Our year of financial breakthrough
CBN thinks Nigeria has a better shot at making money in 2025
Good morning, Big Brains. My week has been more productive because I’ve walked for one hour every morning since Monday. It sounds tiring, but it keeps me active all day. I highly recommend it.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1, 000
Reading time ~ 4 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigeria wants to get its money up
Kano is empowering women with goats
The Big Deal
Nigeria wants to get its money up
One thing Nigerian churches get right every year is the theme culture. Nigeria has chosen to draw inspiration from churches this year, and the theme we’re all working with is Our Year of Financial Breakthrough. Amen? Amen!
Nothing says happiness like that little ka-ching sound, and according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, we’ll be hearing a lot of it this year. That’s because CBN is seeing positive signs that will likely help the country’s economy grow by 4.17%.
On Tuesday, January 21, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said that the Nigerian economy is finally shaking off years of brokeness. He explained that the economic reforms introduced in 2023—things like removing the petrol subsidy, floating the naira, and revamping the tax system—are starting to yield results.
Even though these reforms are still making life hard for Nigerians, Cardoso insists that the long-term benefits are now becoming visible. In his words, “The results of these reforms will materialize in the form of improved productivity, enhanced investor confidence, and a more efficient allocation of resources.” These are big words, but are we really getting our money up this year?
Why is this a big deal?
We’ll start by indulging Cardoso and trusting that this financial breakthrough will actually happen. A growing economy generally leads to more job opportunities. It could also mean stronger public services, better infrastructure, and maybe even some stability for the naira, which would ease the pressure on import costs.
Here comes the “but” – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) isn’t as optimistic as CBN. IMF believes that there’s an opportunity for growth this year but it wouldn’t exceed 3.2%. We’re not taking sides but considering the fact that Nigeria is facing the same old issues like inflation, high unemployment, and rising debt servicing costs, IMF might be on to something.
According to a recently released report from the Debt Management Office, the country’s public debt has risen to ₦142.3 trillion while inflation also rose to 34.80%. Now, even if the CBN’s 4.17% growth prediction becomes a reality, we’ll still be nowhere close to better days. Why? Because the money we’ll be making as a country will barely scratch the surface of what we owe.
Debt servicing alone—basically the money we’re paying back just to stay afloat—is eating up a ridiculous chunk of our revenue. Between January and September 2024, the federal government spent $3.58 billion on debt servicing. That should give you an idea of how much we’ll spend on debt this year.
The simple conclusion to our shalaye is this – yes, the economy might grow. But no, you’ll most likely not be able to tell because we are still going to be in a deep mess as a result of the same policies Yemi Cardoso wants us to be thankful for. God help us!
Kano is empowering women with goats
We’ve seen Nigerian politicians attempt to “empower” women with bags of rice and sewing machines but we’ve never, for one second, imagined that we’d live to see the day when they’ll “empower” women with goats.
As part of a ₦2 billion initiative, the Kano government has distributed 7,158 goats to women in rural areas to improve their “economic well-being.”
The initiative, announced by Governor Abba Yusuf on Tuesday, January 21, was created to encourage women to go into livestock farming. Each beneficiary gets two female goats and one male goat (nice of him to consider the reproduction factor), which the government hopes will turn into a goat empire in the future. We’re not sure how many women woke up this morning thinking, “What I really need to level up in life is a goat business”. We do not know how this business will kick off with only three goats, either.
While it’s admirable that the government is investing in rural women, this approach raises questions about how sustainable or impactful it will be, especially since it costs ₦2 billion.
Three goats might provide some milk, meat, and little income, but will these women truly be empowered or will this end up being another empowerment project that sounds relatively (very relatively) good on paper ?
Only time will tell. But we hope none of those goats will satisfy someone’s Asun craving before they get the chance to reproduce.
This Week’s Big Question
“What's your take on a possible TikTok ban in Nigeria?”
Uti’s response - “They banned Twitter before so I wouldn't be surprised, what I would be interested in is the reason. What TikTok trend would ruffle feathers in Aso Rock?”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting Uti’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
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