Nigeria may be holding between $1tn and $1.5tn in stranded and underutilised capital, according to the Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro), representing one of the largest pools of dormant economic value in Africa.
In a statement, PeacePro Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, said research reviewed by the organisation indicates that up to $900bn is locked in “dead capital” tied to residential real estate and agricultural land.
Additionally, tens of thousands of abandoned public buildings owned by federal, state, and local governments are valued at about N9.5tn. Industry assessments further suggest that more than 56,000 abandoned projects—including roads, housing estates, and public facilities—are worth between N12tn and N17tn, excluding incomplete power infrastructure investments.
Hamzat described the situation as a “silent economic emergency,” noting that the upper estimate of $1.5tn is more than five times Nigeria’s nominal Gross Domestic Product of approximately $285bn.
“Nigeria is not a poor country. Nigeria is a poorly activated economy. The issue is not the absence of capital, but immobilised capital,” he said.
The paradox lies in the coexistence of infrastructure gaps and idle assets, with incomplete highways, underutilised power plants, moribund industrial clusters, and vacant housing estates. By comparison, South Africa and Egypt have successfully leveraged public–private partnerships and state-backed infrastructure funds to monetise idle assets and accelerate project completion.
PeacePro highlighted that Nigeria’s idle assets cut across energy, transportation, housing, real estate, and manufacturing sectors. Installed electricity generation capacity exceeds 13,000 megawatts, yet transmission and distribution constraints often limit actual delivery, leaving significant investments underutilised.
Thousands of kilometres of partially completed roads increase haulage costs, while large-scale housing projects remain unoccupied due to weak mortgage penetration and land documentation bottlenecks.
“These are not hypothetical losses; they are capital already paid for but not producing value,” Hamzat said, linking stranded assets to politicised project selection, weak feasibility studies, project abandonment after leadership transitions, regulatory bottlenecks, and poor maintenance culture.
Analysts warned that abandoned projects create fiscal drag, as governments continue to service debt on infrastructure that yields no immediate economic return. The situation also exacerbates inequality and can fuel social instability.
PeacePro called for a national asset activation strategy that includes:
- A comprehensive audit of dormant projects
- Conversion of viable assets into structured public–private partnerships
- Creation of a transparent national asset registry
- Land reform to unlock real estate value
- Legislative safeguards against politically motivated project abandonment
- Dedicated maintenance frameworks to prevent asset deterioration
Hamzat emphasised that unlocking even 30 to 40 per cent of dormant assets could stimulate the economy significantly without additional borrowing. “Nigeria does not need to borrow its way to prosperity while trillions in value lie unused,” he said.
The report underscores a pressing policy question for Africa’s largest economy: whether future reforms will prioritise new projects or finally activate the wealth already embedded in Nigeria’s concrete, steel, and land.
