Nigeria has no business being poor — Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that Nigeria has no reason to remain poor, insisting that the country possesses the natural resources and economic potential to rank among the world’s wealthiest nations if properly harnessed.

Speaking on Wednesday while delivering the keynote address at the Agric, Development and Investment Summit in Abuja, Shettima cited Indonesia’s success in the oil palm sector as an example of how strategic investment in agriculture can generate enormous national wealth.

According to him, Indonesia, despite being an oil-producing nation, generated about $25 billion from crude palm oil exports in 2025, with earnings surpassing Nigeria’s crude oil revenue.

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“Indonesia is an oil-producing nation, but in 2025 it earned 25 billion dollars from 53 million tons of crude palm oil while exporting only 32 million tons. Its revenue exceeded Nigeria’s oil revenue with just about 50 per cent of what Indonesia earned from oil palm exports,” he said.

The Vice President also highlighted the untapped economic opportunities in the Niger Delta, describing the region as the world’s third-largest delta with vast potential for mariculture, including fish farming and the cultivation of species such as salmon, tuna and lobsters.

“The Niger Delta is the third largest delta in the world, and what do people in mariculture do? Fish farming like salmon, tuna, lobsters, and the Delta is endowed with those resources,” he said.

Shettima maintained that Nigeria’s abundant agricultural and marine resources, if effectively developed, could significantly transform the nation’s economy.

“In this great nation of ours, we have no business being poor. We have the potential to be one of the richest countries in the world. There are certain parts of this country where money can grow; you can plant money and harvest tremendous money resources,” he added.