By Okoi Obono-Obla
I wrote an essay celebrating the well-considered decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to expand the size of the military, create more training depots evenly spread across the country, equip the military with sophisticated weaponry, and increase the salaries of military personnel. I consider this a good development that will definitely motivate the military to carry out its statutory mandate of protecting the country from existential threats posed by terrorists, bandits, separatists, and generally enhance its internal security capabilities.
When I shared the article, which was published by Chatafrik.com on my Facebook page, one of my friends, Mr. Oguneme Romanus Uchenna, a rabid supporter of Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 general elections, reacted sharply and pointedly thus:
“Before you celebrate, what is the exchange rate between the old salary and the new one?”
A dialogue then ensued between us.
I responded: “@Oguneme Romanus Uchenna, Peter Obi is a notorious importer of foreign goods. If Peter Obi were in power, what do you think the exchange rate would be? Didn’t Peter Obi himself promise to devalue the Naira and remove the subsidy on petroleum products? Apart from crude oil sales, what other sources would earn foreign exchange for the country? Peter Obi is a major importer of foreign goods, which he sells in his Next Supermarket in Abuja, thereby putting pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves and working against the country’s economic diversification.”
He replied: “Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, Chief you are displaying abysmal ignorance of management here. Nigeria is more advanced than to attribute our only source of income to crude oil. You were in CPC and I was in ACN that formed APC. We have a manifesto that addressed the diversification of our revenue. When did the current APC resort to crude as the only source of revenue for the country? Moreover, Peter Obi never imported anything that we produced in Nigeria. Peter Obi will change the narrative and make Nigeria a productive country.”
I further asked him: “@Oguneme Romanus Uchenna, if Peter Obi were in power, what would the exchange rate be? He also promised to devalue the Naira and remove fuel subsidy. Apart from crude oil, what else would give us forex, especially when he is a major importer of foreign goods through his Next Supermarket in Abuja?”
Mr. Uchenna has not reacted to the data I deployed to convince him that President Tinubu has subtly diversified the economy. For the first time in 70 years of oil dependence, non-oil revenue rose from N14.6 trillion (January-August 2024) to N20.59 trillion (January-August 2025), while non-oil exports hit $5.46 billion in 2024 and $3.225 billion in H1 2025 alone.
That diversification has continued into 2026, and the figures are now even more compelling.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria recorded N3.19 trillion in non-oil export earnings in the first quarter of 2026. This is an increase from N3.15 trillion in the preceding quarter, reflecting continued growth in non-crude trade flows. 04e5
The structure of that growth is instructive. Fertiliser emerged as the top non-oil foreign exchange earner in the quarter with N1.37 trillion, while the manufacturing sector alone generated N329.59 billion in VAT and N74.48 billion in Company Income Tax, totalling N404.07 billion in Q1 2026. 6fd5bddf
Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the economy is being diversified through tax reforms, industrial output, and agro-processing. These figures prove that for the first time in decades, Nigeria is earning substantially from outside oil, and that enhanced security spending is being matched with a more sustainable and productive revenue base.
