Oil mogul Wale Tinubu makes bold pitch for Nigeria’s $6.4 billion creative industry

Nigerian oil mogul Wale Tinubu spent decades building pipelines, drilling wells, and trading crude cargoes. Now, with his energy company Oando Plc closing in on $6 billion in total assets, the chief executive officer is making the case for a completely different kind of resource: creative talent.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Tinubu told business leaders at the U.S.-Nigeria Council breakfast that the country’s biggest untapped commercial play is already sitting on the world stage.

“Our creativity,” Tinubu said, pointing to an industry currently valued at $6.4 billion. “Music alone generated over $600 million in 2024, with Afrobeats recording more than 2.2 billion global Spotify streams.” For Tinubu, the gap is not in talent but in capital.

“The opportunity is to build the investment and commercial structures that enable our creators to retain more of the value they generate, build sustainable enterprises, and allow Nigeria to capture more of the value our talent is already creating globally,” he said. “Our creativity is cultural influence. It is also economic power.”

Balance-sheet muscle

Tinubu’s pivot to advocating for broader capital investments comes as his core business shows renewed strength.

Oando’s total assets climbed to N7.89 trillion ($5.84 billion) as of June 30, up from N7.44 trillion ($5.5 billion) at the end of 2025, according to its latest interim financial results. The bump brings the company to the threshold of the $6-billion mark as it pumps more money into field development and broadens its energy footprint.

The group’s liquidity improved alongside the asset expansion. Cash and cash equivalents rose to N544.9 billion ($403.8 million) from N439.9 billion ($326 million) over the same period. Retained losses shrank to N17.72 billion ($13.1 million) from N88.5 billion ($65.6 million), clearing away legacy balance-sheet baggage.

Revenue rebound and operational turnaround

That balance-sheet cleanup was backed by steady gains in the field and at the trading desk. First-half profit after tax rose 8 percent to N68.6 billion from N63.3 billion a year earlier, while revenue jumped 20 percent to N2.06 trillion from N1.72 trillion.

Higher earnings from crude sales and gas deliveries did the heavy lifting. Crude receipts gained 23 percent to N245.8 billion, gas revenue surged 40 percent, and trading revenue climbed 18 percent to N1.72 trillion.

The shift moved Oando back into the black operationally. The company posted an operating profit of N127.8 billion, reversing an operating loss of N158.7 billion from the first half of 2025.

Gross profit surged 331 percent, aided by tighter spending on transport, logistics, and corporate services. Cash generation followed suit. Operating cash flow swung to a positive N179.5 billion, compared with a cash burn of N287.9 billion in the prior-year period.