When Nigerians move, they do not consult GDP charts or state budget speeches. They look instead for roads that don’t collapse after the rains, schools where teachers show up, taps that run without diesel generators, and the basic relief of feeling safe after dark. These everyday realities explain why the 2025 State Performance Index (SPI) by Phillips Consulting is more than a survey; it is a mirror showing which states are livable and which are being abandoned.
At the top of the SPI sit Oyo, Akwa Ibom, and Abuja. Oyo’s Ibadan has become a magnet for families priced out of Lagos but unwilling to give up urban amenities. Akwa Ibom scores for tidy streets, relatively steady services, and a government that takes visible pride in public works. Abuja, buoyed by federal jobs and more reliable utilities, continues to draw migrants despite its crushing rents.
“The lesson is simple but urgent: states that want to keep their people, and attract others, must compete not on slogans but on basic services.”
Read also: How Nigeria’s currency crisis is fueling a costly corporate exodus
Other top-ranked states, Kwara, Osun, Ogun, Rivers, Plateau, Cross River, and Kaduna, each offer a blend of safety, affordability, and infrastructure. What unites these states is not wealth but livability.
At the bottom are Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, Bayelsa, Kogi, and Abia: states where insecurity or collapsing services have made relocation unthinkable. Bayelsa, ironically awash with oil revenue, is losing appeal to flooding and poor infrastructure. Benue’s fertile land is overshadowed by violent conflict, while Anambra’s commercial energy is undermined by weak governance and bad roads.
The blunt message is this: resources do not guarantee livability. Security and functional services do.
Lagos is perhaps the most revealing case. Ranked 15th, it is Nigeria’s undisputed economic hub and the leader in internally generated revenue. Yet it is absent from the top relocation choices. For millions, Lagos is a place to work, not to live. Congestion, flooding, insecurity, and skyrocketing rents erode its appeal.
This exposes a larger truth: growth is not the same as livability. Lagos attracts talent because of jobs, not because of comfort. If other states offered jobs with working infrastructure, Lagos would bleed migrants rather than absorb them.
Some may argue that relocation preferences are subjective, shaped more by perception than governance data. But migration statistics support the SPI picture. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that between 2010 and 2020, Lagos and Abuja accounted for over 40 percent of internal migration inflows. Meanwhile, states at the bottom of the SPI, Zamfara, Yobe, and Borno, recorded net outflows, with young people fleeing for safer and more functional regions.
Read also: How fear of Western influence, visa restrictions stemming exodus for foreign studies
International comparisons reinforce the stakes. The World Bank has shown that Nigerian migrants abroad cite insecurity and poor services, not just jobs, as push factors. The SPI is essentially a domestic mirror of the same logic.
For investors, the SPI is not an abstract ranking. It signals where labour wants to live, and therefore where firms can realistically attract and retain talent. A tech company may be enticed by Lagos’s market, but rising rents and insecurity add to staff turnover costs. Manufacturing firms may prefer Ogun or Oyo, where industrial estates are growing alongside more livable cities.
Real estate markets also follow these trends. Property values in Ibadan and Uyo have climbed steadily in the past five years, while places like Makurdi and Yenagoa struggle to sustain demand. Migration choices directly shape economic geography.
The SPI highlights Nigeria’s regional divides. The southwest dominates the top tier, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, and Kwara, while the northeast anchors the bottom with Borno, Yobe, and Zamfara. This is not just coincidence; it is a reflection of where governance has kept pace with citizen needs and where it has collapsed.
The lesson is simple but urgent: states that want to keep their people, and attract others, must compete not on slogans but on basic services. Nigerians are voting with their feet, and no amount of political rhetoric will stop them.
Governors must focus on three priorities:
- Security as the baseline: Without safety, no amount of resources or incentives can retain citizens.
- Functional infrastructure: Roads, water, schools, and hospitals matter more than ribbon-cuttings.
- Transparent scorecards: Citizens should have annual service delivery reports they can trust, turning the SPI from an external survey into a domestic accountability tool.
Read also: Japa: The courage and cost of Nigeria’s great exodus
The Kano Emirate crisis, the Benue farmer-herder conflict, and the Bayelsa floods all remind us that when governance fails, people leave. And when they leave, they take their skills, spending power, and investment potential with them.
The SPI shows Nigerians know what they want. The question is whether governors are listening or whether they will keep watching their people migrate to where taps run and teachers teach.
