Nigeria has remained the largest economy in Africa for over two decades. It recorded a GDP size of $514 billion in 2021 and emerged as the second richest country among 10 African countries in 2022 in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Nigeria is ranked as the 26th-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, and the 24th-largest in terms of PPP, according to the IMF.
The country has a GDP per capita of $ 2,097.09 in 2020, according to the World Bank Data. It has an estimated population of about 216 million people in 2022; this makes it stands out as one of the largest commodity markets in the world.
Despite Nigeria’s economic position in Africa and the world at large, about half of her population lives in poverty and is sceptical of being liberated. Nigerian citizens do not get value for money due to high double-digit inflation rates and economic mismanagement.
The macroeconomic environment of Nigeria is saddled with a series of socio-economic problems, ranging from high public debt profile, high inflation, insecurity, poor education system, deteriorating infrastructure, acute corruption, high cost of governance, and population explosion.
The question that comes to mind in the case of Nigeria is: are there means to strengthen Nigeria’s macroeconomy to cut poverty by half in four years? There are several practical ways Nigeria’s economy can be strengthened to make Nigeria economically competitive in the global economic space.
Nigeria can be great again. Nigeria must strengthen its macroeconomy to cut poverty by half in four years. Nigeria needs a young man who carries about four or five persons’ capacities such as vision, charisma, eloquence, education, and convictions to liberate Nigeria from its current situation, says Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.), former military president of Nigeria.
The Nigerian government must fix the many problems challenging the education sector to make it a viable human capital development centre and innovation hub to drive knowledge delivery. Knowledgeable individuals are ultimately needed to pilot any economy towards an Eldorado.
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Nigeria needs to strengthen its education system by funding it adequately and formulating effective policies to checkmate inadequacies and excesses in the education sector to produce the required manpower to drive the Nigerian economy.
Agriculture provides food for the citizens and inputs for the industries. The Nigerian government must identify idle farmland and encourage capable individuals and corporations to embark on mechanised farming to provide employment and supply enough food items to the markets.
An adequate supply of agricultural products to the markets has the full potential of forcing the prices of food items down in Nigeria. Low commodity prices in the markets will restore the value of money Nigerians have lost to high inflation.
The Federal Government of Nigeria must fight the insecurity problem challenging the country since 2014. Nigerians and foreigners in Nigeria walk consciously with fear of being kidnapped, bombed, raped, or assassinated. The Nigerian security agents must be revamped to effectively handle the insecurity problem challenging the country.
The Nigerian government must strive to reduce corruption because it hinders growth and development. There is a need to accelerate the fight against corruption if we are to halt the abuse and embezzlement of public funds, and democratic decline in Nigeria. Political officeholders must stop enjoying immunity to face the law once found guilty while in office to serve as a deterrent for others.
There is a need for public-private participation in infrastructural development to make the country more attractive to both domestic and foreign investors. Adequate infrastructure has the full potential of promoting investment, employment, output, income, and government tax revenue.
The Nigerian government must strive to reduce the administrative cost of government and the large salaries earned by Nigerian political officeholders. Nigerian lawmakers earn one of the highest salaries globally, says Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The CBN must demonstrate the required competence to fix the exchange rate problem in the country to reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria.
Nigeria will be great again. It is high time Nigerians realise that the macroeconomy is in a bad shape. Nigeria needs competent economic managers with relevant capabilities to strengthen the economy and cut poverty by half in four years.
Felix Ashakah is an economics lecturer at Western Delta University, Oghara
