Nigeria's wealth gap widens: Top 1% now controls 44% of national wealth, up from 25% two decades ago - Salami warns
Dr. Doyin Salami, Lagos Business School lecturer and KAINOS Edge Consulting CEO, warned last week that Nigeria's rising income inequality threatens the country's economic outlook. He revealed that the top 1% of earners now control approximately 44% of national wealth, up from about 25% nearly 20 years ago - describing this as "an upward concentration of wealth" over the last two decades.
This extreme inequality has tangible economic consequences: weak consumer demand as high-income households save more while low-income groups spend most of their earnings; underinvestment in human capital as poor families struggle to afford quality education and healthcare; lower productivity growth; and increased social costs including political instability and higher domestic transaction costs. Salami notes these patterns persist despite education access improvements since the 1970s.
The economist argues that for Nigeria to achieve sustainable growth, policies must simultaneously promote equity and expansion - expanding opportunity through education, health infrastructure, and fair competition to enable broader productivity rather than just wealth concentration at the top.
Given this wealth concentration trend, what steps should Nigeria take to ensure economic growth benefits the broader population rather than just the wealthiest 1%?