By Sonny Iroche
Introduction: Reframing the Narrative
The question raised in a recent publication titled: “why the Yoruba control the Nigerian economy” is one that stirs passionate debate, often steeped in historical anecdotes, ethnic rivalries, and oversimplified assumptions. While the topic may appear trivial or divisive to some, it provides an opportunity to examine Nigeria’s complex socio-economic history and chart a path toward a more inclusive, innovative future. This article explores the factors that have shaped economic dynamics among Nigeria’s ethnic groups, particularly the Yoruba and Igbo, while advocating for a collective focus on sustainable development, artificial intelligence (AI), and STEM education to propel Nigeria into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Drawing on historical realities and forward-looking strategies, my point is that Nigeria’s strength lies not in ethnic competition but in unity, meritocracy, and shared progress.
Historical Context: Coastal Advantage and Early Development
Nigeria’s economic landscape has been shaped by geography, history, and opportunity. One undeniable factor is the advantage of coastal regions, which globally tend to develop faster than inland areas due to access to trade, ports, and international exchange. In Nigeria, coastal cities like Lagos, Calabar, and Bonny/Port Harcourt became early hubs of commerce, education, and administration during the colonial era. Lagos, a Yoruba-dominated region, emerged as a commercial powerhouse, benefiting from its status as a port city and later Nigeria’s capital until 1991. Similarly, Calabar and Bonny, with their proximity to the Atlantic, facilitated early contact with European traders, missionaries, and colonial authorities.
This coastal advantage translated into early access to Western education and infrastructure. Mission schools established in Lagos, Calabar, and Bonny in the 19th century produced Nigeria’s first generation of educated elites, many of whom were Yoruba or from coastal communities. For instance, the Church Missionary Society (CMS) Grammar School, founded in Lagos in 1859, was Nigeria’s first secondary school, nurturing a cadre of Yoruba intellectuals and professionals. In contrast, inland regions, including parts of Igboland, saw slower educational development due to logistical challenges and colonial priorities. While the Igbo later excelled in education and commerce, the early coastal head-start gave Yoruba elites a foothold in Nigeria’s emerging formal economy.
The Diaspora Factor: Yoruba Returnees and Economic Networks
Another critical factor in Yoruba economic influence is the role of returnee communities from the African diaspora. During the transatlantic slave trade, many Yoruba individuals were forcibly taken to places like Nova Scotia, Brazil, Sierra Leone, and the West Indies. Some of these descendants, known as Saros or Creoles, returned to Nigeria in the 19th century, settling in coastal cities like Lagos and Freetown. These returnees brought with them education, skills, and global networks that enhanced their economic and social influence.
Names like Cole, Williams, Babatunde, Johnson, Macauley, Spencer, Sapara-Williams, Moore, Fowler, Cardoso, Pinheiro and Crowther became prominent in Lagos, reflecting a blend of Yoruba heritage and diasporic experience. For example, Christopher Alexander Sapara-Williams, a Sierra Leonean-Yoruba, became the first African lawyer called to the Inner Temple in London on November 17, 1879. His legal expertise and connections positioned him as a pioneer in Nigeria’s professional class. Similarly, figures like Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African Anglican bishop, leveraged their education and global exposure to shape Nigeria’s intellectual and economic landscape.
These returnees established businesses, schools, and civic organizations, laying the foundation for Yoruba dominance in sectors like law, education, and commerce in colonial and early post-independence Nigeria. Their contributions, while not exclusive to the Yoruba, created a lasting legacy of economic influence in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve center.
The Igbo Ascendancy and the Civil War Setback
The Igbo, known for our entrepreneurial spirit and adaptability, were also major players in Nigeria’s early economy. By the 1950s and 1960s, Igbo entrepreneurs like Sir Odimegwu Ojukwu, father of Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, had risen to prominence. Ojukwu, alongside Akintola Williams, Chief TA Doherty, John Holt and Shehu Bukar, co-founded the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1960, a milestone in Nigeria’s financial history. At the time, Ojukwu was reputedly West Africa’s wealthiest individual, symbolizing Igbo economic prowess. The Igbo entrepreneurial spirit, is centered around its unique Igbo Apprenticeship Model, which has now become a major case study in top global Business Schools.
