The first world owes much of its progress to philanthropy. In those climes, those whose palm-kernels were cracked by the benevolent spirit, to borrow from the late Chinua Achebe, are constantly paying it forward through their philanthropic support for the arts, humanities, education, health, and other charitable endeavors. Even Africa isn’t left out of the enduring helping hands of J.D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, John D. MacArthur, and many more. Nigeria still counts on the enduring support of Bill Gates through his Gates Foundation to tackle several public health challenges. I suppose the pioneering efforts of these philanthropists of yore and those of today continue to inspire public-spirited business elites. It is heartening to note that Africa is building an influential corps of philanthropists who are deploying their immense means to take on challenges that can unlock significant value for the greatest number of people on the continent. I am a beneficiary of the transforming impact of the largely unsung philanthropic interventions of a Nigerian Banker, especially in developing human capital for Africa’s public sector.

In January 2016, I dared to dream. After my performance evaluation with my then-boss the previous month, I resolved to pursue graduate studies at all costs. I knew I wanted a stint at an elite institution, so I put all my eggs in one basket and applied only to the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.  After submitting my application and references, I waited.  The next month, a mentor asked if I was sure I’d get a place in the incoming cohort. I told her I was confident. I considered my profile stellar enough to earn a place in the competitive program. I followed an online forum for prospective graduate students for updates and waited with bated breath. On the evening of March 30, 2026, an email arrived announcing an offer for the Master of Policy Programme at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. After congratulating me, my wife’s first question was: “Where will you get the money to fund the program?” It was a pertinent question. The fee was a whopping £40,000, not including living expenses.  We had welcomed our son a few months earlier, so all our life savings had gone into hospital bills.

I was sure I would get a scholarship. It was the only way I could afford to take my place in the programme. The alternative was to take on a student loan. For the next four months, my life was consumed by the quest to secure funding to pursue my dream course at the great citadel of learning. I wrote several essays in response to scholarship calls and sent unsolicited letters to philanthropists. While waiting for feedback on some of these essays, I came across news that Nigerian banker, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede had announced that his foundation would sponsor a select number of West African students to study Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government every year.

It was news to my ears and felt like an immediate answer to my prayers. But there was a snag: I already had an offer to study in September 2016; meanwhile, the AIG scholarship awards would not begin until September 2017. I was momentarily deflated. Not easily deterred, I did some research, found the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation’s landing page, and sent a well-composed email. Although I received two initial partial scholarship offers from the University of Oxford, I still had a huge shortfall. I showed my strong interest in the program by accepting the offer and paying the non-refundable acceptance fee.

I wrote to some Nigerian philanthropists who, at one time or another, had helped indigent students achieve their academic dreams, but I did not hear back from any. Time was now running out. Distraught, I decided to follow up on my previous email to Aig-Imoukhuede’s foundation by sending a letter by courier to his Lagos office. This was my last-ditch effort, as the deadline was closing in and I needed the necessary documents from the school to begin the visa application. By some stroke of providence, in the second week of July, I got an email from the University awarding me a full tuition scholarship. Two days later, I received an email from the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation acknowledging my email and letter. In the email, they asked me to respond to two essay questions, which I did immediately. In my reply, I added that I had been awarded a full scholarship and requested support to cover the shortfall in living expenses, since the school would refund my initial deposit. The director of the foundation, thereafter, asked me to send a breakdown of my living expenses. Days later, I received feedback that the foundation would cover the shortfall in full. In return, I was asked to do a Nigeria-focused internship. Nothing more. Thanks to Aig-Imoukhuede’s generosity, thirty-five other Nigerians and Ghanaians and I have attended the competitive Master of Public Policy programme at the University of Oxford. Recipients of the AIG MPP scholarships now work in the public and development sectors in both countries.

In September 2016, when I subsequently met Aig-Imoukhede, he told me that after reading my letter, he had resolved that the process for selecting scholars for the MPP programme would be rigorous and impersonal. Applicants for the AIG scholarship must go through a competitive selection process even before they apply to the University of Oxford. This reflects his conviction that, if Africa’s fortunes are to change, the public sector must be overhauled and staffed with the most competent individuals. This conviction is further evident in the development of the AIG Public Leaders Programme, a leadership capacity-building initiative designed to equip public sector leaders to drive, lead, and deliver effective change. Now, in its fifth cohort, the PLP programme has trained over three hundred public sector leaders since its launch in 2021.

