$824 GDP Per capita: FG attacks AfDB Boss over comment on worsening economy

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• says “you spoke like a politician — Nigerians not worse off than

BY BONNY AMADI

The government of Nigeria otherwise referred to as the presidency has attacked the African Development Bank (AfDB) President Adesina Akinwumi, for saying that the country’s economy is now worse off than it was at independence in 1960.

The government says Nigerians are not in a worse economic situation than they were 64 years ago, faulting the claims of Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), on the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita It will be recalled that on May 2, Adesina said that with a current GDP per capita of $824, Nigerians are significantly worse off than they were at independence in 1960 when it was $1,847.

Adesina said despite Nigeria being Africa’s largest economy by GDP, its economic structure remains deeply flawed and unsustainable.

The presidency in a statement on Monday, released by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on in- formation and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, said the GDP per capita is not the only measure of whether people’s standard of living is better now than in the past.

“Dr Adesina should know that GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards,” Onanuga said.

“Its primary usefulness is in giving us the metrics to compare economic output in a country or between coun- tries. “GDP masks many activities in a country’s economy. It neither discloses wealth distribution or income inequality nor accounts for the informal economy, which experts have said is enormous.”

He said GDP does not account for subsistence farming or income transfer from one family member to another.

“According to available data, our country’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita in- come for a population of 44.9 million was $93, not even one hundred dollars,” Onanuga said.

“Our country’s GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned. In 1970, our GDP rose to $12.55 billion. In 1975, it was $27.7 billion, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981.

“Up until 1980, per capita income did not exceed $880. It rose to $2187 in 1981 and dropped to $1844 in 1982. In 2014, after rebasing, it reached an all-time high of $3,200.”

The special adviser said the facts raise questions about the source of Adesina’s figures.

“GDP per capita is silent on whether Nigerians in 2025 enjoy better access to healthcare, education, and transportation, such as rail and air transport, than in 1960,” Onanuga said.