AMIDST growing tales of woes, ranging from insecurity in forms that include, kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and all manners of criminality that have consistently bedeviled the country for years running; any good news that could cheer and uplift the already dampened spirit of Nigerians would be welcome. One of such was when the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed revealed that Nigeria’s most recent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), grew by 5.01% year on year in the second quarter of 2021, the highest since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015. The development could not have come at a better time than it did, as it is indicative that the Nigerian economy is on a path to recovery signifying the return of business and economic activities.
THE cheering development followed three consecutive quarters of growth as against the contraction suffered last year during the same period as a result of restrictions on economic activities brought about by lockdowns in an attempt to curb the spread of the dreaded Covid-19. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report clearly shows that the growth is mainly being pushed by the non oil sector, since the oil sector was said to have contracted by 12%. The non oil sectors which included trade, ICT, manufacturing, crop production, and agriculture were largely responsible for the growth experienced, a development, stakeholders have welcomed given our continued over reliance on the oil sector. Nigeria, has, over the years been a mono product economy depending largely on oil as its major source of revenue.
EXAMINING the rise in the GDP figures for the average Nigerian on the street, however, may not make any meaning if it does not translate to a reduction in prices of food items, having more money in their pockets, and the likes of them as prices of products in the market have been on the increase with inflation figures as high as 17% as well as prices of household commodities such as gas and kerosene recording increases over a very short space of time and higher than that of last year’s. It is quite worrisome that, though the economy is improving, yet, the average Nigerian is still grappling with high cost of items in the market, while prices of goods and services and Consumer Price Index (CPI) are not looking good.
THE question many Nigerians and industry watchers have asked is: Is it possible for the rise and growth to be maintained? In some reports and discussions recently by industry watchers, the answer lies in the price of oil in the market which in the past, particularly in the life of this administration, threw the country into recession twice.
EQUALLY interesting is the fact that reports have it that the non oil sector grew by 6.7%, therefore, incentives should be provided by the Federal Government for the non oil sector as the major driver of growth, that is largely responsible for the GDP figure. It is, therefore, expected that the Nigerian government and its economic managers must do what they can to sustain and even surpass the present growth rate.
GOVERNMENT should also do more to create an enabling environment for the economy to thrive by providing the non oil sector with incentives that will boost activities and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as the country is full of potentials that are yet to be tapped.
