Ideas Untrapped

The central bank’s management of the FX market and trade is back in the news again - so here is my conversation with economist Walle Smith on some of the issues. We recorded this two months ago, but some of the fundamentals have a foregoing relevance especially in the current policy climate. I started by asking Walle whether conventional monetary policy has failed in Nigeria. You can get the episo...

I had a chat with Mark Lutter, founder and executive director of Charter Cities Institutes about the potential of charter cities to boost a nation’s prosperity and development. Our conversation touched on state capacity, why American institutions appear to be failing, and why Silicon Valley elites have no political influence. You can download or listen right in the player above - or from your favo...

I spoke to economists Omotola Abimbola and Adedayo Bakare on the Unemployment Report released last week by the National Bureau of Statistics. The conversation started with the various trends in the data, and the methodology of the report. Omotola and Adedayo are two of the smartest minds on the economy I know - and I thank them for speaking to me. This is a public episode. If you would like to dis...

I spoke to Ayisha Osori about our political structures and the various ways it is unaccountable to the electorates. She is the current Executive Director of the non-profit Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). She also contested for a seat on the House of Representatives for Abuja in 2015 and has documented her experience in an eloquently written book . I enjoyed this conversation, and...

Abubakar Suleiman, who is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Sterling Bank, is certainly the most interesting banker in Nigeria. In this conversation, we explored the nature of the relationship between business and government - with focus on regulation and the cost of compliance - and the thing that needs to change in that relationship. Transcript Tobi : You're listening to Ideas...

I had a quick chat with the IMF mission chief in Nigeria, Jesmin Rahman. I started by asking her whether Africa is facing another debt crisis. We ended the conversation with Jesmin outlining some reform measures that can put the continent on a long-term growth trajectory. You can find us on all podcast platforms, some links to sources here . You can also find us on Spotify by simply searching for...

The former Managing Director of Frontier Capital, Olufemi Edun provided an insightful tour de force of the intricacies of financing and managing big infrastructure projects and investments. He provides rich historical and political contexts to such projects in Nigeria. He also has an important commentary on development policy towards the end of our conversation. You can listen or download in the p...

I had an excellent conversation with Samo Burja of Bismark Analysis. Samo is one of the most original thinkers I have encountered in the last two years, and it was great to have him share some of his ideas here. You can follow him on Twitter , read his writing , or watch his videos on Youtube. Here is Samo on Botswana and political stability - and how Rome handled the "succession problem". The man...

I had an interesting conversation with Eloho Gihan-Mbelu who is the MD/CEO of Endeavor Nigeria. Endeavor not only funds, but also provides advisory and networks services to high-growth companies. Eloho is a private equity investor with decades of experience, and her wisdom shone through this conversation. Many thanks to her for speaking to me. Listening and downloads options are also on Apple , St...

I spoke to Andrew Nevin about the many implications of the COVID-19-induced global economic crisis. He thinks we are not going to see a "V-shaped" recovery. We also talked about the geopolitical patterns that may emerge. Listening and downloads options are also on Apple , Stitcher , Pocket Casts , and TuneIn . You can rate us on any of those platforms or directly here . If you like what we do and...

Co-founder of Andela, Flutterwave, and now with Future Africa. We talked about the demand and supply of governance. His belief that the challenges we have are opportunities. He firmly believes that "innovation precedes development". Iyinoluwa is bullish in his optimism about the future of Nigeria and Africa. I thank him for sharing his insights with us. Links to Apple , Stitcher , TuneIn , Pocket...

We started with a Biola masterclass on the state of sports investment in Nigeria- then it was football all the way. Biola is brilliant, generous, and measured in his analysis. He is quite right on most things than you might admit. You can listen on Apple Podcast , Stitcher , TuneIn , and Pocket Cast . Please kindly give us a rating on any of these platforms (it helps others find the podcast) or ra...

