Nigeria’s development so far in comparison with African and non-African countries  who gained independence same period, Muhammed Lawal writes

In the past six decades, Nigeria has continued to pride itself as a leading nation in Africa. It has also established itself as the giant of Africa. Many African and non-African countries usually align with Nigeria given its multicultural society, large economy and rich history in culture and governance.

However, after 63 years of independence, the country has seen its dreams and hopes of achieving a developed and united nation fail as a result of corruption and failure to plan.

There have been perturbing concerns as to why Nigeria is not getting it right as far as human and capital development are concerned. Compared to other African countries and developing countries, many are of the belief that Nigeria has not fulfilled its dreams. The country has continued to grapple with a poor leadership selection process. In spite of her population and natural resources, the country has yet to be productive.

As reported by Trading Economics, citing the World Bank, it is noted that the Gross Domestic Product per capita in Nigeria was last recorded at 2449.59 US dollars in 2022. The GDP per capita in Nigeria is equivalent to 19 per cent of the world’s average. The World Bank stated that in the first part of 2023, Nigeria’s economic growth weakened, and real gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell from 3.3% in 2022 to 2.4% year-on-year in Q1 2023. The challenging global economic context has put pressure on Nigeria’s economy.

According to the World Bank, despite its vast development needs, Nigeria spends only $220 per Nigerian per year, and at merely 12% of GDP, this is one of the lowest levels of spending in the world. Unfortunately, low public spending translates into poor development outcomes. The country is among the eight economies with the lowest human capital in the world, ranked 167th out of 174 countries on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index. As a result, a child born in Nigeria today will only be 36% as productive when he grows up as he could be if he had access to effective education and health services.

 Again, a country’s passport shows its efficiency, but the Nigerian passport is one of the poorest in the world. The SUN in Henley Passport Index report, it was stated that the Nigerian passport was ranked 88th out of 109 national passports in the world for 2023. This places the Nigerian green passport among the worst or least valuable passports to hold in the current year. This culminated in Nigerian passport holders having visa-free access to only 46 countries in the world.

The country is losing its best hands to other African and non-African countries as they continue to mismanage and devalue them. For instance, The PUNCH reported that countries like Sierra Leone and Gambia were offering between $3,000 and $4000 which was about three to four times that of the country to Nigerian medical doctors and other health professionals. Also, the West Coast is looking for Nigerian specialists. Many Nigerian medical doctors are now going to places like Sierra Leone and Gambia where the wages they earn are from $3000 to $4000. It is about three to four times what they earn back home.

In 2023, The PUNCH reported that The World Poverty Clock said there were 71 million extremely poor Nigerians, according to 2023 data. It was also noted that Nigeria had the awful distinction of being the world capital of poverty, with 71 million people living in extreme poverty today (World Poverty Clock, 2023) and a total of 133 million people classed as multidimensionally poor, according to the National Bureau of Statistics data.

According to the World Bank, Nigeria has the largest energy access deficit in the world, with about 85 million persons lacking access to grid electricity. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has faced a high unemployment rate for decades as rapid population growth outpaced economic growth, according to Reuters.

It has, however, been argued that population remained a contributing factor to economic growth. Worlddata, a comprehensive database for geographic, climatological and demographic data, says Nigeria, which is one of the most populated countries in the world, has not leveraged its population so as to contribute to the country’s economic development. Contrary to this, countries like China and India have taken advantage of their huge population to improve their economies. It is surprising to see African countries with a miniature population and resources doing better than Nigeria.

Meanwhile, some countries that gained independence within the time Nigeria began to enjoy self-government are far above the West African countries in terms of development.

Rwanda

On July 1st, 1962, Rwanda gained independence from Belgium. Rwanda’s GDP per capita for 2022 was $966, a 17.67% increase from 2021. According to the Guide Passport Ranking Index, the Rwandan passport is currently ranked 83rd among global passports. The Rwanda passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Rwandan passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 61 countries. The current population of Rwanda is 14,169,292 as of Monday, September 25, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. World Economics stated that the official estimate for Rwanda’s GDP was $32bn at the end of 2022 in purchasing power parity terms.

Ghana

On March 6, 1957, Ghana was declared a free country from British colonial rule. The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Ghana was last recorded at 2040.04 US dollars in 2022. The GDP per capita in Ghana is equivalent to 16 per cent of the world’s average, according to World Bank. The Ghanaian passport is currently ranked 81st among global passports, according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. The Ghana passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Ghanaian passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 63 countries. The current population of Ghana is 34,274,979 as of Monday, September 25, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. GDP growth is estimated to have slowed to 3.2% in 2022, down from 5.4% in 2021.

Algeria

On July 5th, 1962, Algeria gained independence. The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Algeria was last recorded at 3995.88 US dollars in 2022. The GDP per capita in Algeria is equivalent to 32 per cent of the world’s average, according to World Bank.  The Algerian passport is currently ranked 92nd among global passports, according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. The Algeria passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Algerian passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 50 countries. The current population of Algeria is 45,763,725 as of Monday, September 25, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.

