The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), Uzoma Nwagba, has said that Nigerians are not as poor as their living conditions suggest. He explained that the major problem is not low income, but the inability to turn income into a comfortable life due to lack of access to consumer credit.
In a statement shared during his reflection on his experience across the country, Nwagba said he had travelled to 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states, where he interacted with traders, teachers, young professionals, and civil servants. He said one truth became clear during those visits. “Nigerians’ deeper problem is not low income. What we lack is the ability to turn that income into a comfortable life,” he said.
According to him, most essential items that improve living conditions, such as appliances, vehicles, solar power, and education, are durable goods that should ideally be paid for over time. However, he noted that Nigerians are forced to pay for everything from their current earnings, which keeps them living below their means. “We live poor because we lack credit; consumer credit,” he stated.
To illustrate his point, he compared a Nigerian worker in Akure to an American worker in New York. He said, “Take Biodun who I met in Akure. An Assistant Director at a government agency, he earns ₦318,000 monthly. Empirically, he is middle class. Now compare him to Brandon in New York, earning Biodun’s PPP-equivalent of $1,559 monthly. On paper they have the same earning power. In reality, they are in opposite worlds.”
He explained that the New York worker can finance his lifestyle easily because of access to structured consumer credit systems. “In New York, the $1,559 earner can finance a used Toyota for $240 per month, furnish an apartment on 12–24 month plans, pay rent monthly, buy a phone through a carrier plan, spread healthcare and utility bills, and access a $1,000 credit line for emergencies. His income unlocks a life 3–4 times his income because the system gives him time,” Nwagba said.
In contrast, the Nigerian worker in Akure has to pay upfront for almost everything. “Biodun wants the same things: a used Corolla, a fridge, a small AC, a generator. But everything requires full cash upfront. A used Toyota is ₦6–₦8 million. A fridge is ₦250,000. A small generator is ₦500,000. A basic AC unit costs ₦180,000. His rent must be paid one or two years upfront, totaling ₦1.6 million to ₦2.4 million in parts of Akure,” he said.
Nwagba noted that the result is that most of these things become impossible for many Nigerians for a long time, or even forever. He added that this situation often pushes workers into unethical practices. “Little wonder he delays routine approvals at his civil service job, so contractors can ‘sort him out’,” he said.
He described the situation as “same income levels, but worlds apart in lived experience.” He emphasized that this is the real poverty Nigerians experience — “not poverty of earnings, but poverty of access.”
Sharing more stories from across the country, he explained how lack of credit affects ordinary citizens. “In Ojuwoye (Mushin), Lagos, I met Ayobami. She spends more on food each week because she has no freezer. Without ₦170,000 to buy one, she shops daily, loses perishables, and pays the poverty premium three hundred naira at a time,” he said.
He also shared the story of Yusuf in Kano, who lives in a one-room apartment with his family. “A ₦250,000 solar system would give them steady power, but there’s no one to lend to someone like him. So they sleep in heat and study in darkness many times,” he added.
According to him, the same story repeats itself everywhere in Nigeria. “In every state I visited, the story was the same: Nigerians earn better than they live. What we lack is leverage, which is very much the grease of modern life,” he said.
Nwagba further explained that other countries built systems that allow citizens to live comfortably through access to credit. “The US built a credit system where 89% of adults have credit and lenders trust borrowers. Brazil normalized installment payments — parcelado — for almost everything. South Africa built total credit reporting, allowing even taxi drivers to finance vehicles. China built an inescapable credit system covering over 1.1 billion people,” he stated.
He stressed that these countries are not necessarily richer but have better systems that help people turn their income into a more comfortable life. “These are not magically richer human beings. They simply live in systems that translate earnings into comfort,” he explained.
Speaking about the role of CREDICORP, Nwagba said the agency was established by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to serve as a catalyst for building a functional consumer credit system in Nigeria. “We were created to drive three things: Infrastructure — galvanize all parties towards a national consumer credit plumbing system that actually works; Capital — wholesale funds and guarantees to financial institutions to make consumer credit affordable now; and Cultural Reorientation — helping citizens and lenders think differently about credit,” he said.
He revealed that CREDICORP has recorded steady progress in providing access to credit for Nigerians. “Over 187,000 Nigerians have now accessed affordable vehicles, solar systems, home upgrades, digital devices, micro enterprise tools, and life essentials via CREDICORP. They have also become the largest offtakers of locally assembled vehicles,” he said.
According to him, YouthCred, which is a youth credit intervention programme under CREDICORP, has become the most popular resettlement programme in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) nationwide. “Beyond corps members, over 1.6 million employed youth (ages 18 to 40) are on our backlog seeking affordable credit,” he added.
He noted that the corporation has partnered with over 30 financial institutions through the National Credit Guarantee Company to enable them to lend more cheaply and confidently. “With the Central Bank of Nigeria and industry players, we are enabling a unified credit infrastructure, with a NIN-backed credit score, that enforces responsible behaviour and empowers lenders to grow credit decisively for individuals. That is when the exponential shift happens,” he said.
However, he cautioned that government alone cannot fund or drive Nigeria’s consumer credit system. “Even with these strides, one truth remains: Government cannot drive or fund Nigeria’s credit needs alone — not today, not ever. Nigeria needs banks, MFIs, fintechs, cooperatives, investors, capital markets — the entire financial ecosystem — to lean in, together,” he stated.
Nwagba concluded by saying that CREDICORP has laid the groundwork for a new credit culture in Nigeria. “CrediCorp is re-laying the foundation and culture. But the building must be raised by all of us,” he said.
