouse, hosting more than 2,000 startups by October 2024 and raising over $400 million that year. Fintechs broadened access at scale: one leading platform processed N1 trillion in transactions in July 2024 alone, while another reports 50 million users and over $12 billion in monthly volumes, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. Nigerian-founded unicorns show that world-class tech can be built in Lagos as readily as in global hubs. With more than 700,000 developers, the country is now a leading African talent pool. The telecoms revolution—from under 500,000 lines in 1999 to over 180 million mobile subscriptions—coupled with 100,000+ kilometres of fibre optic networks, underpins mobile banking, e-commerce, and digital services nationwide.
Infrastructure and industry on the march
The Dangote Refinery, which began operations in September 2024 with 650,000 barrels-per-day capacity, marks a pivotal shift: positioning Nigeria to export refined products, not just crude. Cement self-sufficiency and exports, the completed Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos–Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway, and the Lekki Deep Sea Port signal forward motion in hard infrastructure. Housing delivery has added roughly 1.5 million units over the past decade, while local manufacturing gains ground across fast-moving consumer goods, beverages, fashion, and light engineering. From multinational localisations to the ingenuity of Aba’s shoemakers, industrial capability continues to thicken.
Energy reforms gaining traction
The Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 modernised sector governance, while transforming NNPC into a commercial entity brought needed transparency. Nigeria remains Africa’s top LNG exporter, and gas-to-power projects aim to convert previously flared gas into electricity and industrial feedstock. Renewable energy—especially solar—now contributes meaningfully to rural electrification, lowering generator dependence and creating new economic activity. The 2023 fuel subsidy removal, though painful, addressed a longstanding fiscal drain, while tighter surveillance has curbed crude theft and supported higher output.
Human capital, culture, and global reach
Remittances exceeding $22 billion annually bring more than cash: they connect talent, ideas, and partnerships. With over 60 percent of citizens under 25, Nigeria’s demographic profile is a vast opportunity—if skills, jobs, and productivity rise together. Universities increasingly embed entrepreneurship, and graduates compete successfully worldwide. The creative economy—Nollywood, Afrobeats, and contemporary literature—has amplified Nigeria’s voice, built export streams, and created thousands of direct and indirect jobs while shaping global culture.
Financial inclusion and institutional upgrades
More than 70 million Nigerians now enjoy formal financial access, up from fewer than 30 million in 2010. The Bank Verification Number has bolstered trust in digital finance, while the Treasury Single Account tightened public finance management and reduced leakages. The Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 simplified doing business for SMEs. Democratic continuity since 1999 and peaceful transfers of power have enabled longer-term planning. Exchange-rate reforms in 2023 increased transparency, while the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, managing over $2 billion, anchors intergenerational savings. AfCFTA participation positions Nigeria’s vast market at the heart of continental trade.
Grassroots dynamism and social progress
Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of employment and innovation, with the informal sector moving billions in commerce—from Alaba’s trade corridors to the motorcycle taxis that provide last-mile mobility. Cooperatives and community finance supply vital working capital. Health outcomes have improved: polio has been eliminated, HIV/AIDS treatment scaled up, and life expectancy has risen. Domestic pharmaceutical production has grown, reducing import dependence. Social protection programs—conditional cash transfers and school feeding—now reach millions, supporting vulnerable households and human capital formation.
The road ahead
Serious challenges persist: infrastructure gaps, security concerns, corruption, and policy inconsistency all dampen momentum. Yet the evidence of progress is real and cumulative. A diversified services base, rising non-oil exports, industrial upgrades, deeper finance, stronger digital infrastructure, and a creative boom together form a sturdy growth platform.
At 65, Nigeria stands at an inflection point. If it converts its demographic advantage into widespread productivity, scales power and logistics, and sustains reforms that deepen trust and investment, the economy can accelerate. From farmers in Benue to software engineers in Lagos, from traders in Kano to bankers in Abuja, Nigerians are building—daily—an economy that creates opportunity. The story is unfinished, and that is its greatest promise. With resilience, creativity, and determination, the next chapters can be brighter than the last.
Happy Independence Anniversary to Africa’s Giant.
