₦airaland Forum

Imagine being so rich that you're the first to own a Rolls-Royce in the whole country.

In fact, when the queen visited in 1956, it was your Rolls-Royce she was chauffeured around with.

This man was ‘Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu', the first black billionaire, founding president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. The royal honor came after he helped the British during World War II with his fleet of trucks.

Profiled in September 1965 by TIME magazine, Ojukwu made his money by importing dried fish for resale, and diversifying into textiles, cement and transport. When he died a year later, his wealth was an estimated $4 billion in today’s economic value.

His son, Chukwuemeka, who also ended up a billionaire, returned from Oxford University at 22 with a master’s degree in history and led his fellow Igbos into the Nigerian civil war as head of the secessionist state of Biafra in 1967.

Their hometown Nnewi, in the southeastern state of Anambra, either by good fortune or hard work, has bred more naira billionaires than any other town in Nigeria, and possibly Africa.

Source: (Forbes, The Small Town Of The Super Rich)


Do you know that after a controversial policy left all Igbo's with 20 pounds each, regardless of their bank balance, at the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970?

They are amongst the richest people in africa presently.

Their high regard for money and the extend they go to grab it disgusts me sometimes but their tenacity in business is admirable.

Nicknamed the Japan of Africa, Nnewi is famous as a hub for automobile spare part dealers, and most recently, Innoson, Nigeria’s first indigenous car assembly plant. The town is also known for its factories that manufacture household goods and is home to the biggest road transport companies in the country.

Edit: My answer is based on the total number of billionaires from a single town in Nigeria.

source: quora/Victor-Dirikebamor

Egypt has decisively severed its reliance on the US dollar, aligning itself with the BRICS bloc’s strategic move towards de-dollarization. This bold maneuver signals a broader geopolitical realignment. By joining forces with BRICS, Egypt is charting a new course that deviates from the traditional economic paradigms dominated by the dollar.

The Winds of Change in Global Trade
The recent expansion of the BRICS alliance, welcoming Egypt among other nations, was a significant moment in global economics. This expansion is a bold statement against the hegemony of the US dollar in international trade. Egypt has taken a proactive move towards reducing the economic burden created by its reliance on the dollar by quickly adapting to trade in local currencies.
The transition is based on the worldwide economic upheavals and changes that have occurred throughout the last four years. Because of these challenges, there is now a pressing need to find a stable alternative to the dollar’s erratic control. As a result of the threat of Western sanctions, which are similar to those Russia endured, the BRICS countries are moving closer to economic independence and self-sufficiency.

Even though Egypt enjoys numerous advantages, its economy has been on the verge of collapse, easily affected by outside events like pandemics and political battles. Over 70% of the value of the Egyptian pound has been lost since the beginning of 2022. This shows how unstable the country’s finances are.

The economic slowdown has led to the growth of a black market where the value of the Egyptian pound has dropped dramatically, making the country’s economic problems even worse. A big drop has happened in the central bank’s funds, which went from $44.6 billion in 2019 to $32 billion by the end of 2022.

SOURCE: Microsoft news

My input:

Nigeria should be courageous and make these kind of moves, in these hard times.