The Presidency has strongly disagreed with recent remarks by the outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who claimed that Nigerians are worse off today than they were at the time of Independence in 1960.
In a statement issued Sunday night, Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga described Adesina’s comments as inaccurate and based on flawed data and a narrow view of Nigeria’s economic history.
Adesina had reportedly referenced figures suggesting that Nigeria’s GDP per capita stood at $1,847 in 1960, compared to $824 in 2023—a claim he attributed to data from Nairametrics.
Onanuga, responding via his verified X account (@aonanuga1956), dismissed the figures as incorrect, noting that official data from 1960 recorded Nigeria’s GDP at $4.2 billion and its population at 44.9 million, resulting in a per capita income of just $93.
“Our GDP did not rise significantly until the 1970s, following the oil boom,” he stated, citing Nigeria’s economic growth to $12.55 billion in 1970, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981.
He further argued that GDP per capita is a limited metric for evaluating the quality of life or national progress.
“It is a poor tool for assessing living standards,” Onanuga explained. “It does not reflect wealth distribution, informal economic activities, or access to essential services.”
Citing advancements in healthcare, education, infrastructure, and digital technology, Onanuga maintained that Nigeria has made significant strides since Independence.
“Compared with 1960, Nigeria today has far more schools, road networks, and healthcare facilities,” he said. “We have moved from under 20,000 telephone lines in 1960 to over 200 million Nigerians having access to mobile and digital services.”
He also referenced South African telecom giant Vodacom’s early hesitance to enter the Nigerian market based on misleading GDP assessments—a decision later proven costly as MTN and other telecom companies reaped enormous profits in Nigeria’s booming telecom sector.
“In its Q1 results this year, MTN declared a revenue of N1 trillion, with 84 million active users,” he noted. “Such economic activity contradicts the notion that Nigeria has regressed.”
Onanuga concluded that while Nigeria faces challenges, it is misleading to suggest that the country is economically worse off than it was in 1960.
“No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made progress. Today, our GDP is at least 50 to 100 times larger than it was at Independence,” he stated.
