Feature/OPED
Victor Alewo Adoji: Celebrating a Silent Philanthropist Extraordinaire at 50
By Adamu Bello
When great men celebrate, even the stars bow in solemn hallow. As Dr Victor Alewo Adoji (DVAA), the erudite banker-turned politician celebrates his 50th birthday on Saturday, May 29, 2021, the periscope is focused on a man who has given his all to create peace, tranquillity and progress for his people in Kogi State and Nigeria as a whole.
It is often said that some were born great, while others attained or achieved greatness. For Adoji, it is a combination of being born great and working hard to attain greatness.
As the former Kogi State governorship and Kogi East Senatorial District aspirants during the last 2019 general elections steps into the golden club, healthy, hearty, resolute and focused, it is never a dull moment for a man who has spent the greater part of his life to rendering selfless service to humanity.
Victor Alewo Adoji, simply known as DVAA by friends and well-wishers, is a rare gem and a household name across a garland of interests and places.
DVAA’s humanitarian gestures cannot be overemphasized as he has contributed immensely to the growth and development of the Igala Kingdom (Kogi State) in several areas especially around education, empowerment, health care delivery and physical development.
Even before his attainment of fame as a public figure, his humanitarian service started as a pro bono auxiliary teacher at CSCC, Anyigba for a long period of time.
A visit to the Ministry of Mercy orphanage in Otutulu, any of the doctors at Diagnostics and Reference Hospital Anyigba, the Ogugu Ofante Catholic Community, the bursary department of KSU or any members of Project Igala Education Committee will update you more than the little that I have mentioned of his humanitarian services to the orphans, widows and the less privileged.
Though he is not directly in any position to employ people in his service sector, he has influenced a number of people into a number of private firms and public parastatals through his contacts.
He singlehandedly built the main mosque and UEC Church in his village (Okula-Aloma). Added to this, he built a modern classroom block in the only primary school in Okula and in conjunction with other elites in the village established the secondary school in the village.
For over 12 years, he has been responsible for paying the salaries of all the teachers in his village. He is in the process of building an estate in the village under a 20-year mortgage scheme for people of his village-based in states around the country to own houses in the village.
He has sunk several boreholes in several villages and places including the Open University in Idah, the catholic orphanage in Anyigba and for the people of Ogene-Igah his maternal home.
The Zenith Bank branches in Anyigba and Ankpa and the cash office in Idah are all to his credit. This is aside from the numerous people whose employment he influenced and never mentions for professional and strategic reasons.
About three decades ago, as an undergraduate, he gained insight into his role as a citizen in the Greek mythological sense of the word. This influenced his commitment to service which culminated in his election as leader of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the University of Jos in 1993 and National Public Relations Officer of the Igala Students Association (ISA).
As a unionist, economist, banker, professional in politics, educator, resource person and others, he has been exposed to and responsible for an array of tropical and broad-spectrum developments in several areas.
Since the turn of the millennium, he has applied his experience as an independent consultant to provide support, advice and training to a variety of stakeholders in different roles, working in different institutional and cultural contexts, including the Igala region. Wherefore, he gained admiration for sociopolitical perspicacity, integrity, ethical behaviour, passion and commitment to his fellow citizens.
As a consensus builder, he demonstrated proficiency in securing high-impact collaborations, acting decisively to deliver successful outreaches; thereby gaining a track record of launching interventions related to business strategy and citizenship.
For such collaborations, he worked productively as an innovation catalyst, dexterous in structuring alliances across private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. This involved high-profile advocacy, best practice in selling public awareness initiatives, a keen understanding of sustainability issues and relationship-building.
He has been focused on empowerment and capacity building of young Igala people especially in the fields of education (where he has several indigent students on his scholarship) and the creative industry where he partners with an assortment of thespians on an ongoing, evolving and ad hoc basis.
Recently, in partnership with the Kamar Football Academy and Igala-Bassa Nations Cup, he sponsored the establishment of the Igala United Football Club with about 40 players and the entire coaching crew on his payroll.
His partnership with the cashew farmers association of Nigeria, Kogi East chapter, is another evolving goldmine that is set to particularly impact the economy of the eastern part of Kogi State and by extension, Kogi state and the country at large.
Being uniquely different from others in his silent style of humanitarianism, Dr Victor Alewo Adoji has been a source, a catalyst and instrumental to the growth and development of many groups, individuals and communities in Igala nation for over a decade.