He is the founder of Wella Health - a company that wants to help solve the demand problem in the Nigerian healthcare sector. Neto is a physician, but he has a polymathic grasp of the industry. He is brilliant and gracious. I am strongly rooting for this company - many thanks to Neto for sharing his insights and vision with us. You can now get the podcast on Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Pocket Casts...

I spoke to the chief economist of PwC in Nigeria Andrew Nevin. We had a conversation on taxes, central banking, and economic reforms in general. Andrew also explained his preferred measure of economic progress as opposed to GDP, and whether we should be more like China or India. I thank Andrew for agreeing to share his views with us. You can always listen or download right here on Substack or do t...

I spoke with Dolapo Oni, an energy analyst, and wealth manager. We started off with the recent downward spiral of oil prices. We also talked about his preferred political reform, the capital market, and how to boost productivity in oil production. You can listen or download here if you prefer Stitcher. We are also working to make the show available on Apple, Google, and Spotify. I thank Dolapo for...

I spoke with economist Omotola Abimbola on the CBN governor's manifesto for Nigeria's post-crisis economy. We talked about the flaws of our current development model, and he proposed some credible reforms. Omotola is one of the smartest in the business and a complete gentleman. You can follow his twitter feed here . You can also listen or download this episode on Stitcher . This is a public episod...

An unscripted, unstructured conversation with my friend "the black bandit". The listening options are unchanged (Stitcher here ). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ideasuntrapped.com

I enjoyed talking to Nonso on this episode - and many thanks to him for making the time. This is not part of our COVID-19 quickcast series because we had scheduled this conversation before news of the outbreak and subsequent lockdown. Nonso was characteristically eloquent and got straight at the heart of the questions. We talked about different models of economic development, the Central Bank of N...

I spoke to Dr. Ike Anya, a public health physician and consultant on how Nigeria is responding to COVID-19. We also talked about the funding of the health sector, quality of services, and the many compromises involved in decisions about public health. I found Ike’s optimism hopeful, and his insights are enlightening. Many thanks to him for having this chat. For those who want to volunteer, you can...

Akin Oyebode returns to the show to talk about the many implications of COVID-19, the government’s response, and why we need to confront the threat head-on. Please note he is not speaking on behalf of his office or the government. This was recorded on the 28th of March before the Presidential address and the subsequent lockdown of Lagos, Ogun state, and the FCT. Akin foreshadowed a lot of what pla...

I spoke with Adedayo Bakare on the many economic implications that COVID-19 will have in Nigeria. We also talked about the precarious situation it has put Nigeria fiscally - given the collapse of public revenue from the oil price crash. The conversation started with an essay Adedayo co-wrote on the palliative measures the government can take to ease the pain. Many thanks to Adedayo for always will...

This is the first of a series of conversations that will explore issues surrounding COVID-19. Some societies and systems will be permanently altered after the pandemic - and it is important for us to assess the current state of the world in other to design a better one. I spoke to Feyi Fawehinmi on the divergent institutional responses to the crisis, particularly on the nuances of authoritarian ap...

My conversation with Akin Oyebode is now up. Akin has been the model public servant in most young business and progressive circles that I am aware of in the last decade or more. He’s also had a previous successful career in the financial industry and has been brilliantly recalibrating to what I think our expectations should be about the public sector. We delve into his current job, and how that sh...

My Conversation with Adedayo was an enjoyable experience, as you can tell from the lighthearted tone. He is brilliant and still very much underrated. He also has an incredible personal story - the triumph of choice, opportunity, and knowledge. I hope he gets to tell it one day. The recurrent theme in our conversation is knowledge (human capital) and its importance to development. You can also list...

I started these conversation series to further the underlying philosophy of this publication - helping the spread of good rival ideas. I want to speak to brilliant people with experience, who also have interesting things to say about Nigeria's political economy and society in general. In the first episode, I spoke with Affiong Williams - Founder/CEO of Reelfruit . I learned a lot from Affi and it...