Feature/OPED
Raising Social Class Through Migration and the Place of ‘Packaging’
By Timi Olubiyi, PhD
Life is indeed transient, my father, Chief Sehindemi Hezekiah Awe Olubiyi, JP left this world in the year 2020 and it feels just like yesterday.
So, with a keen desire, I write to reflect on social class particularly social mobility which is a concept I benefited from and learnt from him during his lifetime.
Social mobility, in my opinion, can be regarded as the movement of individuals, families, or groups through a system of social hierarchy. This means, when people improve or diminish their economic status in a way that affects social class, they experience social mobility.
However, it makes a lot of sense to strive to improve it which is usually referred to as upward social mobility in that context. This upward mobility happens when a person moves from a lower position in society to a higher one.
Most noticeably are the notable families and businesses in Lagos State the adjudged economic capital of the country.
Arguably movement to Lagos State from huts, villages or towns around the country for greener pasture is due to this particular subject matter- social mobility. From observation, social mobility can either be an upward or downward change in position within the social class, occupation, and lifestyle. However, most people strive for upward social mobility because this improves social class and livelihood.
On the part of my late father Chief Sehindemi Hezekiah Awe Olubiyi, JP who was born to the late and first Odofin of Iponda Land, king David Erinopojo Olubiyi and the late queen madam Abolaji Victoria Olubiyi (nee Ayeni) of Igbogi Ilesa both townships in Obokun Local Government Area of Ilesha Osun State, experienced social mobility from migration to Lagos State in the ’60s.
Despite being a crown prince in a remote township, he weighed the options and settled for pursuing upward social mobility. Hence, he left the comfort zone of the palace to the economic capital of the country to pursue a career.
My father moved from Ilesha to Lagos State and settled in Somolu Bariga at a young age; leaving within his means, however, he was intensely focused, strong-minded and resolute to make it, according to information gathered.
Consequently, with verse training and formal education, he eventually became a well-experienced and hardworking construction magnate and builder.
Before losing counts, his remarkable odyssey in building development in Nigeria recorded numerous completed and delivered residential and commercial buildings, to companies, governments, and high net worth individuals in Nigeria and diaspora.
Even after retirement, he continued to make strategic contributions to property management and construction because he was passionate, diligent and devoted to the profession and sector before his demise. This is social mobility explained in a nutshell and the singular act of his migration remains a huge success for the family to date. I want to believe several families have similar and inspiring stories tied to upward social mobility.
It is important to note that upward social mobility is not only about becoming richer, having loads of cash and/or being famous. It can involve people earning high qualifications and university degrees, getting a significant career boost, doing well and raising the family wealth or even getting married to someone with a good status which can guarantee moving up socially and much more. Largely, upward social mobility is more common where children or grandchildren are in economic circumstances, better than those of their parents or grandparents.
Another example is a child of a village farmer who becomes a professor, definitely, upward social mobility has been achieved.
In contrast, downward mobility indicates a lowering of one’s social class and if you look around its more prevalent and troubling within our environment due to unemployment, a high number of out of school populace, business setbacks, pandemic, job losses, growing inequality, reduced economic opportunities and/or even illness.
Just like we have seen poverty level on the rise the downward mobility of many of the populace has also been on the increase consistently. Many people have experienced economic setbacks, creating a wave of downward mobility in the country. This has continued to escalate the level of inequality and the growing gap between the haves and have nots in the country.
It is important to mention that the level of social mobility in a society or country could be an indicator of the fairness of that society or country. A society with a high level of upward social mobility will provide equal opportunities for people to be rewarded for their efforts and talents, regardless of their background.
In a society with a low level of social mobility, the social background will either be a barrier and inequality is rather prevalent. I leave you to determine what we currently have in the country based on this narrative.
From lessons learnt from my late father, the revered entrepreneur, I can present the salient factors that promote upward social mobility.
Firstly, the decision and conviction to take calculative risk is key and should be apparent. To arrive at huge success and upward social mobility, there is a need for proactiveness and opportunity seeking. Do not get too comfortable with your current status, strive for improvement always.