He has been focused on the empowerment and capacity building of young Igala people to embark on further studies, particularly in Kogi East and Kogi State at large. Because he hates to have his humanitarian services mentioned in public, he used individuals and organizations to assist several less privileged people to pay school fees, hospital bills and provision of shelters in times of need.
An infrequently misunderstood fellow who balances neatly along with demographic and psychographic grids, you find emblematized in him a personality who has met milestones on the (same) road he took to avoid them. Either by discretion or disposition or both, Victor Adoji furtively but discernibly reckons that most of the greatest things in life revolve around knowing which bridge(s) to burn and which to cross and at what cost.
Highly impressionable, liberal and expressive, he is a man whose calmness even under pressure is rare and enormous. His numerous attributes align with sanctity, empathy and collectivism while his dexterity at balancing views, perceptions and affiliations justify and validate his huge appeal across relationships and interests. He duly fits an array of descriptions, meanings and phraseologies including, but not limited to, one with an excellent mind, an anchor and an enthusiast equipped with a disposition that avails a hybrid perspective (on issues) where/when necessary and imperative.
Often regarded as a patient but an excellent planner with high business acumen, he is intuitively analytical, intellectually sound, reasonably determined, highly efficient, appreciably trustworthy and hugely compassionate. Piety, reverence, attention to details and compassion without frontiers distinguish this noble gentleman who is obviously produced from the finest source-materials of Master Porter.
By training, Victor wears several hats but would rather be called an economist; a discipline he drifted into after a memorable event at Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto.
According to him, he sauntered into studying Economics as a first degree but appreciated it because of its numerate nature that is entrenched in the social sciences with a focus on people, society, allocation, preferences, human and social dynamics and interventions/decisions at all levels.
Adoji, a man of peace and a man of the people is married to one of the most unassuming of women and a wife who fits all classifications of “a virtuous woman”, exceptionally accommodating, unusually patient and highly considerate. Their marriage is blessed with two children.
His Educational Background
Victor Adoji was born on May 29, 1971, to the reverent family of late (Elder) Bernard Angulu Adoji and Deaconess Rebecca Adoji, of Okula-Alloma in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria.
He had his primary and secondary education at the St. Paul’s Primary School (now, Mohammed Bankano Primary School), Sokoto and Federal Government College Sokoto, respectively.
A holder of Diploma in Project Management from the International Business Management Institute, Germany and he also has a baccalaureate degree in Economics from the University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. He has four MBAs with specializations in Corporate Strategy, Leadership and sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Business Analytics as well as five graduate (Masters) degrees in Economics, Public Administration and International Affairs, Sociology, Managerial Psychology and Social Welfare.
Adoji also has several non-credit certifications including, Special Executive Masters in Project and Strategic Management (PSM) and Special Executive Masters in International Business Law (IBL) both from the London Metropolitan Business school. Added to these are certifications in Risk Management, Economics/International Business and Change Management all from IBMI, Berlin.
Victor Alewo Adoji who holds a Masterclass certification in Business Management and leadership from the London Graduate School (LGS), also studied and trained with several reputable local and international, professional and academic institutions including the Pan African University of Nigeria, University of Pennsylvania, University of Edinburgh, Wharton University, Yale University, University of Virginia, Oxford University, Harvard University, the World Bank, the IMF and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
His first doctoral degree (PhD) received from the University of Panama, focused on credit management. The second, a doctoral degree in Business Administration (DBA), focused on leadership, corporate governance and people management, from Leeds Beckett University, UK. He has a post-doctoral degree; a DBA (Honoris Causa) in Project Management from the Commonwealth University in conjunction with the London Graduate School, UK.
He holds several professional memberships and fellowships, including Fellow, Institute of Credit Administration (FICA) and a British International Certified Credit Fellowship (ICCF), Fellow, Chartered Institute of Public Management of Nigeria, Fellow, Institute of Credit Administration (FICA) and Fellow, American Academy of Project Management (FAAPM). Aside from being a Certified Procurement & Project Management Specialist (CPPMS) and a Master Project Manager (MPM), he is also a member of several professional and academic bodies in Nigeria and beyond including, but not limited to, Nigeria Economic Society (NES), Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria (ICEN) and the America-based Institute for Transformative Thoughts and Learning (ITTL).
