Business
‘Insecurity, Costing Nigeria Foreign Investment’
Top business experts have warned that Nigeria is missing so many opportunities of attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) due to e escalating insecurity nationwide.
The experts, who spoke in Abuja at a capacity building workshop for National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) staff, titled ‘Data management strategies to improve national planning and development’, urged the NBS to embark on a national survey in collaboration with the academia to bring out a solution to security challenges in Nigeria.
One of them, who is the Chairman, Royal Statistical Society (RSS), Dr. Olaniyi Matthew Olayiwola, lamented that the development has affected the transportation, commerce and the trading industries.
He expressed regret that both local and foreign investors are now afraid of investing in the country due to insecurity.
Olayiwola, who is also the Head of Department (HOD) Statistics, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, disclosed that the RSS is currently developing a model called “Biased Reduction Model” to detect the actual causes of insecurity in the country and proffer solutions to national security challenges.
According to him, “Nigeria has lost a lot of FDI due to insecurity challenges we are having in the country. There are so many factors dragging the Nigerian economy down, depriving so many investors that can help the from GDP from investing in the country.
“Because of the insecurity, they are finding it difficult to invest and the economy is deeply affected. Look at the transportation system, the commerce, the trading and some other things. The security situation is also making it difficult for the country to exchange what is being produced.
“There are so many people that are very rich in the country and are capable of having so many industries but they believe that if they establish themselves in the country and a crisis pops up, their establishment may be set ablaze.
“We as statisticians have seen that if we are able to address the issue of security challenges in the country, every other thing will fall in place; for instance, investors can come to Nigeria to invest”, he said.
Citing communication gap and lack of information as major factors causing insecurity in the country, he insisted that insecurity will be a thing of the past, if the NBS could collate data around causes of insecurity.
Earlier in his remarks, the NBS Statistician General, Simon Harry, urged participants to be attentive and translate the knowledge gained from the workshop into nation building.
He noted that it is this type of knowledge that can bridge the gap between what is happening now and the type of investors that would come in if security challenges are dealt with in the country.
He also called on the leaders to proffer solution to security challenges as a matter of urgency, adding that without investors, GDP cannot grow.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor