Amid soaring fuel costs and persistent electricity challenges affecting homes and businesses, the Chief Executive Officer of Common Sense Group, Dr Olumide Emmanuel, explains to DARE OLAWIN why Nigerians need to adopt solar energy, following the example of the Presidential Villa. He also discusses the economy, President Bola Tinubu’s reforms, savings, investments, and wealth creation. Excerpts:
The 2026 budget was based on an oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, but crude oil prices have now risen above $100 per barrel. How can Nigeria maximise this opportunity?
We have more money available as a result of the US-Iran war. The question then will be, how do we utilise the money? If you look at what has happened in the last few years, especially with the removal of the subsidy, we realise that a lot of the governors actually have more money available to them than they have ever had in the history of the states. Some governors are getting up to four times what they used to get and some three times. So, there has been a lot of money available since the removal of the subsidy. But with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the windfall from Iran, more money is available to Nigeria. But how do we spend the money? And I think that one of the things we need to begin to do, which I think the president also said, is we need to begin to hold the governors and the local government chairmen more accountable than just looking towards the president for everything. Because now, the governors really have serious money with them. And despite the money that they have, a lot of them are not doing what they’re supposed to do.
Should governors now be held responsible for several issues, including electricity supply?
I remember in those days when there was a problem between the Olusegun Obasanjo administration and the Lagos State Government. When they held on to Lagos allocations. I think when President Tinubu was a governor, he also wanted to do independent power. And the then president said, ‘No, that’s part of the exclusive list. You can’t do that’. But now all those things are gone. Every state can generate power now. Why are states not generating power? Why are the states not doing that now that they have the money and they have the freedom? When it was not available and possible, they said that was the reason. Now that it’s possible, they are not doing it. The governments are still complaining of a cash crunch.
I don’t think our country has a revenue problem, even though people try to claim that. I don’t really think we have a revenue problem. I think we have a management and multiplication problem. Because when it comes to wealth creation, either for individuals, families, or organisations, you need to make the money first. But if you make the money and you don’t manage it well, improper management of what you make will make you look like someone that is not making any money, which is part of our major issue. And then you need to multiply the money. So, our challenge is not really revenue, because we have so much money. I’ve never believed that Nigeria is poor. I’ve never believed that. Because if you look at the level of corruption that is going on, you realise that all the money that people have stolen, if that money was not stolen, then the money would be there. So, it’s not a revenue problem. I think we should be looking more into making sure that all the money we make right now is managed effectively.
Even as oil windfall revenues rise, petrol prices have climbed above N1,300 per litre. How can a balance be achieved?
Now you see, truth be told, we need to understand macro- and microeconomics, and the challenge is that a lot of times people don’t understand how economics works. In order for us to feel the impact of the positive changes that are happening in the country, as individuals and families, there has to be a lot that will happen before that becomes a reality. When you look at fuel, truth be told, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has become our saviour. The man had foresight and did what he did. If there were no Dangote refinery, all these people talking about price would be in the queue now for hours because we seem to always forget all those things. Now the fuel is available. If you cannot afford it, keep your car or decide where you want to go. Don’t forget that there was a time in Nigeria when we had odd numbers and even numbers, when everybody could not go out every day. For some people, it’s Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You have to decide whether you want to go out. There are people that have cars in London; they can’t drive them to work every day because they cannot afford it. They have to use public transport or use the train to go to work. Nigeria does not produce refined fuel. All our refineries are dead. Dangote is not the government. The man is buying crude at above $100. That $100+ that is benefiting Nigeria, it is suffering for Dangote. And you expect him to sell it to you cheap. This is just economics. If you want cheap fuel, produce your own. All the refineries should work.
Poor infrastructure is taking a toll on businesses and individuals. What is your perspective on this?
Nigerians should understand that all the money we have as a country should be put into infrastructure that will now trickle down to make life easy for people. There should be power. There should be good means of transportation. There should be good roads. There should be security. When all these things are there, that’s when it will trickle down. Now you are paying for power you don’t see. And a lack of power is making you spend money that you could have used to do other things. Why do we have a food problem? The roads are bad. Foods get spoilt on the road. In developed nations, they don’t carry food by trucks. Trucks are what we call the ‘last-mile journey’.
They carry food by train. Where is the rail to bring the food from the north to the south? So, these are the infrastructural deficiencies that are affecting all the bottom lines of businesses. Foods get expensive after adding the transportation costs and the logistics. Look at it: in our organisation, as of February, we were spending N7.5m every month on diesel. As of now, it is N15m every month. Has our income increased? No! But diesel has doubled. So, businesses will have to increase prices to recover their energy costs, or there will be no company to run.
Are you exploring another option?