Adoji is a faculty member of the Institute of Credit Administration of Nigeria (ICA). The ICA is Nigeria’s only nationally recognized professional credit management body, solely dedicated to the provision of micro and macro credit management education, award of specialist qualifications, development of skills and capacity building of people involved in the everyday management of trade, financial and business credits in Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.
He is a board member of the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria (ICEN). The institute promotes and encourages the study and development of the art and science of economics in public practice, industries, commerce and seeks to inculcate professionalism and specialization in the economics profession in Nigeria.
Victor is a hushed philanthropist, an educator, a publisher, an administrator, a professional in politics and an academic. Victor is also an economic development consultant who has contributed to praxis in entrepreneurship, middle management, economic analysis, strategy development and project management.
In addition to his training as a lifestyle coach and level-1 Neuro-Linguistic Programmer (OLCA), Victor Alewo Adoji also trained as a Conflict Analyst with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). The Institute was established by the American Congress in 1984 as an independent institution devoted to the nonviolent prevention and mitigation of deadly conflict.
His Working Career – (His superlative footprints at Zenith Bank)
Adoji’s working career started with Paterson Cussons (Nig) Plc as a superintendent from where he moved to become the deputy editor, the business section of the northern-based Concern Magazine. He joined Zenith Bank Plc in 2000 and disengaged in 2018 as the head of corporate communication after a meritorious service spanning 18 years.
While at Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s biggest and Africa’s fifth-largest bank, he functioned as a diplomatic liaison who interrelated with diverse stakeholders comprising the board of directors, C-level management and community leaders, dexterously building excellent local and international network endeavours around management, governance, administration, the private sector and civil society.
Further, in this role, he initiated and cultivated robust and strategic relationships with the Fourth Power, thereby contributing to efforts at repositioning and enhancing interactivity and social collaborations on local, international and social media channels.
Having chaperoned the development of aspects of the bank’s stakeholder engagement strategy, he leveraged the ability to drive the embedding of sustainable practices within an organization as part of reputation management initiatives.
He is reputed as a transformation agent with the competence to engineer continuous process improvement while incorporating business-out sourcing initiatives to enhance productivity and modernize operations to attain remarkable results in the face of regulated resources.
He was responsible for establishing strategic partnerships across some sectors of the economy. He was the liaison between the bank and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), an organization of private sector leaders representing key economic sectors in Nigeria, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), a leading US business association focused on connecting business interests in Africa by promoting businesses and investments between the United State of America and the nations of Africa. He was also a liaison for the World Economic Forum (WEF), a foremost international Organization (for public-private corporations) that engages leading political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
As deputy head of the Corporate Communications department at Zenith Bank, he was the lead for the project-specific team charged with the responsibility of marketing (offline and online) the bank’s Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO was oversubscribed by 554 per cent, the highest by any bank, in the history of Nigeria’s capital market to date.
He was likewise the team-lead for the marketing team of Zenith Bank’s listing of $850 million worth of its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as well as post-listing marketing required to access a wide range of institutional investors.
At the time he joined the bank, it was regarded as just “a bank” but with growth around the 10,000th percentile in major financial parameters including, but not limited to, Gross Earnings {8,259%}, Profit Before Tax {7,150%}, Profit After Tax {7,317%}, Total Assets + Contingent Liabilities {8, 128%} and Tier-1 Capital {11,643%}, he left the institution as “the bank”: The biggest and most profitable bank in Nigeria and the fifth largest in Africa.
Adoji was one of the definitional figures at Zenith Bank having handled several responsibilities and served on critical committees and on crucial decision making bodies of the financial behemoth.
For his diligence and impactful roles, he won numerous commendations and awards at both the board and management levels: 2007 – commendation for tremendous project success, 2006 – Best Individual Staff bank-wide, 2003 – commendation for impactful and strategic inter-department support, 2002 – 2003 Best Non-Marketing Staff bank-wide, 2002 commendation for outstanding project implementation and 2001 – 2002 Best Non-Marketing Staff bank-wide.
Adoji, who left Zenith Bank unscathed after almost two decades of a productive and untainted career, has considerable posteriori knowledge amassed from long-term middle and senior positions in management, including process evaluation, public relations, internal and external communications, strategy implementation, and corporate/brand marketing.
He effortlessly applies hands-on experience in market/ecosystem research, business/process analytics, assessment of contexts, initiating and implementing interventions and using design-thinking protocols that are culture-specific and value-adding.
