#gdp rebasing

[starrzbeatz]

Nigeria's Economic Growth Rises After Rebase

A major economic milestone has just been achieved in Nigeria. Following a GDP rebasing exercise by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country’s economic output has been revised upward by over 30%. This update, based on new data sources and modern economic activity, marks a pivotal moment in the story of Nigeria’s economic growth. 🔍 Why This GDP Rebase Matters GDP rebasing is not just…

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[lmsintmedia]

NBS to Incorporate Prostitution and Hidden Activities into GDP Metrics

Learn how the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) plans to include hidden and illegal activities in Nigeria’s GDP calculations, enhancing economic accuracy and transparency. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently announced its decision to include illegal and informal activities, such as prostitution and drug trafficking, in the computation of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product…

NBS to Incorporate Prostitution and Hidden Activities into GDP Metrics

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Educate People On Gains Of Rebased GDP, Emefiele Tells Media

Educate People On Gains Of Rebased GDP, Emefiele Tells Media

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has urged media practitioners in Nigeria to educate the people on the gains of the nation’s rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Emefiele made the call at the opening of the 19th seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors on Wednesday in Kaduna.

The theme of the seminar is “Rebasing of Nigeria’s Economy and…

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[niyoma]

I had a dream. Nigeria was the largest economy in Africa.

Today I had a dream. I had a dream that Nigeria became the largest economy in Africa. I dreamt that for some reason, our GDP figures had been rebased which meant we leapfrogged South Africa to become the number one economy in Africa. I was elated and filled with unexplainable excitement and amazement. Finally I thought, we could truly say we were the Giant of Africa and more importantly, we had the numbers to back them up. Wow!

I fell into deeper sleep and wondered what the GDP rebasing would mean for Nigeria. Could we perhaps become part of the elitist G8 club now that Russia has been pushed to the sidelines? I didn't know what the rebasing meant in real monetary terms and could only assume these were huge leaps in the scheme of things. If we ever did attain this mammoth G8 achievement, I tried to envision what this would mean for our endemic corruption? Surely we couldn’t speak to the world with a split mouth on corruption as new entrant into the elitist club of G8 nations? 

In my mind’s eye, I thought it was rather silly of me to think Nigeria could be part of the G8. Perhaps the G20 association was a more realistic achievement I thought? I was however too caught up in excitement about the news to gather my thoughts. This couldn't be real. Could it? It had to be a dream I reiterated to myself. However, if it was a dream, I'd relish every moment whilst it lasted I thought.

 I fell into even deeper sleep.

I wondered whilst drifting further, what would this mean for our epileptic infrastructure? Whilst deep-thinking in my dream, I heard in the background what sounded like Nigerian Finance and Power Ministers discussing putting together a plan to sell excess production on the National Electric Grid to neighbouring countries. How could this be? I wondered. The last time I checked, we were struggling to even deliver a mere 3,000 MW of electricity output. How could we suddenly be in a position to sell excess capacity to other countries I thought?

I was slightly irritated with what I heard to say the least. I however chose to listen more intently into their conversation. It was at this time I overheard the Finance Minister brag about how FDI inflows into Nigeria had catapulted in the billions. The Finance Minister spoke with astute arrogance about how countries were queuing up to pump money into the leading economy in Africa. “Nigeria had fully diversified beyond its reliance on oil” the Finance Minister giggled. Hearing this, my ears tingled and rattled as I listened in more intently.

  I certainly had to digest all this information and excitement I thought. The children! The children out of school I thought. What would happen to the 10.5 million Nigerian children who are deprived a future for lack of education? Surely we could now tackle this problem head-on with our new revenue streams and investment inflows? Almost immediately, I envisioned the multiplier effects this could have on the Nigerian economy and the future of these kids. I was extremely happy.

I continued to eavesdrop into their conversation. I could see the lips of the Finance Minister moving but I could not really make out what the Minister was saying. I assumed it was something to do with jobs based on my limited ability to lip-read. I thought for a second, perhaps I'd interrupt the conversation between the Finance and Power Minister to ask about their thoughts on job creation in Nigeria. I thought for a few more seconds and summoned the courage, walked up to the pair and asked my question. I am very sorry to interrupt your conversation I said, but couldn’t but ask what all this meant for jobs and the man on the street? 

