What Nigeria and United States Largest Public Companies Teach About their Economies

Nigeria’s stocks worth over one trillion (SWOOT) naira, and certainly the largest companies, have two cement companies, two telecommunication firms, and a food & drink processing conglomerate. In the United states, the six largest publicly traded companies (and certainly the largest overall), are largely all technology companies.

From these companies, one can also pick the states of the economic developments: Nigeria’s is still emerging with cement and food catalytic while in the US, those have since passed their growth phases. While Nigeria bets big on the infrastructures of the digital economy  with MTN and Airtel, the US is focusing on the utilities built on those infrastructures with the core infrastructure players largely not dominant.

But there are many more things one can point out by looking at these logos. What do you see?

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Comment 1: Ndubuisi Ekekwe, the first logo shows that Nigeria is still on the lower rung of the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Physiological Needs), and The US, has met these needs, therefore innovation is easier. You cannot innovate until you meet the first need. “It is hard for a hungry man to think”

Comment 2: We went to the Olympics, and returned with two medals: silver and bronze. So for all those sixteen days, Nigeria’s national anthem never roared, with green white green ascending, while the world salute us. Nothing can compare to that feeling, but we never had one of those precious moments.

We have done all kinds of economic analyses and political governance systems here, but what exactly can we say Nigeria is good at? Just bunch of creatures who talk too much but do very little.

Let’s deal with small things first, if we cannot make good impressions in global games like the Olympics, then it makes no sense debating more sophisticated and costly adventures, because there are many nations who are well ahead.

I don’t want to blame anyone, just that we are never great at anything, and the earlier we accept this, the better for us. This mindset of settling for average or mediocre outcomes is what I find absurd, our will to succeed is nowhere near what you see from other nationals. When people expect a lot from us, and we disappoint, our attitude doesn’t even show remorse or great sense of responsibility, because we have all remained largely irresponsible in this part of the world.

I want to hear our national anthem at the grandest of stages, nothing can make me prouder as a Nigerian, for now we don’t have any bragging rights.

We are trading cement and food, yet homes aren’t affordable, neither do we have enough food for the hungry…

Comment 3: Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe, please note that the dichotomy you are referencing is a result of differing stakes in the equity markets in these two economies. The driving forces in the US stock market are completely different from what obtain in Nigeria. In addition to reported corporate profits, low to zero interest rates in the US has virtually guaranteed a bullish stock market here, resulting in what some believe are equity pricing “bubbles.”

Remember also that the US is largely service and consumer economy, although the Biden administration is seeking to bring manufacturing back into the economy. Nigeria’s economy on the other hand, is purely a consumer economy. So, the market caps of the companies referenced are more indicative of the economic activities in the country.

Comment 4: First, I see that the US economy is already positioned for the future ; a time when almost all sectors of the economy would depend on tech to function optimally. On the other hand, I see that the Nigerian economy is still dwelling in the present, characterised by shortage in housing, food and Internet connections. I see a largely untapped tech market for Nigerians however, depending again on the institutional support for such tech exploration. Prof., these, I have seen.

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