Dr Adoji is cosmopolitan, a well-groomed gentleman and he is joyfully married to Mrs Helen Eneumi and gracefully blessed with children.
His Public-Sector Related Skills/Training/Proficiencies
With over two decades of active private sector engagement at both the corporate and personal enterprise levels and substantial public sector relations, training and experience make Victor Adoji a well-rounded, deeply blended and resourceful individual.
Verifiably, he has a good understanding of issues and a great capacity to incorporate divergences in a manner that is seamless and productive, as his achievements in the corporate and personal enterprise realms and the following rendition of some of his proficiencies and skills attest to.
Some of these works include: (A.) Oxford University – From poverty to prosperity; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – The challenges of global poverty; Harvard University – Entrepreneurship in emerging economies; TUDelft Institute – Rethink the city: New approaches to global and local urban challenge; IIMBx Bangalore – Infrastructure development, PPPs and regulation; Princeton University – Making government work in hard places; Berkeley University of California – Solving public policy problems and SDG Academy (World Bank) – Industrial policy in the 21st century: The Challenge for Africa.
His Political Journey…
When Adoji ran for the Senate in 2019 and was not successful in getting the nomination of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), he alternatively ran on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Within four months (October – January) he had (again) traversed over 700 villages in Igala land and all the 98 wards in the eastern flank of Kogi State.
On the platform of a relatively unknown (at the time) ADC, the people, hand-in-gloves with Victor, humbled pessimists and derided predictions with the pre-election, election and post-election outcomes.
Nonetheless, insightful and knowledgeable observers would confirm that the 31,171 votes ‘received’ by Victor Alewo Adoji was a confirmation of two things; Victor is an entrenched grassroots politician and that his strength resides with a generality of the people.
Immediately after the ‘loss’, Victor and his ebullient supporters went back to the grieving electorates, across all the nine local governments to express appreciation for their roles and enormous sacrifices enjoining them to remain steadfast and positive with a final word, “I will be back”. I do not know of any politician who returned to give thanks to the people in ‘defeat’.
Adamu Bello writes from Kogi State, Nigeria.
By Blaise Udunze
Daily, the world watches Nigeria through a familiar lens in what appears to be a gory situation. Especially in cases when the news headlines tell stories of farmer-herder clashes, bandit attacks, kidnappings, villages reduced to ashes or deserted by the dwellers, as thousands of Nigerians have been displaced across states such as Zamfara, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Kaduna and Nasarawa. Subliminally, this is about to become a similarly ugly occurrence in southwestern Nigeria, which is fast becoming obvious if not nipped in the bud quickly.
Recorded data have shown that bandits, Boko Haram, and others killed over 190,000 Nigerians in 17 years and displaced 3.7 million people.
A human rights organisation, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), in its fearful revelation, has said that no fewer than 190,150 Nigerians have been killed by bandits, Boko Haram insurgents, and suspected armed herdsmen between July 2009 and March 19, 2026, as this calls for concern.
The dominant explanations often point to ethnic tensions, religious divisions, climate change, shrinking grazing routes or weak security institutions. No doubt, those factors are certainly part of Nigeria’s complex security crisis. Yet another question deserves serious examination.
What if, in some locations, the violence is also serving another purpose? What if some of the territories experiencing repeated displacement are the same places sitting atop some of Nigeria’s most valuable mineral deposits? More importantly, if such a pattern exists, who benefits when communities disappear?
Of a truth, these questions are uncomfortable, but undeniably they deserve careful investigation rather than dismissal.
For ages, Nigeria has been naturally endowed, and it is estimated to be rich in enormous significant reserves of gold, lithium, uranium, tin, columbite and other strategic minerals increasingly sought after in the global transition to clean energy technologies. As international demand for battery minerals continues to rise, these resources have become far more valuable than they were only a decade ago.
If one overlays publicly available geological information with maps showing persistent violence, some observers argue that striking geographical overlaps appear in several regions. Such overlaps alone cannot establish causation. Correlation is not proof of conspiracy. However, they raise questions worthy of independent scrutiny.
One issue attracting increasing attention and adequately yearns for answer is whether prolonged insecurity may inadvertently or deliberately create conditions that make mineral extraction easier.
