Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga has responded critically to a recent statement by outgoing African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, who claimed Nigerians are worse off today than they were in 1960. Onanuga described the claim as misleading and rooted in inaccurate statistics that do not align with credible data sources.
In a post shared via X (formerly Twitter), Onanuga contested Adesina’s comparison of Nigeria’s GDP per capita, which reportedly placed the figure at $1,847 in 1960 and $824 in 2025. He cited Nairametrics to debunk the claim, explaining that Nigeria’s GDP in 1960 was $4.2 billion, with a population of about 44.9 million, placing per capita income at only $93—not over $1,800 as claimed.
Onanuga highlighted that Nigeria’s significant economic growth began in the 1970s, largely fueled by oil revenue. He provided historical GDP figures, noting steady increases from $12.5 billion in 1970 to $164 billion in 1981. Despite this, he said per capita income didn’t cross the $880 mark until 1980, eventually peaking at $3,200 in 2014 after GDP rebasing.
He went further to question the source of Adesina’s statistics and challenged the broader conclusion that Nigerians were better off in the past. “GDP per capita is a narrow metric and doesn’t reflect overall well-being,” Onanuga argued. He emphasized that it fails to capture improvements in healthcare, education, transportation, and digital access.
Onanuga contrasted life in 1960, when only 18,724 telephone lines served 45 million people, with today’s digital age, where over 200 million Nigerians have access to mobile and digital services. Referring to MTN’s 84 million users and N1 trillion revenue in Q1 2025, he asked rhetorically if this represented a nation in decline.
He further accused Adesina of making a politically charged statement without proper fact-checking, likening his tone to that of political opposition figures.
Onanuga concluded by asserting that Nigeria’s economy today is vastly larger and more complex than it was at independence, estimating it to be at least 50 to 100 times greater than in 1960.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0