Economy
Isolated Trading Blocs Could Trigger 4% GDP Decline for Sub-Saharan Africa—IMF
By Adedapo Adesanya
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes Nigeria, could stand to lose the most if the world were split into two isolated trading blocs centred around China or the United States and the European Union (EU).
Sub-Saharan Africa refers to countries of the African continent that are not considered part of North Africa.
According to estimates released on Monday, sub-Saharan African economies could experience a permanent decline of up to 4 per cent of the real gross domestic product after 10 years, which is larger than what many countries experienced during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09.
It noted that economic and trade alliances with new economic partners, predominantly China, have benefited the region but have also made countries reliant on imports of food and energy more susceptible to global shocks, including disruptions from the surge in trade restrictions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“If geopolitical tensions were to escalate, countries could be hit by higher import prices or even lose access to key export markets—about half of the region’s value of international trade could be impacted,” the IMF said.
The lender warned that losses could be compounded if capital flows between trade blocs were cut off due to geopolitical tensions.
“The region could lose an estimated $10 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance inflows, which is about half a per cent of GDP a year (based on an average 2017–19 estimate). The reduction in FDI, in the long run, could also hinder much-needed technology transfer.”
The IMF noted that the countries looking to restructure their debt, deepening geoeconomic fragmentation could also worsen coordination problems among creditors.
It advocated the need for strategic decoupling, saying the region would fare better if only the US/EU cut ties with Russia and sub-Saharan African countries continued to trade freely.
In this scenario, trade flows would be diverted towards the rest of the world, creating opportunities for new partnerships and possibly boosting intra-regional trade.
This is “because some African countries benefit from access to new export markets and cheaper imports, the region as a whole would not incur a GDP loss. Oil exporters supplying energy to Europe could even gain.”
To better manage shocks, IMF advised that countries need to build resilience. “This can be done by strengthening the ongoing regional trade integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area, which will require reducing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, strengthening efficiency in customs, leveraging digitalization, and closing the infrastructure gaps.
“Deepening domestic financial markets can also broaden sources of financing and lower the volatility associated with relying too much on foreign inflows,” the IMF noted.
It also noted that to take advantage of the potential shifts in trade and FDI flows, countries in the region can try to identify and nurture sectors that may benefit from trade diversion, “for example, energy. Commodity exporters in the region could potentially displace much of Russia’s energy market share in Europe.”
“Countries can also rely on trade promotion agencies to help identify potential opportunities, build the necessary skills and capacity for exports, and eventually re-orient production to take advantage of new trade flows. Improving the business environment, such as by lowering entry, regulatory, and tax barriers, could also help.”
The lender also said multilateral institutions would need to continue to facilitate dialogue among nations to promote economic integration and cooperation.
While the NFT hype from 2021 has passed, the NFT market is still very much active, attracting creators, brands, collectors, and investors who want to capitalize on this new technology.
In this step-by-step guide, we’ll discuss how you can buy your first NFT in Nigeria. For this guide, we’ll walk you through the Magic Eden platform and how you can use it to buy an NFT on Ethereum.
What You Need to Get Started
To buy your first NFT in Nigeria using Magic Eden, you will need three things: an NFT wallet, ETH, and an NFT marketplace.
- A crypto wallet that supports NFTs: A crypto wallet is a software program that stores your digital assets, such as NFTs. For this guide, we’ll demonstrate how to buy your first NFT in Nigeria using the Magic Eden Wallet.
- ETH: Once you have set up your wallet, you will need to buy some ETH tokens if you don’t already have some to buy the NFT and pay for transaction fees.
- NFT marketplace: Last but not least, you will need access to a suitable NFT marketplace, such as Magic Eden, a leading NFT marketplace that supports multiple blockchains.
Step-by-Step Guide to Buying an NFT on Magic Eden
Now that you know what you need, let’s take a look at the step-by-step guide on how you can buy an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain using the Magic Eden platform.
Set Up a Crypto Wallet
When looking to buy NFT, choosing a good crypto wallet is vital. For this guide, we’ll use the Magic Eden Wallet.