Kenya

On December 12, 1963, Kenya gained independence. GDP in Kenya averaged 23.19 USD billion from 1960 until 2022, reaching an all-time high of 113.42 USD billion in 2022. The Kenyan passport is currently ranked 72nd among global passports, according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. The Kenya passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Kenyan passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 74 countries. The current population of Kenya is 55,360,773 as of Tuesday, September 26, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. Kenya’s economic performance softened in 2022, steering towards the country’s long-term growth rate. Real GDP expanded by 4.8 per cent in 2022, a deceleration compared with the strong rebound from the COVID-19 crisis at 7.5 per cent annual growth in 2021

Malaysia

Malaysia gained its independence from the British on August 31, 1957. The GDP per capita in Algeria was last recorded at 3995.88 US dollars in 2022. The GDP per capita in Algeria is equivalent to 32 per cent of the world’s average, according to the World Bank. The Malaysian passport is currently ranked 12th among global passports, according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. The Malaysia passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Malaysian passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 181 countries. The current population of Malaysia is 34,394,682 as of Tuesday, September 26, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.

Singapore

On August 9, 1965, Singapore gained independence. The GDP in Singapore was worth 466.79 billion US dollars in 2022, according to official data from the World Bank. The GDP value of Singapore represents 0.21 per cent of the world economy. The Singaporean passport is currently ranked 1st among global passports, according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. The Singapore passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Singaporean passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 194 countries. The current population of Singapore is 6,023,749 as of Tuesday, September 26, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. The GDP in Singapore was worth 466.79 billion US dollars in 2022, according to official data from the World Bank. The GDP value of Singapore represents 0.21 percent of the world economy.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE declared its independence on December 2, 1971. The GDP in the United Arab Emirates was worth 507.53 billion US dollars in 2022, according to official data from the World Bank. The UAE passport is currently ranked 15th among global passports, according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. The United Arab Emirates passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to the UAE passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 176 countries. The current population of the United Arab Emirates is 9,534,674 as of Tuesday, September 26, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. The GDP in the UAE grew by 8.5 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2022, following an 8.4 per cent expansion in the previous three-month period.

Cyprus

On August 16, 1960, Cyprus gained its independence. GDP per capita in Cyprus averaged 19716.62 USD from 1975 until 2022, reaching an all-time high of 29637.85 USD in 2022 from the World Bank data. The Cypriot passport is currently ranked 14th among global passports, according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. The Cyprus passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Cypriot passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 177 countries. The current population of the Republic of Cyprus is 1,262,117 as of Tuesday, September 26, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.

Experts react

In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, an expert in History and International Relations, Dr Wasiu Abiodun, attributed Nigeria’s awful economic and political progress to bad leadership.

He said, “When you look at what Nigeria has been able to achieve in terms of development or where we are coming from compared to what countries like Rwanda, Malaysia and several other countries around the world have done, you will come to the conclusion that regardless of the parameters you are looking at, we have not done much in terms of meaningful economic development. We want to take pride in being referred to as the giant of Africa, because of the size of our economy but the fundamental question that often comes from that is how the size has impacted the lives of the people.

“The Nigeria economy when compared to other economies is indeed troubled and our predicament really is an account not necessarily of external forces but it is a result of the kind of leadership we have had since independence in 1960. You will probably want to say that the Nigerian civil war from 1967 to 1970 undermined the developmental trajectory but again, if you consider what Rwanda for instance has been through, coming off genocide, and what they have been able to do to turn around the fortune of the country politically and economically, the conclusion is that the civil war is really not a sufficient excuse for Nigeria’s present economy.

“In the case of Rwanda what we have seen is political stability. Leadership is a critical component of or requirement for economic prosperity. Unfortunately, we have not been able to replicate that in our part of the world and despite the fact that we have resources to turn things around. China’s economy was on the same pedestal by the time we had our own independence in 1960. For instance, Malaysia at some point, in the 1960s to 70s during independence, was a country that sent people to Nigeria to study palm oil production in Nigeria because that was when agriculture was the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. So, it was an export-oriented economy built around agriculture.

“So, we find ourselves in this paradox. Nigeria is blessed with natural resources. For instance, we have crude oil but we do not have the capacity to refine what we consume. So, we have four refineries, yet we still export our crude oil to refine overseas. We then bring in refined petroleum products. Saudi Arabia has crude oil and it has the capacity to refine. India at some point was the poverty capital of the world and you can see clearly what the country has been trying to achieve in terms of being able to get people out of poverty.

“Corruption has also stunted the growth of the Nigerian state. Nigeria is gradually moving in the direction of a failed state given the reality of the picture painted. Given this situation, you really cannot achieve much in terms of development. Nigeria cannot do what the likes of Rwanda, Malaysia and some of these emerging economies are doing.”

Another university don and an expert in History and International Relations, Dr Dapo Thomas, said, “When you are coming from a background of a war, you are expected to start from a tabula rasa and you make a national commitment to ensure that this kind of war does not happen again. We are developing at a faster rate than most of these countries identified. What actually took us back was the removal of Gen. Yakubu Gowon or it was Gowon not respecting the transition time-table and that took us back because there was another military intervention by Gen. Murtala Mohammed and Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo. There cannot be coups and changes in regimes and expect economic stability or talk about development.

“The leadership tussle affected us even among the military. We have been destabilised for a very long period, let us say since 1967. It was during Gowon’s rule that we witnessed development. Most of the roads in Lagos and other places were constructed by him. It is when a country has stability that it can embark on massive developmental projects.”