The Presidency has rejected current feedback by the outgoing President of the African Growth Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who claimed that Nigerians are worse off right this moment than they had been in 1960.
The rebuttal was issued in a press release by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, who criticized each the info cited by Adesina and the conclusions drawn from it.
In keeping with Onanuga, Dr. Adesina reportedly acknowledged that Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1,847 in 1960, in comparison with $824 right this moment. Nonetheless, the Presidency argued that these figures are inaccurate and never supported by historic information.
“A number of days in the past, outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina claimed that Nigerians right this moment are worse off than in 1960, basing his conclusion on figures that don’t align with obtainable information.
“In keeping with Nairametrics, he claimed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was $1847 and that it’s $824 right this moment. The quoted figures are usually not right.
“In keeping with obtainable information, our nation’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita revenue for a inhabitants of 44.9 million was $93, not even $100,” Onanuga acknowledged.
He additional famous that Nigeria’s GDP didn’t expertise important progress till the oil increase of the Seventies. In 1970, GDP rose to $12.55 billion, and by 1981 it had grown to $164 billion.
Even then, per capita revenue didn’t exceed $880 till it briefly reached $2,187 in 1981 earlier than declining once more. The determine solely climbed to an all-time excessive of $3,200 in 2014 following a GDP rebasing train.
Onanuga emphasised that the problem goes past the disputed figures, highlighting a elementary misinterpretation of GDP per capita as an all-encompassing measure of societal progress.
He famous that GDP per capita is a restricted metric, because it fails to seize wealth distribution, inequality ranges, or the numerous function of casual financial actions, that are notably distinguished in Nigeria.
Extra insights
The Presidency argued that assessing Nigeria’s progress since 1960 requires a broader perspective that accounts for enhancements in infrastructure, healthcare, schooling, telecommunications, and transportation.
- It famous that Nigeria now has considerably extra colleges, hospitals, highway networks, and widespread entry to digital providers, with cell phone entry reaching almost the complete inhabitants in comparison with fewer than 20,000 phone strains at Independence.
- Citing MTN’s success regardless of earlier GDP-based doubts, Onanuga emphasised that financial progress can’t be totally understood by way of GDP figures alone.
He added that Nigeria’s GDP is now at the very least 50 to 100 instances bigger than it was in 1960 and urged analysts to undertake a extra nuanced strategy when evaluating nationwide growth.
Backstory
Nairametrics earlier reported that in his keynote deal with on the twentieth anniversary dinner of funding agency Chapel Hill Denham in Lagos, the President of the African Growth Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, warned that Nigeria was dealing with a deeper financial regression than many realized.
Regardless of being Africa’s largest financial system when it comes to GDP, he famous that Nigeria’s financial construction remained deeply flawed and unsustainable.
He attributed the nation’s financial decline to a long time of coverage missteps, institutional weaknesses, over-reliance on crude oil exports, and power underinvestment in key sectors.
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