Therefore, it might be right to continue to aspire for greater heights and have dreams, vision and stay committed to them. It is also essential to get knowledge continually, which is upskilling, even when it does not seem like you need it. It is crucial to imbibe the culture of seeking sound and good education and be interested in other people’s success stories because it inspires.
Furthermore, hard work is key and necessary, we plant, we water and only God can give the increase, so learn to support hard work with prayer. With that, I remember the law of gradual growth I learnt from him and the importance of giving thanks to God for every progress, in fact, celebrate it if you can. It further motivates. Regardless of any challenges ensure you do not give up, persist and understand that you must put in the efforts before you see the results.
For professionals and individuals, this is the time to consider less of packaging, which is actually putting up appearances, actions and behaviours in a certain way to boost a perceived social class or status.
Instead, explore social mobility with qualifications that are recognized across the world, this could be a winning strategy to stem the tide of any economic woes and ensure a quality livelihood beyond the shore of this country.
A world-recognized qualification can offer opportunities regardless of your background, gender, race or religion and can just provide the upward social mobility needed without a logjam.
That said, remember the chief maker of upward social mobility is either education or knowledge, but most times the combination of the two coupled with valuable information helps a great deal.
In conclusion, just like social mobility in individuals and families, it also happens in businesses, be it Micro, Small or Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
The lack of social mobility is not only a family issue but also a business issue in the country. Records have shown that businesses are only as good as their employees.
For instance, an individual born into a family on a low income is less likely to have the same opportunities as someone from a more privileged and well to do background despite talent and determination.
Consequently, businesses have a key role to play in helping to create social mobility in the workplace. When businesses identify and recruit the best individuals regardless of gender, race or background, social mobility is improved and this, in turn, is vital for businesses to move from success to improved success.
Therefore, employers and businesses should strive to recruit employees with talents irrespective of their backgrounds, who have different experiences, knowledge and who can tackle challenges in different ways.
Businesses can benefit from this and have better decisions, improved performance, and better solutions. Responsible businesses, therefore, can explore workplace social mobility to maximize profitability, market share, sales and business growth.
However, having a highly-skilled, diverse workforce and equality in your business is key to these mentioned performance indicators. Good luck!
How may you obtain advice or further information on the article?
Dr Timi Olubiyi is an Entrepreneurship & Business Management expert with a PhD in Business Administration from Babcock University Nigeria. He is also a prolific investment coach, seasoned scholar, Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered capital market operator. He can be reached on the Twitter handle @drtimiolubiyi and via email: [email protected], for any questions, reactions and comments.
By Blaise Udunze
When the federal government approved the write-off of about $1.42 billion and N5.57 trillion in legacy debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account, it was rightly described as a landmark decision. After years of disputes, reconciliations, and contested figures, Nigeria’s most important revenue institution was, at least on paper, given a cleaner slate.
The approval, contained in a report prepared by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and presented at the last year November meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), effectively wiped out 96 percent of NNPC’s dollar-denominated obligations and 88 percent of its naira liabilities accumulated up to December 31, 2024. It resolved long-standing balances arising from crude oil liftings, joint venture royalties, production-sharing contracts, and related arrangements.
Judging it critically, the decision carries both promise and peril, but can be viewed from the perspective of a country desperate to restore confidence in public finance management. It offers an opportunity to reset relationships, clean up accounting records, and move forward under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). Yet, it also exposes deep structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s oil revenue governance, weaknesses that, if left unaddressed, could turn today’s debt relief into tomorrow’s fiscal regret.
Context matters. The debt write-off comes not during a period of revenue abundance, but at a time when Nigeria’s upstream revenue performance is under severe strain. According to the same NUPRC document, the commission missed its approved monthly revenue target for November 2025 by N544.76 billion, collecting only N660.04 billion against a projected N1.204 trillion.
