{Financial} knowledgeable Kalu Aja has sparked a heated debate by asserting that Nigeria’s {economic} local weather in the course of the British colonial period of the Nineteen Fifties was superior to the nation’s present state underneath President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He argued that the foundational strengths of the nation, notably within the agricultural sector, have been extra sturdy and productive earlier than Nigeria gained independence in 1960.
Aja shared these views by means of a sequence of detailed posts on his official X account on Saturday, the place he lamented the regular decline of the nation’s former {economic} glories.
He particularly pointed to the period when Nigeria was a world chief within the export of money crops.
In line with the analyst, the sectors that when drove Nigeria’s prosperity have suffered vital decay for the reason that colonial masters departed.
He highlighted Nigeria’s earlier standing as an agricultural powerhouse, noting that within the Nineteen Fifties, the nation was not simply targeted on native consumption however was a dominant participant within the international market.
He identified that Nigeria ranked among the many prime two producers of groundnuts and prime three for palm oil and cocoa worldwide.
Reflecting on the present state of the nation, Aja questioned the disappearance of the long-lasting “groundnut pyramids” and large palm plantations that when outlined the financial system.
He bluntly acknowledged that these sectors “prospered due to oyibo” and recommended that the shortage of comparable management within the post-independence years, together with the present administration, has led to a complete collapse of those pillars.
“The reality is these sectors prospered due to oyibo; when oyibo left, every part decayed,” he wrote.
These remarks come at a time when many Nigerians are scuffling with a extreme cost-of-living disaster.
Whereas the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics (NBS) not too long ago reported that the headline inflation charge eased to fifteen.15 % in December 2025, a major drop from the 34.80 % recorded in December 2024. The truth on the bottom stays tough for a lot of households.
Nonetheless, the federal government continues to keep up that its fiscal reforms are crucial for long-term restoration, at the same time as analysts like Aja argue that the nation has misplaced its means for the reason that Nineteen Sixties.