Our economy is not growing —Utomi, Sagay, others fault FG.

The claim by the Federal Government that Nigeria’s economy is the third fastest growing in the world at 7.68% has been faulted by Professor Pat Utomi, Professor Itse Sagay, and former Executive Director of the Nigerian Mint, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye.

Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Lawal Ngama, told journalists at the end of the last meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in Abuja, on Wednesday that Nigeria is queuing behind Mongolia with 14.9 per cent real growth rate and China with 8.4 per cent real GDP growth rate.

However, the minister was quick to admit that the growth came largely from agriculture and that the growth might not have translated into improved standard of living for Nigerians because of the movement of the nation’s income per capita from $1,200 to $1,400.

Ngama said: "For the quarter which ended on December 31, 2011, Nigeria was third in terms of GDP growth. We recorded a GDP growth of 7.68 per cent in real terms and this is largely due to growth in the non-oil sector. The previous year, 2010, the GDP growth was 8.4 per cent but last year, it dropped to 7.68 per cent because we had a negative growth in the oil sector. So, it means that the non-oil sector is actually resilient and strong enough to carry the economy forward with or without the oil sector."

Notwithstanding, Utomi, Sagay and Durojaiye said in separate interviews that it is simply a delusion of grandeur to think that the current parlous state of the economy leaves anything to cheer about.

Utomi said, "You have to be very careful as to how you bandy figures. You remember the joke about damn lies and bad statistics. There is no question that in terms of nominal growth Nigeria’s economy is growing. But the question to ask yourself is this; do you see the effect on the average Nigerian? The answer is no!" It is through job creation that you can determine growth ultimately and be able to give people better life, he stressed.

Echoing similar sentiments, Sagay described the Federal Government’s claim as simply "A hoax." He added, "It is pure fiction. Nigeria is not the third fastest growing economy at all. With over 78 per cent of the budget devoted to overheads like paying salaries of civil servants and politicians and leaving a dismal 20+ per cent, what growth and development can you have in place? The answer is nothing. And that is why our hospitals, schools all facets of the economy are dead."

On his part, Durojaiye believes that the Federal Government’s claim is a red herring. Miffed by what he described as gross insensitivity on the part of government, he raised a poser: "I’m an economist of over 40 years experience but the question I would like to ask is there a new criterion for measuring growth? How do you explain the growing level of poverty in the country, especially in northern Nigeria? People should not give us illusory and deceptive statistics. Perhaps, maybe he is talking of where we should be considering the vibrancy of our population, our natural endowment and what have you." (The Nation)