When we look at N15m per month, that’s going to be almost N200m in a year. We can’t afford it. We considered solar. They said it will cost N130m. So, if we do solar, we will put everything on solar. I said, ‘Let’s go and borrow the money.’ We’ll pay 30 per cent interest. At the end of the day, we’ll still spend the N200m, but now we’ll no longer pay for the diesel, and the solar will now take us five years. Think of it. Do you know that the whole of Aso Rock is solar-powered? What are they telling you? ‘Go and do solar.’ If the president that is telling you he will give you light has settled himself and everybody in Aso Rock with solar, what is he telling you? So, why are we fooling ourselves? There’s no doubt about it that when it comes to the nation, things are getting better; the economic indices are good, but for it to trickle down, those are the things that we are talking about.
How would you assess Tinubu’s three years in office?
Like I said, at the beginning of the journey with this government, the decision to float the dollar and the decision to remove the fuel subsidy were all right decisions that have been taken. Making the right decision and implementing it are two different things. There are right decisions, and we have seen the effects of the right decisions. The money is coming in; governors are having more money. Nigeria has more money. But the challenge now is the economics. You’ll realise that before this government came in, our crude oil, most of it, had been used as a pledge for debts. We owe a lot of money. There’s a lot of corruption that has gone on. Unfortunately, much of it is still going on. So, you find that the majority of our income is being spent on recurring expenses instead of capital expenses, even up till now. We are making more money, but we have a lot of debt, and we have a lot of expenses that are leaving only a little for the capital expenditure that will affect the people.
In the power sector, we are not generating enough, and the little we are generating is useless because we can’t transmit it because of our transmission system. The grid is forever falling and dying. The distributors are there, and there are metering issues. There are people that are owing them billions. Some government agencies don’t pay bills. We need to ask the governors, ‘What are they now doing with the money to build the economy?’ Every state should have its own power by now. We should not have any power problem. On a scale of one to 10, I would rate this government six, based on the economy.
At the start of this year, Nigeria introduced a new tax regime. Can you explain the new tax law in simple terms?
The new tax law is one of the most fantastic things that this administration has done. But the problem again is communication. The new tax thing is fantastic because it saves a lot of low-income earners from having to pay tax at all. There is a level of income you have to get to before you pay tax. That saves many people. Those who are earning low are free from tax. Small and medium-scale businesses whose turnover is very low are tax-free. Then even the taxes you are going to pay are not done as a flat rate. If they are able to implement it and allow it to go the way it was agreed upon, it will help a lot of businesses, families, and the country.
Is it still possible for Nigerians to save and invest? What kind of investments would you advise Nigerians to consider at a time like this?
Saving is not an investment. Savings is required for you to have money to invest. You either increase your income or you reduce your expenditure. You have no choice but to save. It is not negotiable. It’s not a negotiable discussion. You have no choice. If you don’t save, you are not safe. So, no matter how poor and wretched you think you are, you have to save. No matter how poor and wretched you think you are, I can show you somebody poorer and more wretched than you. What we are calling savings is separating your future from your present income. So, if your salary is N70,000, N7,000 or N14,000 of that money are not your own. It belongs to that future. Everybody must save a minimum of 10 per cent of every income that comes into their life for the rainy day, for eventualities, for investments and for financial plans.
In the area of investment, you need to invest. And amazingly, the Nigerian stock market has been doing well in the last three years. Our stock market is one of the best in the world right now. Treasury bills are there; bonds are there. We have mutual funds and all kinds of investments. You can be in Nigeria now and be investing in dollar bonds and dollar shares. But if you don’t have the money to invest, investment opportunities will just be there. Investment opportunities have been there. They will always be there, but you just need to be knowledgeable about the investment and be strategic about it. And make sure you monitor your investments. Now, money flows in exchange for value. So, when we say ‘value’, it simply means you are solving problems. You are meeting needs. You are answering questions. That’s what we mean when we say value. Solving problems, meeting needs, and answering questions. So, for you to make money, create wealth and sustain wealth, look into how you can offer value to people. Look into how you can increase your income by increasing the value you create. So, if you are someone that is doing one thing, doing one thing alone may not help you in an economy like this. What else can I do? Look into how you can leverage the global economy. If you are working in Nigeria during the day, is there any other work I can do remotely for two or three hours on any other continent before you go to sleep? So, look for other sources of income so that you can generate more money to invest and create wealth. When it comes to wealth sustainability, it comes back to management like we said earlier on. You can only sustain wealth when you know how to manage the money that comes in and you are able to tie it into cash flow-producing assets that will continue to produce without you having to put in any effort.
What are your thoughts on building generational wealth, and why do some family businesses fail to survive beyond their founders?
Any money you don’t have the wisdom to make, you will not have the wisdom to manage. Knowledge is more important than money because those who know will collect from those who have. The first generation is usually the pioneering generation. They suffer, struggle, and build wealth. Their children, the second generation, enjoy better education, exposure, and comfort. They become the maintenance generation. Then the third generation grows up without going through any hardship or sacrifice, and eventually the wealth collapses. So, for businesses to survive generations, every generation must become a pioneering generation again. They must maintain what was built, but also innovate, rebrand, reposition, and create new products for changing times. Do not start businesses just for the family. A family business will collapse if the children are not interested in running it. Instead, businesses should focus on value creation, job creation, and impact. Family members can own the business without necessarily managing it. There is a difference between ownership and management.
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