Victor Ogebyiwa Eburajolo turned forty on July 24, 1986, establishing himself as a significant figure in Nigerian industrial and labor relations. As the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Textile Employers, he represented an industry that once supported sixty-two companies and over 750,000 workers. Eburajolo recognized early on that the military regime’s adoption of the International Monetary Fund’s Structural Adjustment Programme would trigger a collapse of Nigeria’s manufacturing base.
The removal of commodity boards for cotton, cocoa, and other staples dismantled the support systems that protected quality and pricing for local agriculture. Eburajolo later fought against Nigeria’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 1995. Despite efforts to lobby Finance Minister Anthony Ani to utilize the mandatory four-year grace period for member nations to prepare, his warnings were ignored. This led to a devastating industrial decline; the textile workforce plummeted from 750,000 to approximately 24,000.
Eburajolo’s career spans five decades, including leadership roles at Tower Aluminium Plc and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria. His tenure at the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund proved particularly harrowing. After refusing to participate in institutionalized corruption, he was threatened with detention and defamation. He ultimately resigned, navigating further harassment from government officials who expected him to facilitate illicit payments.
As he approaches his eightieth birthday on July 24, 2026, Eburajolo reflects on his long career in consulting, power, and manufacturing. Despite the damage inflicted upon the nation’s economy by poor policy choices and systemic graft, he remains a man of faith. He maintains that Nigeria is destined for an unexpected shift, suggesting that a revolution is on the horizon.