Aig-Imoukhuede’s philanthropic intervention in Africa’s public service is remarkable and exemplary. By identifying a clear gap in the public sector and consistently and methodically deploying resources to address it, he is charting a new course for Africans to tackle African problems instead of relying on aid and foreign philanthropists whose well-intentioned efforts often erode our agency as a people. After decades of impressive strides in banking and Nigeria’s capital market, Aig-Imoukhuede’s relentless focus on supporting efforts to overhaul Africa’s public sector, starting with Nigeria, rests on the fundamental thesis that a country is as good as the quality of its bureaucrats. This thesis has been tested worldwide, including by Swedish political scientist Prof. Bo Rothstein, a global authority on the quality of government who incidentally taught me at the Blavatnik School of Government.

Nigeria needs more public-spirited philanthropists in the mold of Aig-Imoukhuede. To whom much is given, much is expected, and giving back should not be restricted to tokenistic dispensing of palliatives to people experiencing poverty. Philanthropy should be structured, intentional, and mission-driven and should dare to confront challenges that other forms of capital would not venture. This is the road less travelled. The courageous benevolence of Aig-Imoukhuede is thus worth celebrating. As Aig-Imoukhuede turns 60 this week, I wish him many more decades of impactful and inspiring work in the public sector, and I hope the seeds of his contributions to the development of Africa’s public sector brain trust will germinate and bear fruit in his lifetime.

Adedotun Eyinade writes from Abuja

Source: punchng.com

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Nigeria’s food, beverage and tobacco industry attracted N375.03bn in fresh investment in 2025, making it the biggest recipient of manufacturing investment during the year.

Investment in the sector jumped by 63.5 per cent from N229.42bn recorded in 2024, according to data from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

The increase reflects continued expansion by major manufacturers as they seek to meet demand in Nigeria’s large consumer market.

Companies including Flour Mills of Nigeria, BUA Foods, Nestlé Nigeria, Dangote Sugar, Dufil, Cadbury Nigeria, CHI Limited, Unilever Nigeria and Honeywell Flour Mills were among firms investing in the sector.

The non-metallic products industry ranked second with N280.12bn, driven largely by investments in cement and glass manufacturing.

Motor vehicle assembly attracted N170.8bn, while the chemical and pharmaceutical sector received N123.61bn billion.

Industrial plastics, rubber and foam manufacturers invested N123.44bn, while the textile and carpet industry attracted N112.53bn.

Total investment in 2025 stood at N1.33tn. While the food and beverage industry led by sector, Lagos and Ogun remained the main destinations for manufacturing capital.

In 2024 and 2025, the two states attracted N1.74tn in industrial investment, accounting for 87.32 per cent of total investment recorded across Nigeria during the period.

The remaining 34 states attracted only N252.23bn, representing 12.7 per cent.

The figures underline the dominance of the Lagos-Ogun corridor in Nigeria’s manufacturing industry.

Lagos’ large consumer market and access to major ports remain key reasons manufacturers prefer the state.

The Apapa, Tin Can Island and Lekki ports provide access to imported raw materials and export markets, while the state also has a large financial and commercial ecosystem.

Ogun has benefited from its location next to Lagos. Industrial areas such as Agbara, Igbesa, Ota and Sango-Ota have become important manufacturing centres.

The availability of land for factories and lower expansion costs compared with Lagos have also helped Ogun attract manufacturers.

Data from MAN showed that between 2014 and 2020, manufacturers invested N3.35tn in Nigeria.

Ogun received N1.68tn, representing 50.16 per cent of the total, while Lagos attracted only N928bn, or 27.7 per cent.

Manufacturers in other parts of the country face higher logistics costs because of weak road networks, limited port access and other infrastructure challenges.

Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, said the Lagos-Ogun axis benefits from both its large market and proximity to ports.

He noted that manufacturers must consider the cost of bringing in raw materials and moving finished products when deciding where to locate factories.

A consultant economist and former Central Bank of Nigeria analyst, Nonso Ihuoma, also linked Lagos’ advantage to its location and functioning seaports.

He said developing ports in other parts of the country could reduce the cost of moving goods and encourage manufacturers to invest outside Lagos and Ogun.

Security challenges in some states also remain a concern for businesses, increasing the cost and risk of operating outside the main industrial corridor.

Experts said better ports, roads, rail infrastructure and investment incentives would help attract more factories to other parts of Nigeria.

Source: punchng.com

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Five mid-sized Nigerian banks grew their total assets to N20.47tn and made N338.4bn in profit after tax in the first half of 2026, based on financial figures compiled by The PUNCH for this analysis.

Assets are things a bank owns or is owed that have financial value and can provide future economic benefits, such as loans, cash, investments and property.

These Tier 2 lenders—Wema Bank, FCMB Group, Sterling Financial Holdings, Jaiz Bank and Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank—also generated a combined N1.43tn in gross earnings or turnover during the six months ended June 30.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s biggest banks, known as Tier 1 lenders, have yet to publish their audited results for the first half of 2026.

