Historically, Nigeria and the republic of South Africa have so much in common. The two countries are former British colonies and they both belong to same Commonwealth of Nations family. The two are also the most influential members of the African Union as the biggest economies on the continent.Nigeria as a frontline state, though not geographically contiguous to South Africa, [...]
Ade Adefeko


Following the closure of the Nigerian land borders by the Federal Government in a bid to curb excessive smuggling into the country, its apex bank; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a recent statement urged the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN) and other players in the rice value chain to refrain from ‘inordinate’ hiking of rice price.Since the [...]

Before 2015 Nigeria consistently ranked very poor in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business even though, the country was the biggest economy in Africa and we still retain the trophy of the biggest economy on the continent till date. Things like getting construction permits, filing tax returns, business registrations, judicial resolution of business disputes etc could pose very difficult [...]

After all the apprehension, permutations and predictions by local and foreign actors, the Presidential election in Nigeria has come and gone with a winner, and many losers.President Muhammadu Buhari who has been re-elected for another term of four years, in a very uncommon show of grace, called on his supporters be graceful to the losing side and that anything less [...]

The New Partnership For African Development, otherwise known as the NEPAD Agency, was established as an outcome of the integration of NEPAD into AU structures and processes. The NEPAD Agency is the technical body and implementing agency of the African Union tasked with the facilitation and coordination of the development of NEPAD programmes on the continent. As part of the [...]

The above title is derived from a 1964 James Bond Movie and second in the series made popular by Ian Flemming and produced by Albert Broccoli. A movie based on the COLD war era and described by a publication ROTTEN TOMATOES (no pun intended) as a razor-sharp briskly paced cold war thriller that features electrifying action scenes. This aptly describes [...]

I wrote this, weeks ago aboard a RWANDAIR flight, which happens to be one of my favorite African airlines which I fly with across Africa, as long as they have a connection. My week was busy and akin to what you could call shuttle diplomacy, though I had no mandate from the Federal Government of Nigeria but as you might [...]

The current outbreak of the dreaded Ebola virus disease (EBV) is the twentieth documented major outbreak of the disease on the African continent since its discovery 42 years ago. Over the years, Ebola has resulted in an estimated 13,068 direct fatalities. The disease is a highly infective and acutely lethal viral hemorrhagic fever which presents with flu-like symptoms of fever, [...]

Innovation is a prerequisite for corporate survival and the lifeblood of sustainable business growth and development globally. Organizations that innovate successfully are those that drive the future of the sectors or markets in which they play and indeed the overall economy wherein they are located.Africa’s peculiar set of problems has necessitated that innovation becomes a key ingredient for Companies and [...]

Investments in Nigeria's agricultural sector have taken an upward spin. Take the recent commitment of 1 billion USD to the sector on the part of the Federal Government for example. Such outlook on a sector hitherto starved of public funds is, to put it mildly, commendable.However, it is not only the public sector that has been in the business of [...]

The Africa Rising narrative has suffered a terrible blow in the last couple of years. With headwinds from falling commodity prices, many African countries suffered significant economic slowdowns. Some of the continent’s largest economics like Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt did officially enter into a recession. Overall, there is hope that the continent will be on a slow path to [...]

The tax debate is a never-ending saga constantly subjected to emotional vituperations depending on which side of the divide one is. This debate has most recently brought to the front burner contending issues with respect to the newly introduced Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) and the administration of tax in Nigeria. Let me attempt an analysis of these [...]

I was invited by the FRANCO/NIGERIAN Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Nigeria on Monday 26th of March 2018 to deliver the keynote address on a subject dear to my heart with subject-AGRICULTURE: KEY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA and the thrust of my treatise centered on a Policy framework that recognizes the need for a structured Agricultural value chain [...]

In my piece a while back about the economic recovery and growth plan (ERGP) I alluded to the fact that this plan should not be about a policy document that speaks to nothing in concrete terms particularly with regards to implementation.As a background, let me refresh our memories as to what the ERGP was set out to achieve. The economic [...]

Since the inauguration of the National Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council (NIPCAC) by the Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo around the middle of last year, a lot of initiatives and projects have been kick started and are at varying degrees of implementation.The Council was set up with a broad mandate to partner with the private sector to implement and [...]