Economy
LASU Don Blames Absence of Patriotic Nation-building Elites for Nigeria’s Woes
By Dipo Olowookere
A lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU), Professor Sylvester Odion Akhaine, has attributed the current crisis facing Nigeria to leadership failure and the absence of patriotic nation-building elites.
He said this while delivering his paper at the maiden OpenLife Annual Summit on Thursday, August 22, 2024, in Lagos.
The event, which brought together stakeholders from various fields and sectors, such as politics, banking, academia and security organisations, was themed Creating Enabling Environment for Economic Growth Through Strategic Tackling of Insecurity.
In his presentation titled Insecurity and the National Economy, the LASU don submitted that to get out of the quagmire the country needs, “A new social force that is patriotic and a commitment to the security values.”
The Political Science Department lecturer showed the nexus between insecurity and the worsening economy, noting that it “directly affects the productive forces.”
“Food crop production has become impossible due to prevailing insecurity in the country. The unearned income from the sales of crude oil has been jeopardized by oil theft, which has reduced the country’s foreign exchange earnings and inclined it towards perpetual borrowing,” he said.
Professor Akhaine emphasised that this situation has undermined the strength of the national currency against major foreign currencies.
“The manufacturing sector, which is largely import-dependent for essential components, is hard-hit. Many companies have had to fold up compounding a sub-element of the insecurity in the country, that is, job insecurity,” the immediate past Head of the Political Science Department in LASU stated.
However, he expressed optimism that Nigeria would get out of the woods because it has “the natural resources and the demographic capital to solve these problems.”
“Is it not intriguing that a country that could lead peace initiatives in sister West African countries in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and restore democratic governance structure, is struggling to maintain social order in what I have referred to as the endless present?” he queried.
Earlier in his welcome address, the publisher of OpenLife magazine and convener of the OpenLife Summit, Mr Idumonza Isidahomhen, assured participants that recommendations would be sent to President Bola Tinubu for implementation.
“To demonstrate our commitment to an improved Nigeria, we, at OpenLife, have developed a monitoring mechanism to keep tabs on government activities in ensuring that resolutions don’t end up in the trash cans,” he said.
Other speakers at the event were a former lawmaker who represented Ogun West Senatorial District in the 7th Senate, Mr Akin Odunsi; the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi; and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogallah.

Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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