KEY POINTS

• Nigeria’s informal artisans contribute ₦12.3 trillion annually, propping up sectors from transport to utilities amid institutional neglect.

• Resourcefulness drives the sector, but improvisation—like melting plastics for road repairs—poses health and environmental risks.

• Despite their critical role, artisans lack access to financing, safety training, and formal integration into national infrastructure plans.

Beneath the cacophony of Lagos’s Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, a parallel economy thrives. Here, artisans like roadside mechanics like 47-year-old Chinedu Okafor dismantle decades-old truck engines with nothing but improvised tools, keeping Nigeria’s logistics backbone alive.

Across the country, informal artisans—welders, electricians, plumbers, and fabricators—form an invisible workforce sustaining critical infrastructure despite minimal recognition or support. “When a government transformer fails, who do they call? Us. But when budgets are made, we’re ghosts,” says Okafor, wiping grease from his hands.

These artisans generate an estimated ₦12.3 trillion annually, according to a 2024 National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report—nearly 14% of Nigeria’s GDP. Yet, they operate without safety nets: 89% lack access to formal loans, and only 3% have occupational insurance. In Kano, welder Aisha Yusuf repairs corroded water pipes in neighborhoods ignored by municipal authorities. “Officials only remember us during elections. Afterward, we’re back to using our own savings to buy materials,” she says.

How scrap yards from artisans and scavenging fill policy gaps

The informal sector’s resilience hinges on resourcefulness. In Onitsha’s auto spare parts market, mechanics retrofit discarded foreign car parts to fit locally assembled buses, a practice saving transport companies ₦217 billion yearly (National Association of Road Transport Owners, 2023).

Similarly, Kaduna electricians rewind burnt motor coils manually, bypassing the need for costly imports. “Every blackout is a payday for us,” admits Lokoja-based electrician Musa Bello, “but it shouldn’t be this hard.”

Environmental costs linger. Artisans in Port Harcourt’s Njemanze district melt plastic waste to seal potholes, unintentionally releasing toxic fumes. “We know it’s harmful, but what’s the alternative? The government hasn’t tarred this road since 1999,” explains community leader Tamuno Briggs.

A 2025 World Bank study warns that informal repair practices contribute to 23% of urban air pollution in Nigeria, yet no training programs exist to mitigate risks.