“Tapping the Night: Why Nigerian Employers Should Embrace the Night Shift for Economic Growth”

Nigeria stands at a critical juncture where innovative ideas are needed to stimulate productivity, reduce unemployment, and tackle anti-social behaviours, particularly among the youth. One such innovation — often overlooked — is the formal institutionalization and expansion of night shift work across sectors where it is viable.

Across major cities, from Lagos to Abuja, Kano to Port Harcourt, a silent reality persists: a generation of Nigerian youths who are more active and alert at night. They come alive after dark — not due to laziness, but due to a biological, social, and environmental orientation that has made the night their peak performance window. Unfortunately, this potential remains largely untapped, with many channelling their nighttime energy into unproductive or even anti-social activities — excessive clubbing, fraud, online scams, binge-watching content, or loitering.

Globally, many economies run on a 24-hour model — from manufacturing in China to customer support in India, healthcare in Europe, and logistics in the United States. These societies have learned to harness every hour of the day, creating jobs for different personality types, energy levels, and working styles. In contrast, Nigeria’s economy remains largely day-dependent, resulting in overcrowding, pressure on public infrastructure during daylight hours, and a huge waste of human resources at night.

Introducing structured night shift opportunities can address several issues:

1. Boost Productivity: Factories, call centres, data processing hubs, logistics firms, and media outlets can run around the clock, doubling output.
2. Reduce Unemployment: Youths who are unemployed during the day can be absorbed into formal night shift roles.
3. Curb Crime and Deviance: Engaging nocturnally active youths in meaningful work will reduce their exposure to cybercrime, drug abuse, and other vices.
4. Support Work-Life Balance: Parents, students, and others who have daytime obligations can benefit from flexible schedules.

For this to work, employers must design roles with night-friendly environments, proper security arrangements, transport support, and health safeguards. The government can incentivize companies that operate 24-hour systems through tax breaks, electricity subsidies, and security patrols in industrial districts.

Furthermore, policies that protect night shift workers, including access to healthcare, higher pay, and psychological support, must be codified. The goal is not to exploit but to empower — to turn wasted potential into productivity.
Nigeria cannot afford to ignore a workforce simply because they function best at unconventional hours. Rather than condemning this behaviour, we should restructure our economy to absorb it, especially in the digital age when many services — tech support, online tutoring, content creation, remote freelancing, and virtual customer care — are inherently global and time-zone independent.

It’s time to reimagine productivity. It’s time to let the night work for us.