An economic expert and the Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun, has said that contrary to estimates, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product is worth around $600 to $650 billion.
Currently, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics estimates the country’s GDP to be well over $400 billion as of 2021.
However, Balogun while delivering the keynote address at the Annual Enterprise table and the 5th-anniversary celebration of Deal HQ Partners on Thursday disagreed with the figure saying that if all indices are measured then the country should have an economy worth $600 or $650 billion.
“If you believe my thesis that population drives economic activity and economic growth and if you also believe my thesis today that this is not a $400 billion economy.
“This is probably today already a $600 or $650 billion economy because quite a lot of what happens in the real economy, in the Instagram economy, in the illicit economy- and not everything illicit is drugs and weapons. All of that is not measured today when you measure Nigeria’s economic activities,” he said.
Balogun also stated that agriculture, solid minerals, and the creative economy will catalyse Nigeria’s economic growth.
On what Nigeria has to do to ensure it takes advantage of these resources, Mr Bolaji explained that investment in infrastructure is key.
Credit: The PUNCH
