A Deep Look Into Nigeria’s Future As The Post-Petroleum Society Arrives

I used to write long articles here, but when I realized that few have time for such, I stopped writing them. But someone had the time to read one of my old articles which was titled “The Post-Nigerian Petroleum Era”, and came up with how we read these days. Yes, Oluleke Babayomi, Ph.D., R.Eng. read it, and he has “satchetized” it for us.

“Thank you, Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, for this thoughtful, insightful, poetic piece. Since it is a long read, I present a summary of the key points below for the benefit of all.

-Nigeria’s focus on oil has eroded all progress made in the pre-oil era in economics, agriculture, trade and intellectual development.

• The country’s fate appears grim as oil either loses significance or oil reserves become depleted.

• The risky political arena has made governance a no-go area to the nation’s brightest and best, hence sham governance has been perpetuated since the demise of the generation of Azikiwe, Awolowo and Bello.

• Present-day leadership is not driven by any long-term vision to change the status quo.

• Nigeria’s regional influence will likely be reduced to nothing after the oil-era, leaving only one economically, technologically and politically dominant country on the continent – South Africa.

• Nigeria’s post-oil era: Many federally-funded institutions and programs will collapse. Presently poorly-funded educational institutions will then be left to fend for themselves and seek external funding. States will become more financially innovative and prudent due to loss of income from the federal purse.

The way out for Nigeria:

1) Invest in education, especially entrepreneurial and technical education to catalyze technological innovation in agriculture and other areas.

2) Develop broadband technologies to catalyze internet-supported business growth.

3) Appropriate education and financial incentives for artisans, traders, sculptors and farmers must be provided to expand their business capabilities.

4) Develop reliable capital markets to finance major capital investments in manufacturing, technology, agriculture and the local petroleum industry.

Here is the tome if you care.

The Post-Nigerian Petroleum Era

Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (Feb 10 - May 3, 2025), and join Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe and our global faculty; click here.