The Finance Minister chose to respond to my question. I was extremely overwhelmed with euphoria and also felt a rush of fear run through every nerve ending of mine. The Finance Minister was responding to a mere me I thought? The Finance Minister started to respond, the bravado exhibited was even more exaggerated than I could ever imagine. Don't you read I was asked? I responded with a trembling yes I do. The Minister continued to speak. “We are now experiencing single digit unemployment numbers in Nigeria. Gone are the days where we pack people into stadiums to be interviewed for jobs that don't exist. Gone are the days where we ask people to pay fees in lieu of prospective jobs only to get killed in the process.” “We have come a long way” said the Finance Minister with a sheepish smile.

I thought to myself, now that I had the Finance Minister all ears, perhaps I'd ask as many probing questions as I could particularly on what frameworks had been put in place to sustain all these amazing things I had been privy to hearing. I was keen to understand what frameworks had been put in place to stem the corruption rates and crippled legal system. I thought for a second, was this too much to ask the Minister? Would I simply have this conversation dismissed?

Perhaps not I reckoned. I somehow summoned the courage and asked what about corruption? “What about corruption?” The Minister asked in a rather condescending tone.

I paused for a few seconds whilst trying to reframe my question in my head. I wanted to be diplomatic yet still wanting to get a direct answer to my question. After all, this was a chance in a lifetime and I certainly did not want to blow this chance.

Why did I need to be diplomatic a little voice in my head muttered? I needn't be diplomatic the little voice reassured me, just say it as it is. Reluctantly, I did. With all the zeal in me I asked, is corruption still rife in Nigeria and what frameworks had the government put in place to tackle corruption?

The Minister smiled and then chuckled for a few seconds. The Minister's chuckling soon became laughter. The laughter became increasingly louder and louder and echoed all over the room. “Bwahahaha, bwahahahaha, bwhahahahahahaha....” was all I could hear the Finance Minister utter. “Do you really want to know?” Yes I answered.

“This is Nigeria we are talking about my friend. Bwahahaha, bwahahahaha, bwahahaha, this is Nigeria we are talking about my friend.” The Minister continued to repeat these words louder and louder. My ears were hurting, the decibels coming from the Minister’s laughter was too intense for my ears to handle. I covered my ears trying to shutout the excruciating pain I was now starting to feel in my ears. I crouched down in a corner to get away from the Minister.

In a flash, just as I had started to dream I was awake. 

I had been dreaming I thought. Suddenly an intense sense of sadness filled my soul. I was deflated. It was a dream as reality started to sink in. The GDP numbers had been rebased and that was no dream. There was however no tangible changes to the status quo. The GDP rebasing was meaningless to me I thought as the ear numbing sound of generators resonated in the background and the fumes from the generators filled my room.

Again I thought, these GDP figures are meaningless to me.

  END.

  The fact is that following the rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP, it will have little to no effect on the average Nigerians day to day livelihood. The OECD put this in a rather insightful way

“If ever there was a controversial icon from the statistics world, GDP is it. It measures income, but not equality, it measures growth, but not destruction, and it ignores values like social cohesion and the environment. Yet, governments, businesses and probably most people swear by it.”

As I write this post, Nigeria's GDP will be rebased Sunday 6th April 2014, potentially catapulting Nigeria to the number one economy in Africa.

However

1. An estimated 10.5 million children are out of school, who perhaps will never receive any formal education in their lifetime, potentially having a rather bleak future ahead.

2. An estimated 80 children in every 1,000 will not live to celebrate their 1st birthday

3. Her citizenry continues to endure enormous hardship and her young have no hope of jobs or a future to cling to

4. Life expectancy remains dismal at an average life expectancy of 52 years (17th lowest globally)

5. Her poverty gap continues to be some of the largest globally with an estimated 70% living below the poverty line in Nigeria

6. Nigeria continues to have little to no legal framework to bring people to book and corruption still stares me in the eyes as I write this post

Yes Nigeria will become officially the largest economy in Africa. However do the benefits of the rebased GDP trickle down to the average Nigeria?