Under Nigeria’s Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007, mineral resources belong to the Federal Government, while mining rights are granted through licences and leases. Community engagement and land access are expected to form part of the licensing process, although implementation varies depending on circumstances. This raises an important policy question.
What happens when the communities expected to participate in those processes have already fled because of violence?
Displacement changes the dynamics of land ownership, consent and access. While no evidence automatically proves that attacks are orchestrated to facilitate mining, the sequence of violence followed by renewed commercial activity in some locations deserves closer examination by regulators, lawmakers and investigative journalists.
In conflict studies, researchers have long observed that wars often generate economic winners alongside humanitarian losers. Could elements of Nigeria’s insecurity also be producing economic beneficiaries?
Reports over the years have documented concerns about illegal mining operations across parts of northern Nigeria. Government agencies themselves have repeatedly acknowledged that criminal networks profit from the country’s vast mineral wealth. The unresolved question is whether isolated criminality has, in some instances, evolved into more sophisticated alliances involving political influence, financial interests and international supply chains. If so, the implications extend far beyond Nigeria.
Invariably, it is clearly known that lithium has become one of the world’s most strategic commodities, powering electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage systems. Gold has always remained one of the safest global investment assets during periods of uncertainty. Meanwhile, it is well confirmed that the global appetite for these minerals creates enormous financial incentives.
Suppose violent displacement reduces resistance to extraction. Suppose shell companies subsequently acquire mining interests. Suppose minerals then leave Nigeria through legitimate-looking export documentation while their true value remains understated.
These scenarios remain allegations unless supported by verifiable evidence. Yet they outline a framework that investigators may wish to test rather than ignore. Financial crime experts frequently identify trade mis-invoicing as one of the most common methods of illicit financial flows worldwide.
Could Nigeria’s solid minerals sector be vulnerable to similar practices? If valuable lithium ore is deliberately but inaccurately described as lower-value material on export documents, substantial wealth could potentially leave the country without reflecting its true market value. Likewise, if unrefined gold exits through privileged channels with limited scrutiny, questions naturally arise about oversight, transparency and accountability over criminal activities which have continued to stunt and disrupt the country’s socio-economic growth and at the same time cause carnage.
Such possibilities are not accusations against any particular institution or company. Rather, they illustrate why stronger monitoring systems are increasingly essential. Another question concerns logistics.
With the high level of criminal activities, industrial mining requires heavy machinery, diesel supplies, transportation networks and specialised personnel. These are not operations that can remain invisible indefinitely.
If certain territories are genuinely too dangerous for security agencies, how do industrial-scale extraction activities reportedly continue in some remote locations? If they do, who protects those operations? Who authorises their movement? Who verifies what is extracted? Who ensures royalties and export revenues reach public coffers? These are governance questions that demand institutional answers.
Equally important is the international dimension. Minerals extracted in Nigeria ultimately enter global supply chains. Gold may pass through international refining hubs before entering financial markets. Lithium may become part of battery manufacturing destined for electric vehicles, which are being sold across Europe, North America and Asia.
One known fact is that consumers purchasing products containing these minerals rarely know the full story of where they originated.
Increasingly, however, investors and governments are demanding ethical sourcing standards that trace minerals from extraction to final manufacture.
A critical factor that must be taken into cognisance is that if insecurity is creating opportunities for illegal or unethical extraction anywhere in the world, multinational companies have responsibilities alongside national governments, of which the onus falls on the Nigerian government.
Transparency cannot stop at the mine gate. Nor should accountability end at national borders. Another issue requiring attention concerns beneficial ownership.
Across many jurisdictions, shell companies can obscure the identities of individuals ultimately controlling commercial assets. If politically exposed persons or powerful business interests are hidden behind complex corporate structures registered offshore, identifying beneficiaries becomes significantly more difficult. This challenge is hardly unique to Nigeria.
Findings showed that from Latin America to Central Africa and Southeast Asia, resistant corporate networks have frequently complicated efforts to combat corruption and illicit resource extraction. That is precisely why open corporate registries, beneficial ownership databases and transparent mining licence disclosures are becoming global governance priorities. For Nigeria, the stakes could hardly be higher.
The country stands at the centre of the world’s emerging critical minerals economy. The Nigerian government can’t feign ignorance of the fact that, when handled transparently, these resources could finance infrastructure, education, healthcare, and industrial development for generations.
