Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of di Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, don warn say negative narratives about Nigeria dey carry serious economic cost. He talk last week at di launch of di latest World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU) inside Abuja. Oyedele say citizens suppose avoid comments wey fit undermine di country image at home and abroad.
According to am, Nigeria dey pay wetin he call ‘narrative costs, stereotype tax and prejudice premiums’ wey dey come from baseless negative comments on social media and television. He talk say while Nigeria never reach where e wan reach, citizens need acknowledge di progress wey dey happen and work together to build better nation instead of focusing only on challenges.
Di minister add say baseless negative comments about Nigeria get consequences both inside di country and internationally. He talk: ‘We dey pay real costs because of di narratives about our country. We dey pay wetin I call stereotype tax and prejudice premiums, and I no dey joke. Di impact na huge. When we make negative comments about Nigeria on social media and television without any basis, we dey pay for dem, both at home and abroad.’
Oyedele stress say government no dey ask Nigerians to portray di country as paradise, but e urge dem to offer constructive criticism and contribute to national development. He talk: ‘We no dey say Nigeria don turn paradise. But make we work together to build di country we want. No tear di country apart; make we build am up. We open to feedback, and we welcome constructive criticism.’
Di minister also defend progress wey dey happen for infrastructure development, particularly road construction. He caution against generalising di state of di country infrastructure based on isolated negative experiences. He acknowledge say some roads still dey poor condition, and cite im recent journey from Lagos to Ondo, wey he describe as difficult experience. But he maintain say available data show overall improvement for road infrastructure, and insist say such progress suppose dey recognised alongside di challenges wey remain.
He talk: ‘My point na say, for broader level, data show say our roads dey improve. We suppose recognise di progress we dey make while we continue to fix di roads wey still dey poor condition.’ Oyedele urge Nigerians to acknowledge improvements where dem happen while continuing to demand solutions to persistent infrastructure problems.
He also highlight potential benefits of lower interest rates for government spending. He talk say reduction to single-digit levels, if necessary conditions dey met, fit save Federal Government more than N10 trillion next year. According to am, such savings fit provide additional resources for road construction, education and improving access roads linking farms to markets. He talk: ‘If di right conditions dey in place for interest rates to fall to single-digit levels, di Federal Government fit save more than N10 trillion next year. Imagine wetin that amount fit achieve if invested in federal roads, education and access roads linking farms to markets.’
Oyedele talk say Nigeria don already embark on reform journey and urge citizens to support efforts to sustain progress. He add: ‘We don start dis journey, and we must not reverse di progress we don make.’
For anoda side, World Bank Group talk say dem dey lead charge for private capital mobilization in Nigeria. Di effort reflect coordinated World Bank Group approach. Di World Bank dey support reforms and projects wey improve investment environment and create viable opportunities. IFC dey complement di work by structuring investments, deploying im own capital, and bringing commercial lenders and institutional investors into those opportunities. MIGA dey provide guarantees wey reduce risks for investors. Together, di institutions dey help make private investment stronger driver of infrastructure, productivity, and jobs.
Since mid-2023, Nigeria don undertake reforms to improve foreign-exchange management, strengthen public finances, reform fuel subsidies, and create more predictable conditions for investment. World Bank RESET and NAIJA development policy financing programs support some of these measures, and dem dey help strengthen policy credibility. Further reforms aim to deepen capital markets, expand digital trade, enable greater private participation in electricity, and improve competitiveness, reducing risks and opening new opportunities for private capital.
For digital sector, Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth (BRIDGE) Project represent new model for infrastructure development. Instead of relying only on public financing, di project go use public-private partnership to build, own, and operate nationwide open-access fiber-optic network. First round of investor selection expected to mobilize at least $156 million in private equity, while subsequent financing rounds fit unlock up to $1.1 billion in private investment by 2030. BRIDGE go bring affordable broadband access to additional 58 million people, expanding coverage from 92 million people in 2025 to 150 million by 2030. Beneficiaries include additional 42 million young people and 15 million women. Di project go also connect millions of households, 38,800 public schools, 16,900 health facilities, and 3,400 local government offices to high-speed broadband internet.
For farmers, limited access to quality seeds, affordable fertilizer, digital services, and reliable markets dey constrain productivity and incomes. World Bank Group AgriConnect approach link public-sector reforms and investment platforms with IFC financing to address barriers across agricultural value chains. Agricultural Value Chains for Growth (AGROW) Project target one million smallholder farmers, including women and young people, by improving seed and fertilizer systems, strengthening digital platforms, increasing transparency, and expanding links to markets. AGROW expected to mobilize about $220 million from agribusiness firms and another $22 million from certified seed producers. These interventions intended to reduce investment risks, strengthen food security and productivity, and create more reliable opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses.
Fostering Inclusive Finance for MSMEs in Nigeria program (FINCLUDE) design to expand availability and quality of finance for more than 250,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises in job-intensive sectors, with 30 percent of financing targeted to women-led businesses. A $500 million package from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Development Association combine financing and risk-sharing tools to encourage financial institutions and other investors to provide additional capital to underserved firms. Di program expected to mobilize nearly $1.89 billion in private financing and support estimated 850,000 direct and indirect jobs.
World Bank Group talk say together, these reforms, platforms, guarantees, and investments dey help mobilize up to $5.79 billion in private financing in fiscal year 2026. Di figure dey show how scarce public resources fit reduce risk, attract private investment, and support job-rich growth at scale.
IFC dey help turn viable opportunities into investments, using direct financing, partnerships with other lenders, and capital-markets instruments to mobilize additional private capital at scale. In support of broader AgriConnect agenda, IFC financing for Dangote Industries Limited and Indorama Fertilizer dey help expand domestic fertilizer production and improve access to inputs for more than 10 million smallholder farmers. IFC help mobilize $1.02 billion for Dangote through refinancing and financing from development institutions and commercial lenders, and $282.5 million for Indorama through syndicated financing. With aggregate production capacity of 6.8 million metric tons per year, di two projects fit reduce reliance on imported inputs, improve affordability, and strengthen food security.
For telecommunications, IFC serve as anchor investor in a $1.2 billion bond issuance by IHS Towers, helping mobilize more than $1.1 billion from private investors and broaden participation in di transaction. Di issuance show investor confidence not only for Nigeria digital infrastructure sector but also for di country capital markets. Through im tower-sharing model, IHS Towers dey enable mobile network operators to expand connectivity more quickly and at lower cost while reducing environmental footprint of network deployment.
