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The value of the Nigerian economy declined to US$477 billion in 2022 from US$546 billion in 2015, according to BusinessDay’s calculations. The shrinking size of the economy means there is a smaller pie to share among its 200 million population, a painful squeeze for a country that is home to the world’s largest number of poor people.
That explains why many Nigerians cannot relate to unemployment figures put out by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), according to Wale Lawal, a Nigerian youth who has been without a job since 2015.
Analysts said its fractured political class is struggling to find answers to long-term headaches and short-term crises.
“We’ve done a lot of talking in the last 10 years but achieved very little in terms of growing the economy,” Kelvin Atafiri, the CEO of Cavazanni Human Capital Limited, said. “The country is currently living on past glory.”
A research report by the World Bank revealed that from 2004 to 2014, Nigeria witnessed a surge in the number of middle-income earners as a result of its fast economic growth, which can be largely attributed to a form of structural change in economic activities from the traditional-agricultural sector to the service sector. However, things are no longer the same for the “Giant of Africa” as major households continue to become more vulnerable to its unstable economy.
This is evidenced by the World Poverty Clock report where Nigeria got tagged as the world poverty capital for three consecutive years until recently when the baton was handed over to India.
“Since 2015, Nigeria’s economy has been grappling to survive as its overvalued currency continues to translate into a persistently high inflation rate alongside a high rate of unemployment and poverty that has defied all economic interventions,” Luqman Agboola, head of research at Sofidam Capital, said.
Other analysts said the country’s over-dependence on oil has made it particularly vulnerable to recent global turbulence: supply chain disruption, Covid-19 pandemic, surging energy prices, rise in inflation and interest rate that has led to a global slowdown. —Businessday.
Online Reporter