However we look at it, Nigeria needs to join the club of nations that enjoy annual double digit growth

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Nigeria is forecast to have a mere 2% gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate over the coming years, which is wholly inadequate

[2] Between 1999 and 2015, our average economic growth rate was about 6% per annum, although it was mainly due to high oil prices. However, in 2015, the economy just crashed

[3] According to the World Bank, Nigeria’s population is growing at a rate of about 2.6% per annum, so we need a minimum of 3% economic growth just to break even

[4] India for instance has a target of always hitting 10% GDP growth annually

[5] Fortunately for Nigeria, we still have crude oil and are also the world’s sixth largest agricultural producer, so have the basis upon which to build a growth plan

[6] Since the coronavirus pandemic struck, foreign direct investment dried up and we now have to find new ways to attract investment if we want to create jobs and grow our economy

[7] With the whole world looking to Asia and Africa to provide the new economic stimulus for humanity, Nigeria is always going to be centre stage. Asian leaders are always going to have to court Nigeria's president as apart from the fact that we have Africa’s largest economy. They all want access to our 200m strong economy

[8] This is where our president needs to lay down a marker. He needs to have a clear policy that Nigerian economic growth will never lag behind that of Asia’s economies. At the worst, he should ensure that he matches the Asian average

[9] No matter how you look at it, Nigeria needs double digit GDP growth between 2024 and 2028. Anything less and we will just be marking time

[10] My people want infrastructure and social amenities but I wonder how they will get that when our budget is a pitiable $30bn. No matter how you look at it, $30bn for 200m people is an austerity budget. Until we reach the budget to population ratio of $1bn for every 1m people, we will remain a poverty stricken and beggarly nation. There is no short cut to this. We simply need to grow our economy. Four years of back-to-back double digit economic growth between 2024 and 2028 and a $200bn budget in four years time should take us to The Promised Land!