Royalty receipts, the backbone of upstream revenue, tell an even starker story. It is alarming that against an approved monthly royalty projection of N1.144 trillion, only N605.26 billion was collected, leaving a shortfall of N538.92 billion. Cumulatively, by the end of November 2025, the revenue gap stood at N5.65 trillion, with royalty collections alone falling short by N5.63 trillion. These figures underscore how fragile Nigeria’s fiscal position remains, even as trillions of naira in historical obligations are being written off.
To be fair, the debts forgiven were not incurred overnight. They are the product of years of disputed remittances, lacking transparent accounting practices, and overlapping institutional roles, particularly under the pre-PIA regime. As petroleum economist Prof. Wumi Iledare has repeatedly observed, the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation combined regulatory, commercial, and operational functions, making revenue reconciliation cumbersome and frequently contested.
That legacy continues to haunt the system, as witnessed with the ongoing dispute between NNPC Ltd and Periscope Consulting, the audit firm engaged by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, over an alleged $42.37 billion under-remittance between 2011 and 2017, which illustrates how unresolved the past remains. Though NNPC insists all revenues were properly accounted for as claimed, Periscope maintains that significant gaps persist, forcing FAAC to mandate yet another reconciliation exercise. This recurring pattern of audits, counterclaims, and stalemates has weakened trust in the federation revenue system and eroded confidence among states that depend on oil proceeds for survival.
Crucially, the debt write-off does not mean NNPC has turned a corner financially. Statutory obligations incurred between January and October 2025 remain on the books, amounting to about $56.8 million and N1.02 trillion. Although part of the dollar component was recovered during the period under review, the accumulation of new liabilities so soon after reconciliation raises uncomfortable questions about whether old habits are being replaced with genuine fiscal discipline.
More troubling still is what NNPC’s own audited financial statements reveal about its internal financial health. Despite recording a profit after tax of N5.4 trillion on revenues of N45.1 trillion in 2024, the company’s inter-company debts ballooned to N30.3 trillion, representing a 70 per cent increase within a single year. This is not debt owed to external creditors but largely obligations between NNPC and its subsidiaries, effectively the company owing itself.
Records show that of 32 subsidiaries, only eight are debt-free, and the rest, particularly the refineries, trading arms, and gas infrastructure units, remain heavily indebted to the parent company. There was a recurring cycle where profitable units subsidise chronically underperforming ones, and accountability steadily erodes because cash that should fund maintenance, expansion, and efficiency improvements is instead trapped in internal receivables.
The refineries offer a stark illustration whereby the Port Harcourt Refining Company alone owed N4.22 trillion in 2024, more than double its 2023 figure, while Kaduna and Warri refineries followed closely, with debts of N2.39 trillion and N2.06 trillion respectively. Despite the repeated failed turnaround maintenance with many years of rehabilitation spending, none have operated sustainably at commercially viable levels. Their continued dependence on financial support from the parent company highlights the cost of postponing difficult restructuring decisions.
And, for this reason, international observers have long warned about these structural weaknesses. One of the critics, the World Bank, has repeatedly flagged NNPC as a major source of revenue leakages. It further noted that the persistent gaps between reported earnings and actual remittances to the Federation Account. Even after the removal of petrol subsidies, the bank observed that NNPC remitted only about 50 per cent of the revenue gains, using the rest to offset past arrears. Such practices, while perhaps defensible in internal cash management terms, undermine fiscal transparency and weaken Nigeria’s macroeconomic credibility.
This is why the central issue is not the debt write-off itself, but what follows it because debt forgiveness is not reform. Without firm safeguards, it risks entrenching the very behaviours that created the problem in the first place. As Prof. Omowumi Iledare has warned, the scale and pace of the inter-company debt build-up represent a governance test rather than a mere accounting anomaly. Allowing subsidiaries to operate indefinitely without settling obligations is incompatible with the idea of a commercially driven national oil company.
