I'm Banking on Nigeria Not Getting Better – Billionaire Keji Giwa Sparks Outrage

I'm Banking on Nigeria Not Getting Better – Billionaire Keji Giwa Sparks Outrage

Keji Giwa is not hiding his strategy for success in Nigeria, and his brutal honesty has left many people uncomfortable and angry. In a viral video that has been circulating across social media platforms, the billionaire businessman said that any businessman in Nigeria who ignores politics is setting themselves up for guaranteed failure. His words were direct and unfiltered, "Anybody doing business in Nigeria that doesn't think that politics is part and parcel of their success have no business doing business in Nigeria." In other words, if you want to survive as a business owner in this country, you need to play the political game and align yourself with whoever is in power, no matter what you personally think of them. When critics accused him of supporting Tinubu just to protect his business interests rather than out of any genuine belief in the President's vision, Giwa fired back by questioning what people realistically expect him to do. He seemed to suggest that fighting against those in power is not a realistic option for someone who has massive investments to protect, employees to pay, and a family to provide for. His pragmatism, while understandable from a survival standpoint, has angered many Nigerians who believe that the wealthy have a responsibility to use their influence and resources to push for positive change rather than simply bending the knee to whoever is in charge at the moment. The online space has been sharply divided over his comments, with people arguing passionately on both sides of the issue. Some people argue that he is just being realistic about how Nigeria works, your business can be shut down overnight if you cross the wrong people, your licenses can be revoked, your contracts can be canceled, and your imports can be stuck at the port for months. In that kind of environment, survival requires strategic alliances with those who hold power, whether you like them or not. They say Giwa is just saying out loud what every successful businessman in Nigeria already knows and practices quietly. Others say that this kind of thinking is exactly why Nigeria never changes and why the country remains trapped in a cycle of corruption and bad leadership. They argue that the wealthy protect their interests while the masses suffer, and that if the rich would take a stand against bad governance, things would improve for everyone. A few have called for a boycott of Giwa's businesses, but it is unclear whether that movement will gain any real traction given how hard it is to organize such things in Nigeria.

Giwa has not backed down from his statement, and he seems unbothered by the backlash that has come his way. He is playing the game the way he knows how, and he is not apologizing for it or pretending to be something he is not. Whether you admire his honesty or despise his pragmatism, you cannot deny that he is saying what many other billionaires are thinking but would never dare to say out loud.