I attended the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit in-person after attending the last two online and I was struck by both the gravity of the moment and the potential that lay ahead. The three days event held at the Transcorp Hilton brought Nigeria’s policymakers, private sector leaders, civil society, and youth voices to interrogate, envision, and commit to the country’s reform path.
The opening remarks by the Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Mr Olaniyi Yusuf, set the tone as he urged Nigeria to move beyond fragile stabilisation into what he called consolidation and on to acceleration towards inclusive growth. He shared “Five I’s” as pillars through which reform must anchor itself and they are: Industrialisation, Infrastructure, Investments, Inclusion, and Institutions.
The Vice President of Nigeria Senator Kashim Shettima continued the clarion call for practical patriotism as the engine for national cohesion, industrial harmony and concrete support to the ongoing reform agenda. He urged Nigerians to work together to protect and nurture investors, strengthen industrial relations, as they work to deliver reforms that would unlock jobs and investment.
NES31 was structured around five core pillars of Industrialisation-led Growth, Infrastructure for Competitiveness, Inclusion for Shared Growth, Strengthening Institutions, and Unlocking Investments and these informed plenaries and breakouts throughout the Summit.
The sessions I followed were Strategic Framework for Nigeria’s US$1 Trillion Economy, Global Trade, Africa’s Moment and Nigeria’s Opportunity, the launch of the NESG Jobs and Productivity Report, interactive panel on Youth and the Future of Nigeria, discussions on Nigeria’s rebased GDP and the implications for fiscal and sectoral policy, technical breakouts on MSME competitiveness and digital transformation, and panel dialogues on climate resilience and social inclusion. Everyone of these sessions reiterated the urgency of human capability and institutional strength for macroeconomic ambition.
The first evening, I joined the dinner hosted by Human Capital Africa, in partnership with the Dangote Foundation and NESG, on “Investing in Africa Foundations: Philanthropy Coalition for Foundational Learning.”
The conversation was sobering and urgent:
- Private sector leaders expressed frustration with the widening gap in employability with too many hires lacking the basic literacy and numeracy expected of even elementary school graduates.
- New data shared was alarming: 60% of children in Primary Two in Nigeria struggle with basic mathematics, underscoring how deep the foundational learning crisis runs.
- Ministers of Education from Sierra Leone and Malawi attested to the gains they have seen after declaring emergencies on foundational learning and implementing Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL)-style interventions.
I left the summit with five take aways:
- Reform Must Be Anchored in Human Capability: You cannot industrialise or unlock investment if a substantial share of the population struggles with foundational learning. The education crisis isn’t separate from economic policy.
- Institutional Integrity and Continuity Matter: Discrete policies and initiatives will flounder if they are not embedded in durable institutions that resist reversal, favour merit, and promote accountability.
- Inclusion Cannot Be an Afterthought: Whether in education, youth policy, or industrial strategy, the stories and capacities of women, youth, underserved communities, and the informal economy should be integral, not peripheral.
- Reforms Must Be Actionable, Measurable, and Iterative: The Summit emphasised that bold visions must yield concrete benchmarks, feedback loops, and accountability mechanisms.
- Coalitions and Convergence Are Key: No stakeholder can deliver alone. The newly launched Private Sector Coalition for Foundational Learning is one such example, bringing philanthropy, civil society, business, and government to a common table.
NES31 is over but the conversation from the event highlights the importance of humility, persistence and courage for Nigeria to harness its vast potential. I agree that the path ahead isn’t linear or easy, however, we must stay grounded in the work of translating reform actions into the economy with evidence of a reduced cost of living.
The one guiding thought I am carrying from NES31 is this: the future of Nigeria’s economy is inseparable from the futures we build in our schools, our youth, and our institutional foundations.
I look forward to doing my part and to working with partners across sectors to a Nigeria that learns, produces, and includes.