The fact remains that if NNPC wants to function as a true commercial holding company under the PIA, it must enforce strict settlement timelines, restructure or divest non-viable subsidiaries, while clearly separating legacy debts from new obligations. With this, it holds subsidiary leadership accountable for cash flow and profitability. Independent, real-time audits and transparent reporting must become routine features of governance, not emergency responses triggered by controversy.
There is also a broader national implication. At a time when Nigerians are being asked to accept higher taxes, reduced subsidies, and fiscal tightening, large-scale debt write-offs without visible accountability risk undermining the legitimacy of the entire revenue system. Citizens cannot be expected to bear heavier burdens while systemic inefficiencies in the country’s most strategic sector persist.
Of a truth, the cancellation of NNPC’s legacy debts could mark a turning point in Nigeria’s fiscal governance, but only if it is not treated as its conclusion but the beginning of reform.
If discipline, transparency, and commercial accountability follow, the decision may yet help reposition NNPC as a profitable, credible, and PIA-compliant institution. If not, today’s clean slate will simply defer the reckoning until the next reconciliation, the next audit dispute, and the next fiscal crisis.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos and can be reached via: [email protected]
By Dr Austin Orette
The grandiosity of Nigerians when they discuss events and situations can be very funny. If the leaders use this kind of creativity in proffering solutions, we may be able to solve some of the problems that plague Nigeria perennially.
There seems to be a sublime affectation for new lingos when the system is being set to punish Nigerians. It is a kind of Orwellian speak.
Recently, there was no electricity throughout the country. The usual culprit and government spoke; people came out to tell us the power failure was due to the collapse of the National grid. Does it really matter what is collapsing? This is just an attempt by some government bureaucrats to sound intelligent.
Intelligence is becoming a borrowed commodity from the IMF or World Bank. What does it mean when you tell Nigerians that the national grid collapsed? Is that supposed to be a reassurance, or it is said to give the assurance that they know something about the anemic electricity, and we should get used to the darkness. This is a language that is vague and beckons the consumer to stop complaining. Does that statement mean anything to Nigerians who pay bills and don’t see the electricity they paid for? If they see it, it comes with an irregular voltage that destroys their newly purchased appliances. Just tell or stay quiet like in the past.
Telling us that a grid collapse is a lie. We have no national grid. Do these people know how silly their language sounds? Nigeria produces less than 10,000 megawatts of electricity for a population of 200 million people. How do you permutate this to give constant electricity to 200 million people? It is an insult to call this low output a national grid. What is so national about using a generator to supply electricity to 200 million people? It is simple mathematics. If you calculate this to the minute, it should not surprise you that every Nigerian will receive electricity for the duration of the blink of an eye. They are paying for total darkness, and someone is telling them they have an electricity grid.
If you can call the 10,000-megawatt national grid collapsed, it means you don’t have the mind set to solve the electricity problem in Nigeria.
To put it in perspective is to understand the basic fact that the electrical output of Nigeria is pre-industrial. Without acknowledging this fact, we will never find solutions as every mediocre will come and confuse Nigeria with lingos that make them sound important.
It is very shameful for those in the know to always use grandiose language to obfuscate the real issues.
South Africa with a population of sixty million produces about 200,000 megawatts of electricity daily. Nigeria produces less than 10,000 megawatts. Why South Africa makes it easy to lift the poor from poverty, Nigeria is trying to tax the poor into poverty.
The architects of the new tax plan saw the poor as rich because they could afford a generator.
A non-existent subsidy was removed, and the price of fuel went through the roof. Now the government says they are rich. What will they get in return for this tax extraction? Why do successive Nigerian governments always think the best way to develop Nigeria is to slap the poor into poverty? What are the avenues for upward mobility when youth corps members are suddenly seen as rich taxpayers? Do these people know how difficult it is to start a business in Nigeria?
After all the rigmarole from Abuja to my village, I cannot get a government certificate without a-shake down from government bureaucrats and area boys. The government that is so unfriendly to business wants to tax my non-existing businesses. Are these people in their right state of mind? Why do they think that taxing the poor is their best revenue plan? A plan like this can only come from a group of people who have no inkling of what Nigerians are going through. People can’t eat and the government is asking them to share their meager rations with potbellied people in Abuja.