However, the January 1966 coup, and the subsequent Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) disrupted this trajectory. The war devastated Igboland, displacing millions, destroying infrastructure, and disrupting Igbo businesses. The post-war policy of giving Igbo returnees a flat sum of £20, regardless of their pre-war savings, further crippled their economic recovery. This created a vacuum in Nigeria’s socio-economic landscape, which other groups, including the Yoruba, filled. That set back not withstanding, the Igbo have emerged as the single largest ethnic group that controls the supply chair in the Alaba market with an annual turnover of over $7billion (2024), the auto & spare parts, luxury buses and transportation, and the pharmaceutical sectors of the economy
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the most prominent Yoruba leader to date, and Nigeria’s Vice Chairman of the Federal Executive Council and Minister of Finance during the war, played a pivotal role in shaping post-war economic policies. The indigenization policies of 1973 and 1977, which transferred foreign-owned businesses to Nigerian control, benefited Yoruba entrepreneurs and professionals who were well-positioned at the time in Lagos and other urban centers. These policies, while aimed at empowering Nigerians broadly, inadvertently favored groups with existing access to capital and networks, including the Yoruba.
Educational Pioneers and Institutional Advantage
Education has been a cornerstone of economic influence in Nigeria, and the Yoruba benefited from early access to prestigious institutions. The University of Ibadan, established in 1948 as a college of the University College London, (but later became autonomous of UCL, and became University of Ibadan in 1963), was located in Yoruba territory and produced many of Nigeria’s early professionals, like Professor Wole Soyinka, Bola Ige, Olunloyo, and Yoruba engineers like Ayodele Ogunye, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Lagos, and architects like Oluwole Olumuyiwa shaped Nigeria’s academic and urban landscapes in the 1960s and 1970s.
Moreover, Yoruba women made significant strides in education and professional fields. Lady Kofoworola Ademola (Nee Moore), the first African woman admitted to St Hugh’s College, Oxford, in 1932, exemplified this trend. Married to Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigeria’s first Chief Justice, she contributed to education and cultural development, further cementing Yoruba influence in Nigeria’s elite circles.
While the Igbo also produced notable professionals, such as Professors Ezeilo, Gordian Ezekwe, Nwosu, Ben Eweonwu, Professor Okonjo, Bartholomew Nnaji (a robotics engineer and founder of Geometric Power), Chinua Achebe, their contributions gained prominence later, often in the 1980s and beyond, due to the post-war recovery period. The early institutional advantage in Yoruba regions thus played a significant role in economic disparities.
Debunking the “Control” Narrative
The notion that the Yoruba “control” Nigeria’s economy oversimplifies a complex reality. Nigeria’s economy is diverse, with contributions from all ethnic groups, including the contributions from foreign businesses, controlled by Asians, some Europeans. The Igbo, for instance, dominate informal trade and commerce in cities like Onitsha, Aba, and Lagos, with vibrant markets like Alaba, Idumota, and Ariaria. The Hausa-Fulani have significant influence in agriculture, mining, politics, and northern trade networks. The Yoruba’s prominence in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, creates a perception of dominance, but this is more a function of geography and history than deliberate control.
Lagos accounts for over 30% of Nigeria’s GDP, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (2024 estimates). Its status as a coastal megacity, coupled with its history as a colonial and post-independence capital, has concentrated wealth and opportunity in Yoruba-dominated areas. However, this does not equate to ethnic control. Igbo entrepreneurs like Innocent Chukwuma, (founder of innosson Motors Limited), Prince Arthur Eze, and Hausa business magnates like Aliko Dangote, and Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Yoruba; Femi Otedola and Mike Adenuga, demonstrate that economic success transcends ethnicity when opportunities align.
