Exclusive: Nigeria has opportunities but one thing scares investors

Business Insider

20 hours ago

In a controversial move that sparked public outcry and raised questions about governance and development, the government of Lagos State (Nigeria's commercial hub) demolished the popular Landmark Beach, a once-thriving waterfront leisure hub.
The Lagos State government has demolished Landmark Beach as part of a coastal highway project aiming to link Lagos with Calabar.
Paul Onwuanibe, the owner of the beach, remains optimistic about Nigeria's investment prospects, highlighting its challenges as opportunities.
Onwuanibe emphasized the importance of demographic factors for investments and identified key emerging markets in Africa.
The demolition, which occurred in January 2025, was part of the government's larger coastal road project, which aims to build a 700-kilometer coastal route connecting Lagos and the Nigerian southern state of Calabar.
Landmark Beach, owned by renowned businessman Paul Onwuanibe, was more than simply a beach; it was a tourism, pleasure, entertainment, and small business hub.
Every year, thousands of people visit the beach, which serves as a prominent location for local and international activities.
The beach, which is estimated to be a $30 million investment and employed over 1000 people directly and indirectly, stood as a rare example of well-organized private-sector investment in public spaces, with restaurants, bars, sports facilities, and family-friendly zones.
The state government's reasoning for the demolition is based on the strategic importance of the coastal highway project, which is projected to improve communication and boost economic development along Nigeria's southern coastline.
However, some argue that the demolition of the resort, as well as numerous other properties in the same area, was done without consideration for due process, investment security, or the impact on jobs and tourism.
Despite this, Paul Onwuanibe still expresses optimism for doing business in Nigeria.
During an exclusive interview with Business Insider Africa at the Africa Technology Expo, Paul Onwuanibe had a few things to say about the business clime in West Africa's largest economy.
What Paul Onwuanibe had to say
When asked about Nigeria's greatest selling point as an investment destination, the Nigerian business mogul noted that the country's challenges present its greatest opportunities.
'It's underdeveloped, it's full of challenges, it's full of deficiencies, but that in itself is an opportunity.
He did, however, point out that persuading investors of how to withdraw their money has proven to be a challenging task.
'It's not that hard to convince people that there is an opportunity and to bring their money here (Nigeria), what is hard is to explain to them how to get their money out, that is the difficulty of investing in the country'
When asked about other hotspot investment destinations in Africa, Paul Onwuanibe noted that he prefers to go where there are a lot of people.
'I am a traditionalist, so being a traditionalist, I believe in people, I believe in numbers, so I look at it and ask, what are the markets in Africa that have a lot of people, and is there a demographic boom, so I go to place like the DRC and I think I'm going to do well.'
Paul Onwuanibe also shared the most prevalent pro and con of investing in some of his preferred African markets.
'You know every bad place becomes good at some point, and if you wait for it to become good, the opportunity is gone, so I think the big markets here are Egypt, Nigeria, DRC… I'm not a big believer in South Africa, Kenya is okay,'
'Con is literally just poor capital, there is not enough capital here, pro is the opportunity, there's that opportunity to leapfrog all the challenges.'