Visit MagicEden.io and click the ‘Wallet’ button, then ‘Install on Chrome’ to install the wallet on your browser.
The Magic Eden Wallet is available as a browser extension and mobile app for Android and iOS. For this step-by-step guide, we’ll install the wallet on the Chrome browser.
Next, click the ‘Add to Chrome’ button to install the wallet on your Chrome browser.
Once installed, click ‘Create New Wallet’ and follow the prompts to set up your Magic Eden Wallet. If you already have a Magic Eden Wallet, select the ‘I Have A Wallet’ option.
Next, create a strong password to prevent people from accessing your wallet.
Once you have successfully created and confirmed your password, you will be redirected to the below page.
Click ‘Go to Magic Eden’ to open the Magic Eden marketplace in another tab.
Next, you will need to secure your wallet by backing it up. Click ‘Back Up Now’, enter your password, write down your 12-word seed recovery phrase, and follow the prompts to back up your wallet.
Remember to keep your seed recovery phrase secure as that’s the only way you can recover your wallet and funds in case you lose access to your device.
And that’s it.
That’s how to create and set up your Magic Eden NFT Wallet as a Chrome browser extension.
Buy and Transfer ETH Tokens
With your crypto wallet set up, the next step will be to buy ETH tokens and transfer them to your wallet.
There are various platforms that you can use to buy ETH in Nigeria. Some platforms you can consider include Binance, KuCoin, Remitano, and other local exchanges.
For instance, you can buy ETH on Binance in Nigeria by creating a Binance account, verifying your identity, navigating to the ‘Buy Crypto’ segment, selecting ETH, keying in the amount you want to purchase, choosing your preferred payment method, and following the on-screen prompts to finalize the purchase.
Once you acquire the ETH tokens, transfer them to your wallet by clicking on the ‘Withdraw’ button, select ETH, confirm the network, enter your Magic Eden Wallet address, and follow the on-screen prompts to withdraw your ETH tokens.
Connect Your Wallet to Magic Eden
Visit the Magic Eden platform, click ‘Log In, ’ and choose ‘View all wallets’ to log in or sign up via your crypto wallet.
Select Magic Eden Wallet from the list.
Next, choose the chain you’d like to connect to as shown below. Proceed to choose EVM.
Next, you will receive a pop-up from Magic Eden Wallet requesting you to accept the connection with the Magic Eden marketplace. Click ‘Continue with Magic Eden.’
Click ‘Connect’ to link your Magic Eden Wallet to the Magic Eden marketplace.
Finally, confirm the signature request message on your wallet to connect your Magic Eden Wallet and the Magic Eden platform.
Find the Right NFT Collection
Now that you have successfully connected your crypto wallet to Magic Eden, the next step is to find the right Ethereum NFT collection.
You can search for trending Ethereum NFTs on Magic Eden by clicking on ‘Discover’ on the menu bar and then ‘Collections.’
You can also browse the provided NFT list and use the filter functionality to narrow your search results. Using the filter functionality, you can filter the different NFT collections by floor price, sales, verified collections, volume, and volume change.
Additionally, you can check the project details, community engagement, and roadmap before buying.
Buy Your First NFT
Once you have found the right NFT, it’s now time to buy your first NFT. There are two ways to buy an NFT on Magic Eden: ‘Buy Now’ for immediate purchase based on the listed price, or ‘Make an Offer,’ which allows you to bid and wait.
If your preferred NFT is available to buy immediately, click the ‘Buy Now’ option and follow the prompts to complete the purchase.
By clicking ‘Approve’ in your Magic Eden Wallet, a pop-up message will confirm the successful purchase of your NFT.
To view your NFT, navigate to the ‘Portfolio’ tab in your Magic Eden Wallet and click ‘Collectibles’ to see your NFTs.
And that’s it!
That’s how to buy your first NFT in Nigeria using the Magic Eden platform.
