NIGERIA Invest in 2012-13 - Newsdesk Media

While the effects of the financial crisis continue to undermine
attempts at growth among Western economies, Nigeria has joined
the pack of nations experiencing increased prosperity. Beth Holmes
considers Nigeria’s status in Africa and across the global stage
as it steers a course to become one of the world’s top 20 economies
While the developed
nations in the West
continue to buckle
under ongoing debt
crises and severe
economic instability, the emerging
nations are not only beginning to catch
up, but to forge ahead.
According to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), Nigeria’s economy,
which is fuelled mostly by oil exports,
is expected to be worth $400 billion by
2016. Meanwhile, a recent survey by
Gallup of economic optimism around
the globe found that Nigerians are the
most optimistic about the year ahead,
with more than eight out of 10 saying
that they expected a “year of economic
prosperity” in 2012.
With economists at investment
bank Morgan Stanley predicting that
Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP)
will probably overtake that of South
Africa by 2025, the prospects for the
country are bright and seem to be a far
cry from the instability that has dogged
its progress in decades past.
It is up to the policymakers,
the investment community and the
population at large to take advantage
of emerging opportunities, and help to
position Nigeria as the most influential
African voice on the world stage.
Although issues of security continue
to be a challenge, a transparent and
consistent focus on key strategic policies
at the macroeconomic level have helped
to make Nigeria an economic success
story, and may help to turn the nation’s
international aspirations into reality.
Nigeria has lived through distinct
periods of growth and development
under various policy regimes, from the
pre-oil boom decade of 1960-70,
through the oil boom of the 1970s and
to the current day.
A succession of development plans
was introduced from the 1960s to
provide a framework for development
and restructuring. The First National
Development Plan (1962-68) was
introduced to kick-start the economy,
with priority given to agriculture and
industrial development. The Second
National Development Plan (1970-74)
focused on rebuilding the infrastructure
that had been damaged during the
country’s civil war.
Response to the oil boom
The Third National Development Plan
(1975-80) was launched as a response
to the large oil revenues that the country
enjoyed during the oil boom of the
1970s, but the subsequent collapse of
international oil prices meant that a
Fourth National Development Plan
(1981-85) was introduced. Two changes
of government seriously disrupted the
implementation of this final programme
and, consequently, the performance of
the economy during the fourth plan
period was generally poor.
In 1986, the government accepted
the IMF-sponsored Structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP), which was aimed at
creating a more market-friendly
environment that would encourage
private enterprise. Some of the benefits
that accompanied increased deregulation
the economy and finance 49
were lost in 1994, with the actions of
the new military government, which, over
five years, reregulated after interest rates
reached an all-time high of 48 per cent
in commercial banks and 60 per cent in
non-bank financial institutions.
A series of reforms aimed at
halting economic decline and stimulating
growth were instigated with the return to
democracy. They also improved Nigeria’s
image abroad and enabled it to be more
proactive – regionally and internationally.
Between 2003 and 2007, there
was a major initiative to raise living
standards though the National Economic
Empowerment Development Strategy
(NEEDS), which attempted to tackle
basic deficiencies such as electricity
and water supplies, while also
addressing macroeconomic stability
through a variety of reforms, including
deregulation, privatisation, transparency
and accountability.
A longer-term economic
development programme is the United
Nations (UN) sponsored Millennium
Development Goals for Nigeria, which
covers the years from 2000-15. It
commits the country to achieving
ambitious objectives concerning
poverty reduction, education, gender
equality, health, the environment and
international development cooperation.
International goodwill was further
boosted in May 2011, after a successful
national election. President Goodluck
Jonathan tasked his government with
continuing to focus on economic
progress, while also tackling concerns
over terrorism and militancy.
The emergence of the BRIC
countries (Brazil, Russia, India and
China) as the economic giants of the
future also creates an opportunity for
oil-rich Nigeria. The country is the
primary supplier to Brazil, provides
20 per cent of India’s crude oil, and is
invest in niGeRia 2012-13