World Bank pour Encomium on Jonathan, Lambast Buhari says “Nigeria was a Rising Star Until Buhari Took Over and slowed down development”

Nigeria’s development slowed under Buhari – World Bank

Since Muhammadu Buhari was first elected president in 2015, the World Bank has claimed that the nation’s development has slowed down.

Nigeria performed well between 2001 and 2014, with an average growth of 7%, and was among the top 15 fastest-growing economies globally, according to the World Bank’s review of Nigerian public finances, “A Better Future for All Nigerians: 2022 Nigeria Poverty Assessment.”

According to the report published on November 21, 2022, “Nigeria’s development progress has stalled.

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Nigeria was a rising star in West Africa between 2001 and 2014, with an average annual growth rate of 7%, and it was among the top 15 fastest-growing economies worldwide.

“However, as oil prices dropped, the security situation deteriorated, macroeconomic reforms were undone, and economic policies grew more unpredictable, this trend abruptly came to an end in 2015.

Nigeria experienced a drop in oil prices as well as the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2020.

As a result, between 2015 and 2021, the GDP growth rate only averaged 1.1%. Rapid population growth counteracted increases in per capita income as economic growth slowed, and the number of Nigerians living in poverty steadily rose.

The bank added that 2021 saw a significant decline in real per capita income and that it would take Nigeria about ten years to return to its GDP per capita level of 2014.

“By the end of 2021, real per capita income in Nigeria had reverted to its 1980s level. Nigeria’s GDP per capita would not reach the level seen in 2014, just before the oil shock, for about ten years, even at the average per capita GDP growth rate of 1.1% observed in 2021 (which was partially the result of base effects following the recession in 2020).

“While the growth rate and its fiscal and external positions have historically improved during times of high oil prices, this will not be the case in 2021 and 2022 for Nigeria, one of the least diversified oil producers in the world.

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It will be more difficult for Nigeria to benefit from the tailwinds brought on by commodity booms due to the decoupling of macroeconomic and fiscal trends from the cycle of global oil prices, according to the report.

Despite this, the National Bureau of Statistics recently revealed that more Nigerians than expected—133 million people—were multidimensionally poor.

In response to this, Dr. Aliyu Ilias, a development economist, concurred with the World Bank and noted that the nation was not developing as it ought to.

I completely concur with the World Bank, he declared. We say we are having growth but the growth is figurative and not reflecting development in the country.”

He continued by saying that the nation was dealing with some persistent problems, such as insecurity that threatened the agricultural industry and fuel subsidies that reduced oil revenue.

He urged the government to increase oil production and end fuel subsidies.

Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy and the founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership, added that since the president’s inauguration, there have been signs of stagnant development.

Nigeria’s development slowed under Buhari – World Bank