After hitting a decade-low of $3.9 billion in 2023, Nigeria's foreign capital inflows have surged back to $23.2 billion in 2025, nearly matching the record of $24 billion set in 2019. On paper, that is a remarkable turnaround, the kind of number a government puts on a billboard.
But a look at the data halts the celebration. Banking and financing alone swallowed 87 cents of every dollar that came in, leaving manufacturers, farmers, builders, and tech entrepreneurs to share 13 cents.
The productive economy — the part that creates jobs, feeds families, and builds infrastructure — received almost nothing. Agriculture received $167 million, construction received $6 million, while oil and gas — the sector Nigeria has staked its identity on for decades — received just $18 million.
