By Vera Chinonso Aliyu and Ada Obeleagu, YeyeNews.com, November 13, 2021
President Buhari has blamed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic for Nigeria’s failure to be among the biggest 20 economies in the world. A source told YeyeNews.com that the president made the comment while lamenting the non-invitation of the country to the recently concluded G20 summit in Rome. “The president at a meeting with the economic team at his residence urged them to work hard to ensure Nigeria’s GDP reaches at least $750 million before May 29, 2023 when he will leave office”, the source said.
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Nigeria currently has a GDP of $448m making it the largest economy in Africa but at the same time having one the lowest per capita income in the continent. “The president’s directive to achieve a $750m GDP may be excessively optimistic”, a Lagos based financial expert Deji Damilola told YeyeNews.com reporter.
He further explained that the effect of the pandemic does not make any significant dent in our national GDP. “The main issue facing Nigeria is the growing poverty in the land. A high GDP without commensurate increase in living standard is completely meaningless to people at the bottom of the economic ladder. Deliberate policies must be fashioned to tackle the poverty problem in Nigeria”, the financial expert posted.
A presidential aide expressed confidence that the goal of increasing the GDP is an achievable one because of the effective policies which the President has instituted since he came to power. “The reported poverty levels are no doubt grossly exaggerated. The government has invested heavily on economic activities that guarantees revenue generation for Nigerians. So with these existing opportunities there is no way poverty in Nigeria will be on the increase”.
But a trader in Lagos told YeyeNews.com that the effect of the policies referred to by the aide is not felt by Nigerians. “The tendency to blame extraneous events for their inability to govern effectively will be a hallmark of the President Buhari’s government. Let the president stop blaming and look inwards to find an effective solution to counter the growing poverty and misery in the land. Giving handouts of N5000 to people is not a solution to poverty”.
