Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, and has Africa's largest economy. According to the World Bank, it also has the worlds third largest economy by nominal GDP (worldbank.org). It has an abundant supply of natural resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, transport sectors and the booming Nigerian Stock Exchange. However, Nigeria still has an enormous poor population and an extreme wealth gap. It also has a very unique cultural divide in terms of its wealth: the predominantly Muslim Northern part of the country is much poorer than the Christian South. The North's population is larger, but it is much poorer than the rest of the country, with some of the world's worst health and economic statistics. Its economy is in decline because of deindustrialization and lack of investment in agriculture and infrastructure, and a much smaller percentage of its population has access to education than in the South. The South is booming in part because it owns the Nigerian coast and big cities such as Lagos. What can be done then for Nigeria to experience its full economic potential? For one, economic development has been hindered by years of military rule, corruption, and mismanagement. Nigeria must re-align itself with democratic values in order for it to be a truly stable country. Once Nigeria has a firm system of government in place and roots out the rampant corruption, Nigeria could truly become a global economic powerhouse.
References:
World Bank Group - International Development, Poverty, & Sustainability. World Bank. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/home
I had little knowledge of Nigeria’s economy before reading your post, but while reading your post, I started thinking about how the economy could improve. As you said that the South does better than the North. Perhaps there are ways for the Christian South to provide better healthcare, for example, to the North. I think it would be an excellent way for Christians to show their obedience to Christ and His love by helping those in need who may not know who Christ is. Of course, this should be universal for Christians anywhere. I thought that if there was a stronger unison of Christians, the economy could improve too. Thank you for your post.