You can view your NFT purchase in your Magic Eden Wallet by going to your wallet, click on ‘Portfolio’ then ‘Collectibles’.
Conclusion
Getting started with NFTs can seem daunting but it becomes easier with time if you have the right guides, information, and platforms. Just remember to find and use a secure crypto wallet and a prominent NFT marketplace when buying NFTs in Nigeria.
Also, you can join various NFT community groups on Discord and Telegram to grow your knowledge and explore the NFT ecosystem.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market shrank on Tuesday as traders braced for reciprocal tariffs that the US President, Mr Donald Trump, is due to announce.
Brent futures went down by 28 cents or 0.37 per cent to close at $74.49 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by 28 cents or 0.39 per cent to $71.20 per barrel.
The American President is set to unveil new tariffs targeting specific countries that have trade surpluses with the US on Wednesday, April 2, pledging to roll back unfair trade practices.
This could be on European Union (EU) countries or even Japan, adding volatility to this week’s trading.
According to the US government, the new duties are due to take effect immediately after President Trump announces them, while a separate 25 per cent global tariff on auto imports will take effect on April 3.
In just over 10 weeks in office, the US President has implemented new 20 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports over fentanyl concerns and reinstated the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, expanding them to nearly $150 billion in downstream products.
Additionally, a month-long exemption for most Canadian and Mexican goods from his 25 per cent fentanyl-related tariffs is set to expire on Wednesday.
However, President Trump’s threats to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil and to attack Iran fueled supply worries, limited losses.
He said on Sunday he would impose secondary tariffs of 25 per cent to 50 per cent on Russian oil buyers if Russia tried to block efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Tariffs on buyers of oil from Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, would disrupt global supply and hurt Russia’s biggest customers, China and India.
Mr Trump threatened Iran with similar tariffs and also with bombings if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the White House over its nuclear programme.
Also, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) began unwinding the production cuts by adding about 138,000 barrels per day from Tuesday.
Prices also found some support after Russia ordered Kazakhstan’s main oil export terminal to close two of its three moorings amid a standoff between Kazakhstan and OPEC+ over excess production.
As a result, Kazakhstan will have to start cutting oil output.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 6.037 million barrels for the week ending March 28, after a 4.6 million barrel drop in the prior week.
So far this year, crude oil inventories have climbed nearly 23 million barrels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerians, after facing respite with reduced price of premium motor spirit (PMS), known as petrol, in recent weeks, are now faced with a new challenge as the product retails for as high as N930 per litre in Lagos and higher in other parts of the country.
While Business Post gathered in Lagos that it retails for N930 per litre, it is selling as high between N950 and N970 per litre, depending on the filling stations in Abuja and northern parts of the country.
Our correspondents gathered from three filling stations, including Mobil, AP, and Northwest, that prices were around N930 per litre.
The new price regime followed an announcement by Dangote Refinery temporarily halting the sale of petroleum products in Naira, which is a result of a price war brought on by the deregulation of the downstream sector.
The $20 billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US Dollars,” the company said in a statement earlier in March 2025
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
Over the last few months, the price war between the NNPC and Dangote reduce prices to as low as N830 per litre— easing pressure on Nigerians.
However, with oil prices rising in the international market, the landing cost of imported petrol has increased to a high of N885 per litre last week.
On February 26, 2025, the $20 billion refinery owned by Africa’s richest man and industrialist Aliko Dangote slashed the ex-depot price of petrol from N890 to N825 per litre.
Under the new arrangement, customers purchased the petrol at N860 per litre at selected outlets in Lagos, N870 in the South-West, N880 in the North, and N890 in the South-South and South-East.
Almost immediately, the NNPC reduced its retail price from N945 to N860 in Lagos, with a similar price reduction reflected at NNPCL outlets in other states of the Federation.
Now, with the cost of landing cost increasing imported petrol costs, Dangote Refinery will be seeking to play its card to cover its margins.
Recall that last month, the NNPC suspended the Naira-for-crude deal with private refiners, including Dangote Refinery, fuelling its suspension of the sale of petrol in local currency.
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