The Presidency has rejected claims by the President of the African Development Bank, AfDB, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, that Nigerians are worse off economically now than they were at Independence in 1960.
Dr Adesina made the claim during a keynote speech at Chapel Hill Denham’s 20th anniversary dinner in Lagos, where he stated that Nigeria’s current GDP per capita of $824 is lower than the 1960 level of $1,847.
In a swift rebuttal on Sunday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga criticised the figures and conclusions cited by Adesina, calling them inaccurate and misleading.
“A few days ago, outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina claimed that Nigerians today are worse off than in 1960, basing his conclusion on figures that do not align with available data,” Onanuga said in a statement.
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He added, “According to Nairametrics, he claimed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was $1,847 and that it is $824 today. The quoted figures are not correct.”
Onanuga stated that in 1960, Nigeria’s GDP was $4.2 billion with a population of 44.9 million, which translated to a per capita income of $93, not $1,847 as claimed.
The statement further explained that Nigeria’s GDP only began to rise significantly during the oil boom of the 1970s, reaching $12.55 billion in 1970 and $164 billion by 1981.
Per capita income, according to the Presidency, exceeded $880 only in 1981, when it peaked at $2,187, before dropping again and later rising to $3,200 in 2014 following a GDP rebasing.
Onanuga also addressed what he called a flawed interpretation of GDP per capita, stressing that it does not reflect income distribution, inequality, or informal economic activity.
“GDP per capita is a limited metric and cannot be used as a sole indicator of societal welfare or development,” he said.
He argued that while GDP per capita may currently be low, it does not account for broader improvements in areas such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and telecommunications.
Onanuga highlighted that since 1960, Nigeria has seen exponential growth in the number of schools, hospitals, and road networks, as well as a major expansion in telecommunications access.
“At independence, there were fewer than 20,000 telephone lines in Nigeria. Today, nearly the entire population has access to mobile phones,” he said.
He pointed to the success of companies like MTN, whose growth defied earlier scepticism tied to GDP statistics, as evidence of economic complexity beyond traditional indicators.
Onanuga also noted that Nigeria’s total GDP today is between 50 and 100 times greater than it was in 1960, urging stakeholders to adopt a comprehensive approach when evaluating development.
“While there is room for improvement, any fair assessment of Nigeria’s progress since independence must consider multiple dimensions beyond GDP figures,” he said.
In his original remarks, Dr Adesina had warned that Nigeria was experiencing deeper economic regression than many realised, and that reforms were urgently needed.
He emphasised the need for Nigeria to radically transform its economic model to achieve competitiveness and industrialisation by 2050.
Despite being Africa’s largest economy in terms of GDP, Adesina said Nigeria’s over-dependence on crude oil and weak institutional frameworks continued to hamper progress.
He blamed decades of policy inconsistency, inadequate investment, and poor economic planning for the country’s enduring structural weaknesses.
The Presidency, however, reiterated that Nigeria’s current challenges cannot be accurately measured using GDP per capita alone, and called for more nuanced analysis of development indicators.
