The Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has emphasized the critical need for Nigeria to transcend political discord and inconsistent policies, which have hindered the nation’s progress since its independence.
According to The PUNCH, speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual Conference at Eko Hotel in Lagos on Sunday, where she delivered a keynote address titled ‘A New Social Contract for Nigeria’s Future’, Okonjo-Iweala urged for a unified approach to addressing the country’s challenges, rather than continuing with blame games.
She noted, “Nigeria today is not where it should be, and our country has not progressed as it should have. That is why, more than 60 years after independence, we are still discussing nation-building. But we must shift our focus from blame games to concrete actions that tackle present and emerging challenges.”
While acknowledging that Nigerians are not alone in facing economic hardships, she stressed, “It’s not in recrimination or even in futile regret, but rather as part of moving our country and advancing its interests. We are living in very difficult times, locally here in Nigeria, but also globally.”
“I’m not here to castigate or blame anyone; I’m here to speak to all governments of my country, all political parties, all Nigerians, about a positive way forward for the country,” she added.
Drawing a comparison with other countries, Okonjo-Iweala highlighted how nations like South Korea, Peru, and India, which had similar economic standings as Nigeria decades ago, have since surpassed the country in growth and development.
She noted South Korea’s rapid industrialization and Peru’s economic resilience as examples of what Nigeria could achieve through consistent and sound policies.
“Back in the 1960s, Nigeria’s per capita income was comparable to that of South Korea, but today, South Korea’s per capita GDP is 20 times higher than ours,” she observed. “This stark contrast shows that while other nations have taken bold steps to diversify and grow their economies, we have been left behind.”
She attributed Nigeria’s failure to sustain growth to a lack of policy consistency and political will, stating, “If we look back to the early years of independence, it’s clear Nigeria had what it takes to succeed, and yet we’ve fallen behind countries that were on par with us back then.”
Reflecting on the country’s economic history, Okonjo-Iweala pointed out that in the early 1960s, Nigeria’s export basket was more diversified, with mining exports and agricultural products making up a significant portion.
However, since 1974, oil has dominated Nigeria’s exports, often accounting for 97 to 100 percent, a trend that has limited the country’s economic growth.
“The good news is that our economy itself is quite diversified, and with the capacity to do much more in terms of agricultural exports, critical minerals, services such as entertainment, etc., and I want to commend ongoing efforts by this government to diversify the exports of our country,” she said.
Despite this potential, she noted that Nigeria’s per capita GDP last year was just $1,620, compared to South Korea’s $33,000.
Even countries with more modest growth trajectories, like Thailand and Peru, have outpaced Nigeria, with per capita GDPs of $7,200 and $7,800, respectively. India, once trailing Nigeria, now has a per capita GDP of $2,484 and is the third-largest economy globally.
“I cite all these numbers not because GDP is a perfect measure, but because, as Daniel Susskind, a scholar on economic growth at King’s College London, recently put it, and I quote, GDP is correlated with almost every measure of human flourishing,” she explained.
Okonjo-Iweala also criticized the “not-made-in-my-administration syndrome,” where successive Nigerian governments fail to build on the achievements of their predecessors, leading to economic stagnation. She called for the establishment of a social contract to ensure that key policies and principles remain consistent across administrations.
“To minimize the volatility of economic and social policy and to set our country on a steady growth and development path, Nigeria needs a social contract. By this, I mean a fundamental agreement across political parties and society that certain policies and principles are sacrosanct and must not be altered with each change in administration,” she elaborated.
In response, President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to addressing Nigeria’s social and economic challenges. Tinubu emphasized that his government is working to bring clarity and eliminate the opacity that has fostered corruption, promising that Nigeria would overcome its current difficulties.
“I want to assure you that this government will continue to uphold top priority to the welfare of the judiciary, to ease avoidable burden on their lordships, and speed up the adjudicatory process which is a sine qua non for social order and economic development,” Tinubu concluded.
