Business
By Anthony Isibor
PROF. Abiodun Adedipe, Founder and Chief Consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Limited, has challenged some widely used narratives about Nigeria’s poverty level, arguing that the country’s economic condition should be assessed with greater attention to how Nigerians actually live, spend and support one another.
Delivering his keynote address at the 3rd Kosofe Economic and Security Dialogue, Adedipe disagreed with the assertion that government and security institutions had failed, saying that the country’s problems should instead be examined through the prism of leadership, economic growth, security and the capacity of institutions to respond to changing circumstances.
The economist, who recalled beginning his working life in the Ogudu area of Lagos in 1981, said that the neighbourhood had changed considerably from the period when factories and businesses provided employment and economic opportunities.
He said the more important question was not simply what had gone wrong, but what could be changed to restore economic activity and create opportunities.
Adedipe, however, took issue with an earlier assertion at the dialogue that government had failed.
“Government has not failed,” he said, arguing that if government had completely failed, “then we can’t be here” and some institutions and activities would not continue to function.
He made a similar argument about security institutions, particularly the police, saying their importance becomes most apparent when communities experience disorder.
According to him, while Nigerians may criticise the police when things appear normal, the same institution becomes indispensable when there is a breakdown of order.
Leadership, vision and trust:
Adedipe said the central issue confronting Nigeria was responsible leadership, stressing that leadership should not be understood only in terms of political office.
He said leadership exist at community, family, religious, educational and media levels, adding that the media also have a responsibility because of the role in determining the issues that occupy public attention.
He identified vision and trust as the two essential components of effective leadership.
A leader could have vision and be trusted, he said, or have vision without being trusted. A leader could also be trusted without having a clear vision, while the most difficult situation would be one in which a leader has neither vision nor trust.
“Leadership begins from the top, but it doesn’t reside there,” Adedipe said, arguing that individuals at different levels of society must recognise their own responsibility within their respective circles of influence.
Economy and security are linked:
Adedipe also argued that economic growth and security reinforce each other.
A growing economy, he noted, creates conditions that support security, while a secure environment encourages investment, production and employment. Conversely, weak economic activity can worsen insecurity, while insecurity can further weaken economic growth.
He illustrated the point with the experience of a driver working for a senior executive of the Dangote Group.
The man, according to Adedipe, came from a farming family that traditionally cultivated beans and produced hundreds of bags annually. But insecurity had prevented the family from continuing farming at the previous scale.
The economist said the example demonstrated how insecurity could affect agricultural output, food supply and ultimately food inflation.
One of Adedipe’s strongest disagreements was with commonly cited estimates of Nigeria’s poverty rate.
He rejected the assertion that about 60 per cent of Nigerians are poor, saying the methodology used to arrive at some poverty estimates did not adequately capture the realities of African economies.
This is not the first time Adedipe has challenged widely circulated poverty figures. In 2019, he questioned claims that Nigeria had become the world’s “poverty capital”, arguing that the credibility of such conclusions depended on the methodology, sampling and statistical basis used to produce them.
At the Kosofe dialogue, he argued that measuring poverty principally by what people earn could produce a distorted picture in societies where informal transfers and communal support are widespread.
He gave the example of an individual who might earn N10,000 and give it to another person, with the recipient subsequently returning the money.
Such transfers, he said, form part of the economic reality of African societies, but are not necessarily reflected when poverty is assessed simply through income.
“Much of what a regular African receives and spends is much more than what he earns,” he said, describing such resources as transfers.
Adedipe therefore argued that researchers should pay greater attention to what people consume and spend, rather than relying solely on earnings, when assessing poverty in African societies.
He also questioned the emphasis on multidimensional poverty measures, saying the conversation should include other indicators that reflect the capacity of households and communities to meet their needs.
His position adds to a debate that has surrounded Nigeria’s poverty statistics for years. Earlier reports had cited international poverty estimates placing tens of millions of Nigerians below extreme-poverty thresholds, while Adedipe has repeatedly questioned the methodology behind some of those headline figures.
“Don’t tell Nigerians repeatedly that they are poor,’’ Adedipe said the way poverty was communicated to Nigerians could itself influence how people viewed their circumstances.
“If we keep telling them repeatedly they are poor, they will develop the victim mindset, and they will never see anything good around them,” he said.
He argued that Nigeria’s economic narrative should also recognise areas where Nigerians continue to perform competitively.
He cited Nigerian students and professionals participating in international competitions and said some Nigerians trained in the country’s institutions had achieved strong results internationally.
The point, he said, was not to deny Nigeria’s problems but to identify what was working and find ways to expand those successes.
From complaint to collective action:
The Prof. urged the Kosofe Chamber of Commerce and Industry to focus less on complaints and more on developing a strong institutional voice for businesses in the local government area.
He said a chamber becomes more influential when businesses see clear value in belonging to it, particularly through advocacy, business support and representation before government.
“The more members we have, the stronger our muscle to demand for and negotiate support,” he said.
He argued that the ultimate objective should be for the chamber’s voice to become sufficiently influential that state and federal policymakers would routinely consult it when developing policies affecting businesses.
The Kosofe Chamber itself describes its mission as advancing members’ interests through policy advocacy, business services and engagement aimed at improving competitiveness and economic growth in the area.
Adedipe also disclosed that he had previously advocated a change in the way Lagos benchmarked its economic development.
Rather than continually comparing Lagos with other African cities, he said, the state should examine successful economies globally and identify models that can be adapted locally.
He cited California, which has developed a large and diversified economy with strong technology, agriculture and services sectors, as an example of a jurisdiction Lagos can study.
Adedipe said he had proposed the idea in December 2024 and welcomed the subsequent agreement between Lagos State and California, saying it suggested that policymakers were listening to ideas from outside government.
He urged the Kosofe Chamber and other business organisations to continue producing ideas and engaging policymakers.
For him, the objective of the economic and security dialogue should therefore not be another round of complaints about Nigeria’s problems, but the development of practical ideas, stronger institutions and a collective voice capable of influencing policy.
“It’s not to complain, it’s not to blame,” Adedipe said. “It’s about how do we develop a voice for this chamber of commerce and industry.”
A.I
Sept. 24, 2026
Tags: kosofe Chamber of Commerce and Industry PROF. Abiodun Adedipe