A financial researcher, Dr Akin Olaniyan has lamented the increasing poverty rate in the country caused by multiple factors among which is poor management of resources.
Olaniyan who stated this during a media training organized by Polaris Bank in Lagos, said : “Nigeria exhibited a poverty headcount ratio of 30.9 percent, while South Africa’s stood at 20.5 percent, with a life expectancy of 53 years as against 65 years for South Africa, population growth rate of 2.4 percent as of 2021 for Nigeria while South Africa is 1.0 percent, among others.”
Olaniyan who was a former deputy Editor with Punch Newspaper bemoaned the current bad state of the national economy, expressed sadness at the rising debt portfolio approximated to be N77 trillion and cost of debt servicing while recalling the concern that Nigeria slipping into two periods of recession in eight years – 2016 and 2020 – despite country’s huge potential for growth and rapid development.
Citing OPEC and NEITI data, he said “Nigeria boasts nearly 40 billion barrels in crude reserves, ranking 11th out of 20 countries. Additionally, gas and oil contribute 65-83% of the country’s total export revenue, with a crude oil production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day. However, Nigeria currently produces 1.8 million barrels per day, making it Africa’s largest oil producer and the 13th largest in the world.”
Comparing Nigeria to South Africa on various indicators, including poverty headcount ratio, life expectancy and population growth rate, he highlighted the disparities between the two countries.
Giving tips to practicing media professionals on how best to report in a depressed economy, he encouraged the participants to adhere to the core news value of objectivity, proximity, balance, and reflection of social, cultural, and moral ethics in their reports of the Nigerian economy which is presently depressed owing to rising debt profile, two economic recessions in the last eight years despite the country’s huge potential for growth and rapid development.