My question is, why isn't there a corresponding explosion in middle manager wages if there's such a deep scarcity? Why aren't companies forking over fistfuls of cash to retain this talent?
Because the dearth of talent also constricts companies' ability to grow profits and increase wages for said middle managers. The talented middle managers get poached by bigger companies until they end up leaving the country. Their leaving means even fewer senior people are avialable to train new middle managers and the cycle of poor management, poor growth and poor wages continues.
Well said as always. Successful entrepreneurs in markets like ours acquire more of a responsibility to solve larger societal issues like a talent pipeline. I think many more are increasingly coming to that realisation. The successful ones among us will have to do more to fix the country; that's how it's always been, and that's how it will always continue to be.
Really loved the analysis and depth of thinking in this post. The point is that this is hard work and it needs to be done with a similar level of thinking and dedication that these star entrepreneurs have applied in building their businesses.
Tosin is probably already doing more than most entrepreneurs in his generation regarding education. Among other investments, he built the AutoCAD studio at OAU’s Mechanical Engineering department, which was a most welcome intervention. The broader challenge I see is how to do this at scale and at earlier parts of the pyramid as well, given that only a few people make it to university to begin with.
I also really liked the closing sentence: “The next frontier is not another app. It is the Nigerian mind.”
Nigeria’s elite already understand that the state lacks the capacity to reliably provide education, security, or opportunity at scale — their own private choices proves it. Yet many still speak as though nation-building is solely the government’s responsibility.
What Feyi clearly points out in this article is that in weak states, elite obligation [should/must] expands. The burden of developing human capital shifts to those with wealth, influence, and operational expertise.
The most impactful philanthropists in history did more than donate money; they applied the systems thinking, discipline, and problem-solving skills from business to nation-building. That is where many Nigerian billionaires fall short. Too many have profited from extractive systems without building transferable institutional knowledge or innovation capacity.
Ironically, Nigeria’s newer generation of founders may be better positioned to help because they have actually solved difficult problems within Nigerian conditions.
So when business leaders complain about talent scarcity, the real question is not whether the problem exists — it does. The question is whether they are willing to help build the pipeline that produces the talent they need. In a country like Nigeria, wealth is not just privilege; it is responsibility.
While it’s good to design a good educational systems, there is also the worry that the best will always leave…so the design for a system that drives a pipeline must also be coupled with one that ensures the output is used in place or else other countries will simply take advantage of the product
Sounds reasonable. But the elite also have the responsibility of making the country livable. In other countries, they do this through political pressure that leads to ideal electoral outcomes. They sponsor real candidates with real ideas, lobby the government to appoint technocrats to lead ministries, and continuously speak out about the government's shortcomings to ensure change (Dangote does this well enough when it concerns his business interests).
If they decide to enforce talent pipeline retention through contracts or legislation, they'll essentially be kicking the can down the road rather than addressing the issues that drive world-class talent to leave the country.
Not a big fan of the word ‘Elite’…gives a false sense of abstraction…like it’s some people’s responsibility and others can just stand aside and watch them fix things…
By some stroke of luck, we find ourselves in a position where we can build things within financial services…if Moniepoint competes international and stays local and builds a talent pipeline that will ensure its people earn international rates while working locally, then it’s a start…and others will do same..waiting on some ‘Elite’ to fix this won’t work
A great piece of analysis. It gets beyond the ra-ra our side, great start-ups to provide analysis of the fundamentals...
My question is, why isn't there a corresponding explosion in middle manager wages if there's such a deep scarcity? Why aren't companies forking over fistfuls of cash to retain this talent?
Because the dearth of talent also constricts companies' ability to grow profits and increase wages for said middle managers. The talented middle managers get poached by bigger companies until they end up leaving the country. Their leaving means even fewer senior people are avialable to train new middle managers and the cycle of poor management, poor growth and poor wages continues.
Well said as always. Successful entrepreneurs in markets like ours acquire more of a responsibility to solve larger societal issues like a talent pipeline. I think many more are increasingly coming to that realisation. The successful ones among us will have to do more to fix the country; that's how it's always been, and that's how it will always continue to be.
Great post
DH said toilet elite. I don't always agree with him but he is right
Really loved the analysis and depth of thinking in this post. The point is that this is hard work and it needs to be done with a similar level of thinking and dedication that these star entrepreneurs have applied in building their businesses.
Tosin is probably already doing more than most entrepreneurs in his generation regarding education. Among other investments, he built the AutoCAD studio at OAU’s Mechanical Engineering department, which was a most welcome intervention. The broader challenge I see is how to do this at scale and at earlier parts of the pyramid as well, given that only a few people make it to university to begin with.
I also really liked the closing sentence: “The next frontier is not another app. It is the Nigerian mind.”
Nigeria’s elite already understand that the state lacks the capacity to reliably provide education, security, or opportunity at scale — their own private choices proves it. Yet many still speak as though nation-building is solely the government’s responsibility.
What Feyi clearly points out in this article is that in weak states, elite obligation [should/must] expands. The burden of developing human capital shifts to those with wealth, influence, and operational expertise.
The most impactful philanthropists in history did more than donate money; they applied the systems thinking, discipline, and problem-solving skills from business to nation-building. That is where many Nigerian billionaires fall short. Too many have profited from extractive systems without building transferable institutional knowledge or innovation capacity.
Ironically, Nigeria’s newer generation of founders may be better positioned to help because they have actually solved difficult problems within Nigerian conditions.
So when business leaders complain about talent scarcity, the real question is not whether the problem exists — it does. The question is whether they are willing to help build the pipeline that produces the talent they need. In a country like Nigeria, wealth is not just privilege; it is responsibility.
Great piece.
While it’s good to design a good educational systems, there is also the worry that the best will always leave…so the design for a system that drives a pipeline must also be coupled with one that ensures the output is used in place or else other countries will simply take advantage of the product
Sounds reasonable. But the elite also have the responsibility of making the country livable. In other countries, they do this through political pressure that leads to ideal electoral outcomes. They sponsor real candidates with real ideas, lobby the government to appoint technocrats to lead ministries, and continuously speak out about the government's shortcomings to ensure change (Dangote does this well enough when it concerns his business interests).
If they decide to enforce talent pipeline retention through contracts or legislation, they'll essentially be kicking the can down the road rather than addressing the issues that drive world-class talent to leave the country.
Not a big fan of the word ‘Elite’…gives a false sense of abstraction…like it’s some people’s responsibility and others can just stand aside and watch them fix things…
By some stroke of luck, we find ourselves in a position where we can build things within financial services…if Moniepoint competes international and stays local and builds a talent pipeline that will ensure its people earn international rates while working locally, then it’s a start…and others will do same..waiting on some ‘Elite’ to fix this won’t work