Last
October 2015, the most populous nation Africa celebrated its 55th
independence from the British colonial masters. While there were many
reasons to celebrate (such as unity), arguably there are also countable
reasons not to have celebrated.
One of the gloomy reasons for some
Nigerians not to celebrate independence is the state of our economy.
Salaries were not paid in many states and the exchange rate of the
Nigerian Naira to the United States dollar was at an all-time high. One
dollar purchased two hundred and twenty five Naira (225) or more.
When
the Northern and Southern protectorates were amalgamated to produce the
new bright baby christened Nigeria, I am sure the founding fathers had a
different idea.
Also, those that fought for the independence of
the country had greater expectations. I am sure the Late Pa Anthony
Enahoro that moved the motion for the Country’s independence will be
saddened at the current state of affairs. Wealth and poverty are sides
of the same coin. In a civilized society, the wealth of the country is
expected to trickle down to its citizens. Nigeria, the largest country
in Africa with a population of over 160 million, will be at the brink of
bankruptcy, if it was a privately run company.
With all the talk
about empty treasuries, both at the federal and state levels, it becomes
imperative whether the largest country in Africa is rich and whether
the plight of its citizens is commensurate with the economic state of
the nation.
To get an insight into the wealth of Nigeria, it is
important to look at its annual budget and statutory allocations,
poverty level, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and per capita GDP.
In
April 2015, the International Monetary Fund published figures for its
187 member nations for the year 2014. Also, the World Bank provided
similar statistics for the 193 members of the United Nations.
China
was ranked number one in both figures with almost $18 trillion GDP,
while United States was ranked number two in both figures with
approximately $17.4 trillion. Nigeria, with a little over $1 trillion
GDP was 21st in the IMF figures and 20th in the World Bank figures. We
surpassed Ghana and South Africa that were ranked 79th and 29th
respectively.
However, these are two fellow African countries that
people are rushing to invest in because of better infrastructures and
standards of living.
Essentially, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is a
measure of national income / national outputand national expenditure
produced in a particular country. See www.economicshlp.org. So, GDP is
everything that a country’s economy produces in a year.
A related term is per capita GDP. Investpedia educates us that ‘Per
Capita GDP is a measure of the total output of a country that takes the
gross domestic product (GDP) and divides it by the number of people in
the country. The per capita GDP is especially useful when comparing one
country to another because it shows the relative performance of the
countries.”
About.com sheds more light by stating that “GDP per
capita is a measurement of how prosperous a country feels to each of its
citizens. GDP per capita takes a country’s production, as measured by
GDP, and divides it by the country’s total population. Hence, it is the
output of a country’s economy per person. GDP per capita allows you to
compare the prosperity of countries with different population sizes.
For
example, U.S. GDP was $17.46 trillion in 2014. However, one reason for
America’s prosperity is because it’s the third most populous country
(after China and India). The United States must spread its wealth among
319 million people. As a result, its GDP per capita is only $54,800,
making it the 19th most prosperous country per person.
Nigeria’s per capita GDP (in US dollars), using a population of 170
million, is 3,187.5 with the rebasing (510 billion GDP), while it is
6,375 before rebasing (1 trillion GDP). According to the World Bank, the
2013 per capita GDP for South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia are 6,617.91,
3,314.46 and 505.05 respectively.
Nigeria’s annual budget has been
hovering above four trillion Naira in the past five years. For example,
the total budget for the 2014 fiscal year was N4.962 trillion, while
2012 was N4.749 Trillion, 2011 was N4.2 trillion, and 2010 was N4.4
trillion.
In fact, in his pre-election Speech at Chatham House
London, our President had this to say, “After the rebasing exercise in
April 2014, Nigeria overtook South Africa as Africa’s largest economy.
Our GDP is now valued at $510 billion and our economy rated 26th in the
world. Also on the bright side, inflation has been kept at single digit
for a while and our economy has grown at an average of 7% for about a
decade.”
On the monthly allocations between the three tiers of
government (Federal, State, Local Government), there is no doubt that
over N3 trillion has been shared by The Federation Account Allocation
Committee (FAAC) since the beginning of this year, and we are now in the
fourth quarter.
For example, data available reveals that FG,
States, LGs, shared N409bn for May 2015. It was distributed as follows
in June: FG got N151.805bn (52.68 percent), while states and
localgovernments received N76.998bn and N59.362bn respectively,
representing 26.72 percent and 20.60 percent.
Comparatively,
N581.498bn was shared in January 2014, N715.8bn for July 2013, and
N1.014 Trillion for June 2013. The largest amount shared to date will be
N1.3tn for June 2011. Of course, the price of oil has fallen, but we
are still rich and sharing a lot of money because N518.5bn was shared in
June 2015.
The figures are astronomically boring, but insightful.
Many nations are not blessed like Nigeria. As I travel to various parts
of the world, I am even more convinced that Nigeria is a very rich
country. Without mincing words, we are a rich nation, but unfortunately,
the average Nigerian is poor and does not enjoy the wealth of the
country. That is the sad story. This is 101 years post-amalgamation and
55 years post-independence.
We can all agree that our development
does not reflect that of a man who is 55 years old, and definitely not
that of a 101yr old man.
Given all this wealth, it is inexplicable
that we have so much poverty in the country. According to the National
Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report, as of 2010, the poverty level of the
country was 69% and 71% for 2011 by extrapolation. Using a conservative
population estimate of 160 million Nigerians, it means that 113.6
million Nigerians are extremely poor. No one will argue that the primary
population still survives on less than $2 USD per day.
Everyone
must be tired of the saying that leadership is the problem, not
followership. Yes, oil may have been the bane of our development as a
nation, but what else are we not doing right. We even had a leader that
boasted that Nigeria’s problem was not money, but what to do with it. He
was under the misguided illusion that oil will last forever. When you
implement a mono-product economy, you are doomed to failure when
anything adverse happens to that commodity.
A country’s leadership
must make sure that the wealth of the nation trickles down to the
citizenry. If it does not, that the leadership has failed and by
implication, the Nation State becomes a failed Nation.
What will
we be celebrating at 56 years of Independence? The father of the
Preacher said, “So, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our
hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12). Tick! Tick!! And time continues to
go by.
– Atawa-Akpodiete, a public Affairs Analyst, wrote from United States.
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