The Path Forward: Unity and Innovation
The question of ethnic economic control is ultimately a distraction from Nigeria’s broader challenges and opportunities. As the world is gearing towards entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterized by AI, data, automation, and digital transformation, Nigeria must prioritize collective progress over divisive narratives. The Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, and other ethnic groups each bring unique strengths to the table. The Igbo’s entrepreneurial dynamism, the Yoruba’s institutional legacy, and the Hausa’s agricultural prowess can be harnessed for national development.
To achieve this, Nigeria must invest in STEM education and technology. Countries like Singapore, China, and India—the so-called Asian Tigers—offer a blueprint. Singapore’s focus on meritocracy and innovation transformed it from a resource-scarce nation into a global economic powerhouse within decades. Nigeria, with its vast human capital, can follow suit by:
1. Scaling STEM Education: The government and private sector must expand access to quality education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Initiatives like the Lagos State Coding Initiative, which trains youth in software development, should be replicated nationwide, with a focus on inclusivity across ethnic groups.
2. Leveraging AI and Technology: AI has the potential to revolutionize Nigeria’s economy, from agriculture, banking, legal services to healthcare. For instance, AI-driven precision farming could boost yields in northern Nigeria, while fintech innovations, pioneered by Yoruba and Igbo entrepreneurs in Lagos, and Aba could enhance financial inclusion.
3. Promoting Meritocracy: Policies must reward talent and hard work, not ethnicity or connections. The Nigerian Stock Exchange, co-founded by Ojukwu and Ogunbanjo, symbolizes what cross-ethnic collaboration can achieve. Similar partnerships should be encouraged in tech hubs and industrial clusters.
4. Fostering Unity Through Inter-Ethnic Ties: Inter-ethnic marriages, like that of the author’s parents in 1948, highlight Nigeria’s potential for unity. These personal connections, alongside economic partnerships, can bridge divides and foster a shared national identity.
A Call to Action: Sustainable Development Over Competition
The narrative of ethnic economic dominance is a relic of the past, rooted in historical circumstances rather than inherent superiority. The Yoruba’s coastal advantage, early education, and post-war opportunities gave them a head-start, but Nigeria’s future depends on collective effort. The Igbo, with their resilience and entrepreneurial spirit, are already reclaiming their place in Nigeria’s economy, as seen in the tech startups of Enugu and the industrial hubs of Aba, Onitsha and Lagos.
Rather than romanticizing who controls what, Nigerians must focus on sustainable development. Arrogance and unhealthy competition, as noted, will not serve any group well. Instead, a coherent strategy—rooted in education, innovation, and unity—can position Nigeria as a global leader in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Asian Tigers succeeded by prioritizing progress over pride; Nigeria can do the same.
Conclusion: A Nigeria for All
The question of Yoruba economic control is less about dominance and more about historical context, geography, and opportunity. From the coastal advantages of Lagos to the diasporic networks of returnee Yoruba, from the Igbo’s pre-war ascendancy to their post-war resilience, Nigeria’s economic story is one of shared contributions and challenges. By embracing meritocracy, investing in STEM, and fostering inter-ethnic collaboration, Nigeria can build a future where no one is more Nigerian than the other. As I have often stated, “We have no choice but to love one another and live as one.” Let us heed this call, not for fanfare, but for a Nigeria we can all be proud of.
NB: Sonny Iroche is a Senior Academic Fellow, African studies Centre. University of Oxford 2022-2023
• Holds a Post Graduate Degree in Artificial Intelligence, Saïd Business School. University of Oxford
• Member, UNESCO Technical Working Group on AI Readiness Assessment Methodology for Nigeria.
• Executive Chairman, GenAI Learning Concepts Ltd.
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/sonnyiroche
