Kalu Aja, a financial analyst, said Nigeria’s economy was better in the 1950s under British colonial masters than after independence in 1960.
Aja disclosed this in a statement on his X account on Saturday.
He decried how Nigeria’s fortune in agriculture, such as groundnuts, palm oil, cocoa, and others, disappeared after the post-independence era under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed (incumbent) and other leaders of Africa’s most populous nation.
According to him, Nigeria’s agriculture sector and others prospered pre-independence because of the leadership of colonist masters.
“It’s uncomfortable to hear because it’s true.
“Everyone knows Nigeria was an agricultural powerhouse in the 1950s, not just for yams, but for foreign currency cash crops like groundnuts (top 2 globally), palm oil (top 3 globally), and cocoa (top 3 globally).
“What happened after independence? Where are the pyramids of groundnuts or palm plantations today?
“The truth is those sectors prospered because of oyibo; when oyibo left, everything decayed,” he wrote on X.
His comes as Nigerians continue to grapple with economic hardship fueled by high living costs despite an inflation rate that stood at 15.15 percent in December 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
However, Tinubu’s government insisted that the country is on the path of recovery and growth.
