By Ademola Adekusibe
20th December 2025
Even without Lagos, the South-West is the heartbeat of Nigeria’s economy. November 2025 FAAC figures expose the raw truth: the South-West contributed ₦32.63 billion but received only ₦30.77 billion (94.29%). Meanwhile, the North-West received ₦46.49 billion on ₦31.98 billion contribution (145.34%), the North-East received ₦32.40 billion on ₦17.35 billion (186.77%), the North-Central received ₦32.25 billion on ₦16.51 billion (195.31%), the South-South received ₦27.76 billion on ₦20.29 billion (136.85%), and the South-East—a region often hailed as industrious, received ₦27.13 billion on a meager ₦13 billion contribution (208.69%).
Let that sink in. Yoruba land produces what it consumes. The South-East consumes what it does not produce. The South-West drives commerce, agriculture, industry, and innovation, yet receives less than its fair share. The South-East, on the other hand, thrives on federal handouts, claiming historical sympathy, yet contributes little and consumes vastly more than it should.
This is not just numbers, it is national injustice. The South-West could have been a thriving, independent economic powerhouse, a Lagos-less miracle, if it were not weighed down by parasitic redistribution from regions that bring almost nothing to the table. The South-East has turned dependency into a political shield, pretending to be productive while thriving on what Yoruba labor and enterprise generate.
The Yoruba have carried Nigeria on their shoulders for decades, producing wealth, sustaining the economy, innovating, and building. Meanwhile, regions like the South-East, under the guise of historical grievances, consume extravagantly, mismanage resources, and bemoan inequality while contributing the least. This is not merely unfair, it is economically disastrous.
Even the so-called richest people in the South-East preside over the poorest economy in the country. They complain, demand, and take, yet they create little. The South-West, even without Lagos, produces, innovates, and runs the economy. Every sector, commerce, manufacturing, technology, agriculture, is powered by Yoruba talent and ingenuity. Meanwhile, parasitic regions continue to depend on federal allocations, protected politically, while slowing national development.
Nigeria would have been a stronger, more prosperous country if the South-West were free to flourish independently. Instead, Yoruba land has been held back, exploited, and underappreciated, carrying the nation through sheer enterprise while others consume, complain, and do nothing.
The FAAC numbers don’t lie. The South-West is the engine; the rest are passengers. It is time for Nigeria to recognize the Yoruba contribution, not with rhetoric, not with lip service, but with policies that reward production, merit, and genuine contribution. Until then, the nation will continue to underutilize its most capable region while glorifying underperformance elsewhere.
The time is now: Yoruba land has carried Nigeria far too long without fair recognition. Enough is enough.
