‘You Spoke Like a Politician’ Presidency responds to Adesina’s comment on GDP.
The president has criticised Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank, for claiming that Nigerians were better off in 1960 than they are today.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, remarked in a tweet on his X (previously Twitter) handle that Adesina “spoke like a politician” in the pattern of the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential contender, Peter Obi, without conducting due research.
“Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi, and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement,” Onanuga said.
It was claimed that Adesina, while making a keynote talk at Chapel Hill Denham’s 20th anniversary dinner, stated that Nigerians today are worse off than they were in 1960.
He backed up his statements with figures showing that Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1,847 in 1960 and is now $824.
Onanuga, on the other hand, refuted the assertion, noting that the reported figures were wrong, adding that Nigeria’s GDP in 1960 was $4.2 billion, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93, not $100.
He stated, “A few days ago, outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina asserted that Nigerians now are worse off than in 1960, based on calculations that do not match accessible data.
According to Nairametrics, he claimed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was $1,847 and is now $824. The quoted figures are incorrect.
“According to available data, our country’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93—ninety-three, not even $100.”
“Our country’s GDP did not increase dramatically until the 1970s, when petroleum earnings skyrocketed. In 1970, our GDP reached $12.55 billion.
“In 1975, it was $27.7 billion, then $64.2 billion in 1980, and finally $164 billion in 1981.” Up to 1980, the per capita income did not reach $880.
“It increased to $2187 in 1981 and fell to $1844 in 1982. It peaked at $3,200 in 2014 after being rebased,” he added.
Onanuga went on to say that Adesina should keep in mind that DDP per capita is not the only metric used to judge if people enjoy better lives today than they did in the past.
“Indeed, it is an inadequate tool for determining living standards. Its major purpose is to provide measurements for comparing economic production within or between countries.
“GDP hides many aspects of a country’s economy. It does not reveal wealth distribution or income inequality, nor does it account for the informal economy, which experts estimate to be vast. It does not account for subsistence farming or revenue transfers between family members.
“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,” according to the president’s spokesperson.
The president’s special adviser also said that Nigeria currently has more schools and better infrastructure than it did in 1960.
“This premise alone suggests that Dr. Adesina should not have reached his conclusion. Nigeria currently has more primary, secondary, and higher schools than it did in 1960.
“We have greater road networks and medical facilities, both private and public. We have incredible access to telephones.”Independence had 18,724 operational phone lines for a population of approximately 45 million,” he stated.
According to him, over 200 million Nigerians now have almost ubiquitous access to mobile phones and digital services, demonstrating that “we are better off today than 65 years ago.”
“In our country, policymakers understand that whatever GDP statistic the NBS releases may not capture our economy’s full depth and breadth if it excludes the informal economy, which some pundits argue may be more important than the official economy.
“This underscores why Dr Adesina should have considered all aspects of our economy before concluding.”
Onanuga continued, “No objective observer can say that Nigeria has not progressed since 1960. We can say with certainty that our GDP is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, what it was at Independence, as we await the NBS’s recalibration.