Aja lamented that Nigeria continues to import crude oil products like India despite being Africa’s largest crude oil exporter.
A financial expert and educator, Kalu Aja, has described Nigeria as a money miss road.
This is as he lamented the country’s handling of its oil sector and its its inability to capitalise on global trade opportunities.
In a post on X on Friday, Aja noted that the United States has threatened secondary sanctions on India for purchasing oil from Russia, a move that could disrupt a major portion of Russia’s oil exports.
According to him, the development presents a strategic opportunity for Nigeria, which maintains strong trade relations with India.
However, Aja noted that Nigeria lacks the capacity to take advantage of the situation, pointing out that Nigeria continues to import crude oil products like India despite being Africa’s largest crude oil exporter.
He said: “The US has threatened secondary sanctions on India for buying Russian oil
“About 50% of Russia’s crude exports go to India, and India’s crude imports from Russia account for about 41% of its total oil imports. These are significant trade numbers.
“If the US can prevent Russia from exporting discounted oil to India, that will hurt Putin’s war effort in Ukraine
“What a glorious opportunity for Nigeria, whose trade with India is significant, to step in with a crude oil for import swap deal with India
“But alas, Nigeria has no spare capacity from its oil fields to export; it’s stuck at 1.6mbpd and can’t even supply its local refineries with crude. Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude oil exporter, imports crude oil just like India.
“Nigeria is a money miss road.”