The economy has transformed from a basically agrarian economy to an economy driven largely by services and oil and gas with the agricultural sector, contributing an estimated 60 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 60s.
Though the contribution of agriculture has reduced to about 26 per cent, the same cannot be said about the services sector that has grown significantly since independence and contributes over 57 per cent of the country’s GDP, says the Chief Executive Officer CEO), Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) Muda Yusuf, who spoke to The Nation on ‘Nigeria at 62’.
Also, the service sector contribution to employment generation and revenue to the government has risen over time and these are indications of a significant structural change in the economy since independence.
He said the nation’s economy recorded an average growth performance over the past decades although with a few instances of sluggish growth. The challenge of creating an inclusive growth trajectory remains a major concern while the economy has experienced some positive growth trend over the past six decades, especially in the oil boom era, the impact on poverty, inequality and job creation has been very minimal. It is a case of growth with minimal development, he stated.
On Sectoral reforms, Yusuf stated that the telecoms sector has made huge success from 3,000 lines, with just a handful of mobile telephone to over 200 million.
“The economy has also witnessed considerable changes in the ICT sector and this has impacted many sectors, through the digitalisation of their processes and systems. We have seen increased transaction in IT applications in many sectors of the economy.
“Electronic payment systems have brought remarkable transformation to the financial services sector. Transactions on electronic payment platforms and Point of Sale (POS), mobile transactions are in excess of N100trillion annually. The entertainment sector has grown in leaps and bounds over the last decade. It has also grown in quality and in number. The sector has become a key sector to be reckoned with globally. Nigerian music and films have gained amazing traction worldwide. This growth has come with massive job creation in the sector, especially for the youths,” he added.
As Published on The Nation Online.