The 44-year-old FCMB Group had the largest balance sheet, with total assets of about N8.36tn as of June 30. Wema Bank, an older lender, followed with N5.76tn, while Sterling Financial Holdings had N4.67tn.

Jaiz Bank, Nigeria’s first and largest fully licensed non-interest (Islamic) bank, operating on Sharia-compliant, ethical finance principles, reported assets of approximately N1.64tn, while Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank was substantially smaller at about N53.25bn.

FCMB and Wema accounted for the overwhelming majority of the profit. Together, they raked in about N271.25bn, or roughly 80 per cent of the combined N338.4bn.

FCMB alone contributed about 41 per cent of the aggregate profit, while Wema accounted for approximately 39 per cent. Sterling contributed nearly 15 per cent, Jaiz about 4.5 per cent, and Infinity Trust less than 1 per cent.

The analysis of Wema’s numbers indicates that its profit was almost as large as FCMB’s despite having a substantially smaller balance sheet.

The lender reported N131.37bn in profit after tax on N415.09bn in gross earnings, while assets reached N5.76tn.

Wema’s profit after tax increased 50.1 per cent from the corresponding period of 2025, the 81-year-old lender stated in its unaudited results. Profit before tax rose 53.7 per cent to N154.56bn, while gross earnings increased 36.9 per cent to N415.09bn. Its interest income rose 42.7 per cent to N342.64bn.

The bank’s balance sheet also expanded. Total assets increased 13.5 per cent from N5.07tn at the end of 2025, while loans and advances to customers rose 21.7 per cent to N2.12tn. Customer deposits increased to about N3.45tn.

FCMB’s H1 2026 results showed gross earnings of about N676.2bn, up 27.8 per cent from the previous year, while profit after tax reached approximately N139.9bn, an increase of about 90.5 per cent. Profit before tax rose 98.8 per cent to N157.3bn. Total assets stood at approximately N8.36tn, up 9.53 per cent.

Sterling Financial Holdings reported N50.30bn in profit after tax and N279.6bn in gross earnings for the first six months. Profit increased 20.4 per cent from N41.78bn a year earlier, while profit before tax rose 21.9 per cent to N55.53bn. Gross earnings increased 31.5 per cent.

The lender’s credit impairment charges rose sharply to approximately N23.85bn, from N5.21bn in the comparable period. The group nevertheless maintained its reported non-performing loan ratio at 4.7 per cent.

Sterling’s customer deposits grew 21.1 per cent to N3.62tn, while loans and advances increased 13.7 per cent to N1.61tn. Total assets rose 19.3 per cent to approximately N4.67tn.

Jaiz Bank’s balance sheet reached approximately N1.64tn, representing growth of about 27 per cent from N1.29tn at the end of 2025. The Islamic lender reported profit after tax of about N15.1bn, compared with N14.45bn a year earlier. Profit before tax was approximately N15.42bn.

Jaiz’s business model differs from that of conventional banks because it operates as a non-interest bank. Its income is therefore generated through financing and investment activities rather than conventional interest income.

Its gross income from financing and investment transactions rose to N54.5bn, from N44.01bn in the first half of 2025, with income from financing contracts reaching N29.61bn.

The bank’s asset growth was accompanied by higher liquidity. Cash balances with the Central Bank of Nigeria rose to N460.13bn, while funds due from banks and other financial institutions reached N384.74bn. Financing assets stood at N282.2bn.

Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank is an outlier in scale among the five institutions. Its reported balance sheet is measured in tens of billions of naira rather than trillions, with the supplied figure putting total assets at N53.25bn.

Its business is also more specialised than that of the universal and commercial banking groups in the comparison. Mortgage banks are principally focused on housing finance and related activities, meaning their balance sheets and revenue structures are not directly equivalent to those of diversified financial holding companies.

Economist and public affairs analyst, Dr Aliyu Ilias, told The PUNCH that the strong earnings reflected the significant benefits banks were deriving from economic activities, particularly in the stock and foreign exchange markets.

He noted that while stronger banks were positive for the economy, financial institutions should do more to support productive sectors, particularly manufacturers, agriculture and small businesses.

“Banks should actually support MSMEs and agriculture through direct lending,” Ilias said, urging the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure that banks comply with measures aimed at improving credit to those sectors.

He stated the banking industry’s strong position was also linked to the growing contribution of the services sector to the Nigerian economy, adding that the strength of banks could support broader economic development if more credit was channelled into businesses and other productive activities.

Source: punchng.com

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