The 341% Lesson: Why it’s time to permanently believe in ‘Made-in-Nigeria’, by Perpetual Oyibo

Numbers rarely tell the whole truth, but the latest foreign trade report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) speaks with a clarity that cannot be ignored. To watch Nigeria’s trade surplus leap by over 340 percent to ₦7.55 trillion in the first quarter of 2026 is a massive wake-up call. For decades, cynics argued that Nigeria was too addicted to foreign imports to ever balance its books. This quarter, we didn’t just balance them, we rewrote them. 

This boom is a clear sign that the economic salvation of this country lies entirely in our own hands — and our own markets.

For too long, policy analysts insisted that only massive foreign intervention or volatile oil price hikes could save our economic fortunes. But this 2026 trade boom tells a completely different story. The sharp decline in our import bill shows that we are finally breaking the psychological shackles of believing that “foreign is always better”.

When we buy a locally manufactured product, support a domestic agricultural processing firm, or invest in home-grown digital tools, we aren’t just saving foreign exchange, we are funding a neighbour’s business, employing a graduate, and building national infrastructure. The government’s ongoing structural reforms have been painful, without a doubt, but this surplus proves that the bitter medicine is beginning to work. 

However, the momentum cannot stop here. Policymakers must capitalise on this win by further easing the environment for local producers, ensuring constant power supply, and securing trade routes.

The ₦7.55 trillion surplus shouldn’t just be celebrated as a temporary victory on a government bulletin. It must be adopted as our permanent blueprint. We have proved we can produce, and we have proved we can export. Now, our only job is to keep believing in, buying, and building our own.

. Oyibo is a student of Journalism and Media Studies, Delta State University, Abraka.