In no way would the government claim not knowing that when handled poorly, they risk becoming another chapter in the well-documented “resource curse,” where extraordinary natural wealth coincides with persistent poverty, insecurity and institutional weakness.
The ultimate challenge, therefore, is not simply about mining. It is about governance. It is about whether public institutions possess both the independence and capacity to ensure that natural resources benefit citizens rather than narrow interests. It is about whether conflict zones receive genuine peacebuilding efforts instead of becoming forgotten frontiers. And it is about whether international markets demand accountability with the same enthusiasm they demand raw materials.
None of these questions should be answered through speculation. They require rigorous investigations, forensic financial analysis, satellite imagery, mining license audits, customs records, beneficial ownership disclosures and courageous journalism.
They require governments willing to open their books. They require international cooperation capable of tracing money across borders. Most importantly, they require asking questions that have too often remained unasked.
Perhaps Nigeria’s security crisis is exactly what it appears to be: a tragic convergence of historical grievances, weak institutions, criminality and environmental pressures. Or perhaps, in some places, another layer of economic incentive deserves closer scrutiny.
Until those questions are thoroughly investigated, one possibility will continue to linger. Maybe the world’s attention has been fixed on the blood spilt above ground, while too little attention has been paid to the extraordinary wealth lying beneath it.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos and can be reached via: bl***********@***il.com
Feature/OPED
What Does Nigeria’s $51bn Reserves Milestone Mean if Most New Foreign Money Can Leave Quickly?
Nigeria’s foreign reserves have climbed to about $51 billion, a decade-plus high, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). EBC Financial Group (EBC) notes that this reflects stronger investor confidence, but the second half may show whether it holds, as the build rests on three cyclical drivers: oil earnings, short-term foreign money and a narrowing official-to-street naira gap.
Reserves rose from about $32 billion in April 2024, during a dollar shortage, to about $51 billion now, near the CBN’s target. Much came from two cyclical sources, strong oil earnings and money chasing high-yielding naira assets, so EBC expects the pace to slow or reverse. Fitch Ratings, a major international credit rating agency, expects a marginal decline to about $47 billion by the end of 2026, citing higher spending and external pressures.
David Precious, Senior Market Analyst at EBC Financial Group, said, “Nigeria’s reserve build is real but may not be durable yet, because nearly all of the new money is the kind that can leave quickly. Of the $10.37 billion that came in over the first quarter, the overwhelming majority was short-term portfolio funds rather than long-term investment, so a shift in oil prices, global interest rates or confidence in the naira might pull a large part of it straight back out.”
Most New Money Can Still Leave Quickly
The composition of the foreign inflows explains the caution over how long the build can last. The country attracted $10.37 billion in foreign investment in the first quarter of 2026, up 83.83 per cent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Of that, $9.86 billion or 95.09 per cent, was portfolio money, largely short-term naira debt such as Treasury bills that investors can sell at the next auction, while foreign direct investment, the long-term kind that builds factories and jobs, was $135.08 million, or 1.30 per cent. Put simply, of each dollar coming in, about 95 cents can leave quickly, and barely one cent stays.
That money supports reserves while it stays. Dollars brought in to buy naira assets add to market supply, letting the CBN hold more reserves and steady the naira. It leaves when conditions change. Nigeria earns most of its export dollars from oil and gas, so lower oil prices mean fewer dollars, and as a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), it cannot simply produce more, output capped by quota and reduced by theft and ageing fields. Higher global interest rates draw money toward safer returns abroad, and a weakening naira prompts investors to sell early. When oil fell in 2016 and 2020, foreign investors withdrew and could not convert naira to dollars as supply dried up, leaving the CBN to clear more than $7 billion in trapped obligations into 2024.
The Oil Boost is No Longer Certain
Oil looked like a dependable source of the dollars behind the reserves only months ago. Earlier in 2026, concern over disruption around the Strait of Hormuz lifted crude prices, and stronger receipts flowed in, with crude oil export earnings of $8.11 billion in the first quarter in the CBN’s balance-of-payments data. That support is now easing. The tension has subsided, and Brent traded near $72 on June 29, down about 24 per cent over the month, back to pre-conflict levels. With the price boost gone and output constrained, reserves are more exposed, leaning on non-oil earnings and investor patience rather than oil.
