The numbers coming out of Nigeria's corporate boardrooms read like fantasy.

Several companies have declared up to 500% increases in profit. Their stocks have doubled and, in some cases, even trebled.

Investors who bought banking shares two years ago are now tracking with glee their 44-naira (US $0.029) investments trade above 100 naira ($0.065) in the bourse.

But for every celebration in Lagos's financial district, there's a harsher reality playing out on Nigeria's streets.

The same liberal economic policies that have unleashed this corporate bonanza — mainly fuel-subsidy removal and currency flotation — have unwittingly squeezed ordinary Nigerians' purchasing power.

"The level of profitability declared by Nigerian companies is superb, more so against the backdrop of what preceded it. Foreign exchange losses contributed in large part to profits being eroded the previous year," Kasimu Garba Kurfi, CEO of APT Securities and Funds, tells TRT Afrika.

After a shaky 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria was able to stabilise foreign exchange rates this year, setting up the naira for a welcome rally against the dollar.

"Nigerian companies are no longer declaring foreign-exchange losses. As a result, their profitability has more than doubled," explains Kurfi. "Those who invested in the turnaround stand to directly benefit from the economic boom."

Industrial conglomerate Dangote declared a 418-billion naira profit for the second quarter, which translates into a 250% increase year on year.

Okomu Oil, which produces palm oil, surpassed its forecast to declare 34.841 billion naira in quarterly profits. The profit growth worked out to 459%.

Disparity in gains

Therein lies the crux of Nigeria's economic paradox.

When a country pursues liberal economic policies, some people gain more while others become poorer, creating a stark divide in the economy.

The policies that freed companies from foreign exchange losses have seemingly imposed new burdens on citizens already grappling with reduced subsidies and currency volatility.

The government's primary response centres on redistributing the tax burden through newly signed tax laws. A category of Nigerians is now entirely exempt from paying tax.

The monthly tax exemption threshold for an individual is 108,000 naira ($70.5) and 1.3 million naira ($847.6)  annually.

"We have eliminated tax for people at the bottom of the earnings matrix. We have reduced taxation for people in the middle, and we have increased it slightly for people at the top," Taiwo Oyedele, chairperson of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, said in a recent television interview.

Trickle-down hopes

While the tweaks are designed to balance the equation, tax collection is only half the story.

Experts say that how the government spends revenue gained from taxation will determine whether corporate profits translate into broader economic benefits for those currently left behind.

"Whenever a company declares profit and the government collects about 30% of it as income tax, the ordinary person stands to benefit only if the revenue is spent exclusively on public welfare," Kurfi tells TRT Afrika.

He wants the government to channel additional tax revenues into funding palliatives for the poor and infrastructure improvements — power, roads, and electricity systems — that benefit everyone.

Even for those with modest means, Kurfi suggests market participation. "Ideally, everyone should be able to invest a little in the stock market so that they can partake of potential profits in the coming quarters," he says.

Despite the challenges, Nigeria's corporate success story is seen as an opportunity to build more inclusive growth.

Experts caution that without broader distribution of benefits, Nigeria risks cementing a two-speed economy where boardrooms celebrate while ordinary citizens remain trapped in the shadows of liberal reforms.