Financial expert and educator, Kalu Aja, has criticized Nigeria’s poor management of its oil resources, describing the country as a classic case of “money miss road.”
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Aja reacted to news that the United States is threatening secondary sanctions on India for continuing to purchase discounted crude oil from Russia. Noting that India buys about 41% of its oil from Russia, he emphasized how such sanctions could severely affect Russia’s oil exports, 50% of which go to India.
Aja highlighted this geopolitical shift as a missed strategic opportunity for Nigeria, Africa’s top crude oil exporter and a long-standing trade partner with India.
He argued that Nigeria could have stepped in with a crude-for-import swap deal to fill the supply gap — a move that could benefit both nations economically.
However, Nigeria’s inability to increase production beyond 1.6 million barrels per day (mbpd), along with its ongoing dependence on imported petroleum products, has rendered it incapable of seizing the opportunity.
“Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude oil exporter, imports crude oil just like India. Nigeria is a money miss road,” Aja lamented.
His comments underscore persistent concerns about Nigeria’s lack of refining capacity, underinvestment in the oil sector, and broader policy missteps in resource management.