The Naira Still Trades at Two Prices
The naira has traded at two prices, an official rate and a higher parallel-market rate, and closing that gap into one trusted price is what many investors might watch most. Before committing funds, they may want assurance they can convert naira to dollars at a fair rate when they exit, and a wide gap revives the fear of being trapped that lingers from earlier shortages. The gap has narrowed to roughly N20 to N30, with the CBN’s official rate near N1,380 per dollar on June 26 against parallel-market quotes around N1,400. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2026 Article IV review urged Nigeria to depend less on this fast-moving portfolio money and to keep phasing out its multiple exchange-rate practices. The CBN’s Foreign Exchange Manual, in force from 1 June, is intended to make the market clearer, though such rules build confidence only once investors can freely trade dollars at the posted rate.
What could Make the Build Durable
A few signs that may show the build turning durable include a smaller gap between the official and street naira rates, more long-term foreign investment, and steadier oil earnings. A gap that stays small, now roughly N20 to N30, may mean investors trust the official rate and no longer need the street market. A clear rise in foreign direct investment, only $135 million last quarter against $9.86 billion of short-term money, might mean lasting capital is replacing funds that can leave at the next auction. Oil earnings that hold up, rather than sliding from the low $70s, should help keep reserves steady, since oil and gas bring in most of Nigeria’s export dollars.
“Reserves built on money chasing high yields can fall as fast as they rose, as they did after the last two oil shocks, when investors left, and the CBN spent years clearing a foreign-exchange backlog,” Precious added. “What holds through a downturn is slower money, direct investment, steady oil and non-oil export earnings and one credible naira rate, and that is the shift Nigeria has yet to make.”
By Olajumoke Bello
Across Nigeria, small and medium enterprises remain the backbone of economic activity. They drive trade, create jobs, and sustain millions of livelihoods. Yet, despite their importance, many SMEs continue to operate below their full potential due to persistent structural challenges.
Access to finance remains one of the most cited constraints. However, the issue today goes beyond the availability of capital. Many businesses struggle with financial readiness, weak documentation, and limited understanding of what lenders require. This often leads to missed opportunities, even when funding options exist.
At the same time, SMEs face gaps in market access and visibility. Business owners operate in highly localised environments, with limited exposure to broader networks that can unlock partnerships, new markets, and growth opportunities. This isolation can constrain scalability and reduce long-term competitiveness.
Equally important is the capability gap. Many entrepreneurs grow through resilience and experience but lack structured knowledge on critical areas such as financial management, export readiness, and digital adoption. Without this, even well-capitalised businesses can struggle to sustain growth.
These challenges point to a clear need for a more practical and integrated approach to SME support. It is no longer sufficient to offer standalone solutions. SMEs require ecosystems that combine knowledge, access, and direct engagement in ways that reflect how they actually operate.
A key shift is the move from centralised interventions to localised engagement. SMEs are deeply influenced by their immediate environments, whether markets, industrial clusters, or trade corridors. Solutions must therefore be brought closer to where these businesses function, allowing for more relevant support and stronger relationships.
Another important shift is from awareness to action. Business owners do not only need information; they need insights that they can apply immediately. This includes understanding how to structure their finances, how to access trade opportunities, and how to connect with the right partners to scale their operations.
There is also a growing need for continuity. Many SME-focused initiatives deliver strong initial impact but lack follow-through. For support to be effective, it must extend beyond one-off engagements into sustained relationships, with clear pathways for onboarding, advisory, and growth.
For financial institutions, this presents both responsibility and an opportunity. Supporting SMEs now requires moving beyond transactional banking to deeper partnership models. It requires understanding businesses at a granular level and co-creating solutions that evolve with their needs.
At Stanbic IBTC, this perspective continues to shape our approach to SME development. Our focus is on delivering practical support that translates into real business outcomes, helping enterprises grow, compete, and contribute more meaningfully to the economy.
As part of this commitment, we are extending our SME engagement to the regions through the Nigeria Business Summit Regional Tour. The tour will take structured, on-ground activations into key commercial hubs, where SMEs can access funding guidance, trade insights, advisory support, and direct engagement with financial experts.
The regional tour will take place across five strategic locations, bringing these solutions closer to business owners in Aba, Onitsha, Ibadan and Kano.
This approach reflects an important principle. When support moves closer to businesses and when solutions are delivered in ways that are practical and continuous, SMEs are better positioned to grow sustainably. In turn, this strengthens not only individual enterprises but the broader economy.
Olajumoke Bello is the Head of Enterprise Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank
