A renowned economist and financial expert, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, has predicted that Nigeria may suffer from mass poverty, debt and insecurity if the economy does not grow between 7 and 8 per cent annually, in the next five to 10 years.
He gave the prediction on Monday in Abuja while delivering the public lecture organised by a Pan-Nigerian coalition, Building the Future Forum (BTFF), to mark the 64th birthday of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
Addressing the topic, “Building the Future of Nigeria through Enterprise and Innovation,” Rewane, who is Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, noted that given the projected population explosion of over 250 million by 2030, Nigeria must be able to achieve $1.5 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the next nine years.
Rewane said, ““Therefore, we have our work cut out for us and if we are going to achieve accelerated, sustainable and inclusive growth, we need to attract domestic and international capital with its attendant investment multiplier to achieve a GDP level of $1.5trn by 2030 when our population could be 250mn or more.
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“We need to grow the economy at least at 7-8% a year for 5-10 years based on an investment-led strategy. If we fail to do this very soon, the problems of multidimensional poverty, debt, and insecurity may consume us in the next decade.
“The issue however is not whether Nigeria has made some achievements and successes, but compared to its potential, Nigeria is still a laggard in many respects.”
He emphasized the need for sustainable growth.
According to him, the recovery of stolen assets was not sufficient to solve all the problems of Nigeria, especially management of resources.
He explained that innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship would not guarantee success as they might not deliver the desired outcomes.
Rewane said, “We need people in public life who have candor like Prof Osinbajo and more than anything else, we need people like him who can make the private sector feel at ease in the policy-making community. Once again, happy birthday to a leader of the people, societies, and enterprises.”
Osinbajo who joined the event via zoom, said he was pleasantly surprised that organizers chose to honour him the way they’ve done. He expressed gratitude to all those involved.
Personalities who attended the event include: Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola and his Internal Affairs counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola, a representative of the Dantata family, Saad Dantata, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Kayode Fayemi, among others.
