In a strongly worded rebuttal, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, has debunked claims by outgoing African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, that Nigerians are worse off today than they were in 1960.
Adesina had reportedly stated with figures that Nigeria’s GDP per capita has declined from $1,847 in 1960 to $824 today. Onanuga described the claim as factually incorrect and misleading, arguing that the data does not align with Nigeria’s historical economic records.
Citing authoritative sources, Onanuga explained that Nigeria’s GDP in 1960 was just $4.2 billion, resulting in a per capita income of about $93 for a population of 44.9 million.
“Our GDP did not see substantial growth until the oil boom of the 1970s,” he said, highlighting the trajectory that saw per capita income peak at $3,200 in 2014 following a GDP rebasing.
But more significantly, Onanuga contended that GDP per capita is an inadequate measure of living standards, as it fails to reflect the realities of wealth distribution, informal economic activities, or access to essential services.
“It neither accounts for subsistence farming nor income transfers within families,” he added.
He further pointed to substantial improvements in infrastructure and access to services since 1960, including the explosion in mobile phone usage. From just 18,724 landlines at independence, over 200 million Nigerians now have access to mobile phones and digital platforms, he said.
Onanuga cited the early 2000s example of Vodacom’s aborted entry into Nigeria—based on low GDP figures—as a warning against relying solely on such metrics. “MTN proved them wrong and continues to thrive, now serving 84 million subscribers and posting revenues in the trillions,” he said.
“Dr. Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi, and did not do due diligence,” Onanuga added, urging public figures to base their statements on comprehensive and verifiable data.
As the National Bureau of Statistics prepares for another GDP rebasing, Onanuga said there’s little doubt Nigeria’s economy today is “at least 50 to 100 times larger” than it was in 1960.
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