“That was what pegged the budget of the federal government [of Nigeria] at £50 million in 1959 but Western Region [of Nigeria] ran a budget of £55 million.” – Mr. B. O. Akinyemi.
Yes, the older version of Southwest ran a bigger budget than the national budget. Then, competition was huge among the regions and the leaders were not wasting time in the old “Abuja” [ Lagos was the capital then]. But somehow, Nigeria changed what was working, and right now, nothing is happening at scale in the regions.
If you study the pre-1963 budget, the message was loud and clear: Nigeria was on a path of unbounded and unconstrained abundance and opportunity where smart people were innovating in building pillars of markets and economies. In that budget of 1959, the federal government was the one asking for help because the regions had the resources. Yes, the “governors” then had the resources to make things happen!
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
But today, things have fallen apart, and everyone has become lazy because there is no consequence for not working, as Abuja serves everyone in Nigeria, and most governors can claim “Abuja has not paid the monthly allocation and we are calling our bankers to know when the funds will arrive…we are in touch with CBN to know the reason for the delays” Very painful for Nigeria!
Sure – I hope someone will deliver FISCAL federalism in Nigeria and save it from itself!
---
Connect via my
LinkedIn |
Facebook |
X |
TikTok |
Instagram |
YouTube