Teach the people how to fish, then you can share in their harvest. If an individual does what the government is doing to Nigerians, it will be called robbery, and the individual will be in prison. When the government taxes people, there is a reciprocal exchange. What is being done in Nigeria does not represent fair exchange.
Nigerians have never gotten anything good from their government except individual wealth that is doled out in Abuja for the selected few.
The question is, will Nigerians have a good electricity supply? NO. Will they have security of persons and properties? No. Will they have improved health care? NO. Will there be good roads? No. Will they have good schools and good education? No.
Taxation is not good governance. A policy like this should never be rushed without adequate studies. Once again, our legislators have let us down. They have never shown the people the reason they were elected and to be re-elected. They are not playing their roles as the watchdog and representatives of the people. Anyone who voted for this tax bill deserves to lose their positions as Senators and Members of the House of Representatives.
We are not in a military regime anymore. Nigerians must start learning how to exercise their franchise. This taxation issue must be litigated at the ballot box. The members of the National Assembly have shown by their assent that they don’t represent the people.
In a normal democracy, taxation without representation should never be tolerated. They must be voted out of office. We have a responsibility and duty to use our voting power to fight unjust laws. Taxation without representation is unjust. Those voted into power will never respect the citizens until the citizens learn to punish errant politicians by voting them out of office. This responsibility is sacred and must be exercised with diligence.
Dr Austin Orette writes from Houston, Texas
For many Nigerian families, GOtv has become more than a television service. It is part of the daily routine. It is what people unwind with after a long day, what keeps children entertained on quiet weekend mornings, and what brings households together during football matches, movie nights, and festive celebrations. Over the years, GOtv has blended naturally into these everyday moments, shaping the way Nigerians enjoy entertainment at home.
Here are some of the reasons GOtv continues to stand out.
1. Local Content That Feels Like Home
Nigerians love stories that reflect their lives, and GOtv delivers this consistently. With Africa Magic, ROK, and other local channels, viewers enjoy Nollywood movies, relatable dramas, reality shows, and lifestyle programming that speak their language. These are familiar faces, familiar stories, and familiar experiences. GOtv understands the value of cultural connection and continues to invest in the content viewers care about.
2. Affordable Packages That Work for Real Families
GOtv has built its reputation on affordability. With packages designed for different budgets, families can enjoy quality entertainment without financial pressure. Some of the affordable packages on GOtv include GOtv Jinja, GOtv Jolli, GOtv Max, GOtv Supa, GOtv Supa Plus. This balance of good content at a comfortable price is a major reason GOtv remains a trusted household name across Nigeria.
3. A Channel Lineup That Has Something for Everyone
The beauty of GOtv is its range. Children enjoy their cartoons and animated shows, parents relax with movies and telenovelas, sports lovers stay connected to live games and highlights, and music and lifestyle channels keep the energy lively. Whether it is catching up on the news, finding something light after work, or choosing a family movie for the weekend, GOtv fits naturally into everyday Nigerian life.
4. Programming That Matches Our Daily Rhythm
GOtv understands the way Nigerians watch television. Weeknights come with easy to follow entertainment, weekends offer longer movies and marathons, and festive seasons arrive with special programming that brings everyone together. The schedule is practical, familiar, and aligned with the pace of Nigerian homes.
5. Easy Access Across the Country
From major cities to smaller communities, GOtv remains reliable and easy to use. Installation is straightforward, navigation is simple for both adults and children, and the service works seamlessly across the country. Even when life gets busy, GOtv makes it easy to stay connected, subscribers can pay and reconnect instantly without long processes or penalties, picking up right where they left off.
With relatable content, pocket-friendly pricing, and a channel lineup built around real Nigerian lifestyles, GOtv has earned its place in homes across the country. As the entertainment landscape evolves, GOtv continues to grow with its viewers, shaping how Nigerians watch, share, and enjoy moments together every day.
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