The Presidency has rejected recent comments by the outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who claimed that Nigerians are worse off today than they were in 1960.
The rebuttal was issued in a statement by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, who criticized both the data cited by Adesina and the conclusions drawn from it.
According to Onanuga, Dr. Adesina reportedly stated that Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1,847 in 1960, compared to $824 today. However, the Presidency argued that these figures are inaccurate and not supported by historical data.
“A few days ago, outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina claimed that Nigerians today are worse off than in 1960, basing his conclusion on figures that do not align with available data.
“According to Nairametrics, he claimed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was $1847 and that it is $824 today. The quoted figures are not correct.
“According to available data, our country’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93, not even $100,” Onanuga stated.
He further noted that Nigeria’s GDP did not experience significant growth until the oil boom of the 1970s. In 1970, GDP rose to $12.55 billion, and by 1981 it had grown to $164 billion.
Even then, per capita income did not exceed $880 until it briefly reached $2,187 in 1981 before declining again. The figure only climbed to an all-time high of $3,200 in 2014 following a GDP rebasing exercise.
Onanuga emphasized that the issue goes beyond the disputed figures, highlighting a fundamental misinterpretation of GDP per capita as an all-encompassing measure of societal progress.
He noted that GDP per capita is a limited metric, as it fails to capture wealth distribution, inequality levels, or the significant role of informal economic activities, which are particularly prominent in Nigeria.
More insights
The Presidency argued that assessing Nigeria’s progress since 1960 requires a broader perspective that accounts for improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, education, telecommunications, and transportation.
- It noted that Nigeria now has significantly more schools, hospitals, road networks, and widespread access to digital services, with mobile phone access reaching nearly the entire population compared to fewer than 20,000 telephone lines at Independence.
- Citing MTN’s success despite earlier GDP-based doubts, Onanuga emphasized that economic growth cannot be fully understood through GDP figures alone.
He added that Nigeria’s GDP is now at least 50 to 100 times larger than it was in 1960 and urged analysts to adopt a more nuanced approach when evaluating national development.
Backstory
Nairametrics earlier reported that during his keynote address at the 20th anniversary dinner of investment firm Chapel Hill Denham in Lagos, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, warned that Nigeria was facing a deeper economic regression than many realized.
- He pointed out that with a current GDP per capita of just $824, Nigerians were significantly worse off than they had been at independence in 1960.
- In a statement issued following the event, Adesina stressed the need for Nigeria to radically transform its economic model to become a globally competitive and industrialized nation by 2050.
Despite being Africa’s largest economy in terms of GDP, he noted that Nigeria’s economic structure remained deeply flawed and unsustainable.
He attributed the nation’s economic decline to decades of policy missteps, institutional weaknesses, over-reliance on crude oil exports, and chronic underinvestment in key sectors.
