REBUILDING NIGERIA'S ECONOMY IN CHALLENGING TIMES

A Development Discourse Conversation between Patrick O. Okigbo III and Zainab Usman (Director - Africa Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Time: 15:00-16:30 (WAT)
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/RNECGT

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, grapples with significant socio-economic and political challenges that impede its growth trajectory. The country’s economic growth and development woes stem primarily from its lack of economic diversity. Although Nigeria’s oil sector contributes only one-tenth of its GDP, it disproportionately accounts for more than 90 per cent of its exports and 50 per cent of government revenue. This heavy reliance on oil revenues extends beyond the national to the subnational level. Nigeria’s thirty-six states mostly depend on federal transfers from oil revenue for their fiscal budgets, even though they are predominantly engaged in non-oil activities such as agriculture, trade, manufacturing, and services. Nigeria’s reliance on its oil sector for government revenue and expenditures makes it vulnerable to global market swings.^[1]

What strategies can Nigeria employ to achieve economic diversification? Which key sectors could facilitate its transition from oil dependency to a more varied economy? What governance approaches must the country employ to drive such economic transformation? What institutional reforms are necessary to sustain economic growth and stability in Nigeria? What infrastructure and human capital investments are essential for Nigeria’s long-term economic growth and development? Join Dr Zainab Usman, author of Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy, and Patrick Okigbo III, Nextier’s founding partner, to discuss these questions.

Dr Zainab Usman is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. Before her role at the Carnegie Institute, Dr Usman worked at the World Bank as part of the prestigious Young Professionals Program and later as a public sector specialist. She has also worked at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and has consulted for the Department of International Development (DFID).

Dr Usman is the author of the book, “Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy,”and co-editor of “The Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All.” She also contributed to the World Bank’s flagship report on “Rethinking Power Sector Reforms in Developing Countries.” Her written and broadcast commentary has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Project Syndicate, BBC, Al-Jazeera English, and The Washington Post, among others. Dr Usman obtained her doctorate in Economics from the University of Oxford.

Nextier, a multi-competency advisory firm, uses its Development Discourse to probe for answers to complex development questions. Please find the details of past events below.

How Reforms Succeed or Fail
Professor Patrick Utomi, in conversation with Patrick O. Okigbo III. 
February 07, 2023
You can click here to watch the discussion or here to download the annotated transcript.

Education Reforms: Private Schools for the Poor
Patrick O. Okigbo III, in conversation with Dr. Modupe Adefeso-Olateju 
February 21, 2024
You can click here to watch the discussion or here to download the annotated transcript.

Party Politics and Africa’s Democratic Future
Patrick O. Okigbo III, in conversation with Dr. Salihu Mohammed Lukman
March 06, 2024
You can click here to watch the discussion or here to download the annotated transcript.

How to Grow Nigeria’s Economy
Patrick O. Okigbo III, in conversation with Dr. Tayo Aduloju
April 03, 2024
You can click here to watch the discussion or here to download the annotated transcript.

Contact: info@thenextier.com

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^[1] Usman, Zainab. (2022). Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy. 10.5040/9781350237674