Experts Rank Nigeria Among World’s Poorest in Trade and Property Rights, Call for Urgent Reforms
Nigeria’s trade and investment environment is under fresh scrutiny as experts warn that the country’s restrictive policies and weak legal institutions are strangling economic freedom. At two high-level roundtables hosted in Abuja by the free-market think tank Ominira Initiative, stakeholders from academia, government, civil society, and business highlighted the deep institutional bottlenecks hampering trade policy, property rights, and the legal system.
Drawing on the 2024 Economic Freedom of the World Index, participants noted Nigeria’s poor global ranking—137th in legal system and property rights, and a troubling 159th in freedom to trade internationally. The roundtables, held on September 23 and 25, 2025, formed part of Ominira Initiative’s Economic Freedom Audit of Nigeria Project, which uses the Fraser Institute’s benchmarking framework to identify weak spots in the country’s economy.
The first session, focused on legal and property rights, heard from Prof. Akintunde Otubu of the University of Lagos, who criticised Nigeria’s centralised land regime and weak contract enforcement. He cited the Land Use Act and arbitrary applications of laws such as the Cybercrimes Act as key obstacles to press freedom and investor confidence. Stakeholders lamented the economic cost of the failing judicial framework, saying it has stifled investment, eroded trust in the courts, and left billions of naira in untapped wealth locked in unregistered land.
Two days later, attention shifted to trade. Leading trade economist Prof. Olawale Ogunkola linked Nigeria’s high consumer prices and weak competitiveness to outdated protectionist policies, such as the Customs and Excise Management Act and the Import Prohibition List. Participants warned that high tariffs, customs delays, and opaque border rules punish local manufacturers, inflate prices, and deter exporters, even as regional blocs like the AfCFTA open up new market opportunities.
Bayonle Fesobi, Director of Research at Ominira Initiative, said the group is determined to move “from analysis to action” by working directly with policy-makers and private sector leaders to co-create reforms. The forthcoming Economic Freedom Audit of Nigeria Report, expected to be released at the Economic Freedom Summit in Lagos in February 2026, will offer detailed recommendations for restoring legal protections, opening the economy to trade, and removing systemic barriers to investment to improve the lives of millions of Nigerians.
source: punch