Africa largest economy steadily dey grow but Nigerians neva dey feel di benefits, partly sake of prices of basic everyday items wey dey rise.
Di cost of living continue to dey painfully high. Food and transport prices don rise and di value of di Nigerian naira don sink against di US dollar.
Gross domestic product na one of di measures wey goments dey use to understand how a kontri economy dey perform.
Wetin be Nigeria gross domestic product (GDP)?
Di latest figures from di National Bureau of Statistics show say Nigeria economy grow by 3.46% for di final three months of last year, na di fourth quarter of 2023. Di GDP bin grow quicker dan di two previous quarters of 2023.
Dis, however, dey very slightly weaker dan make we compare three-month period for 2022 – wen di economy bin show 3.52% growth. And, if you analyse total growth for di whole year, 2023 bin dey weaker dan 2022 and 2021.
Wetin e mean for Nigerians?
E mean say as goments and individuals dey buy and sell goods and services wey companies dey make for Nigeria bin increase ova di last three months of 2023.
Some economists put am down to one expected build-up ahead of election month, and also increase spending over di festive period, Christmas and New Year.
Nigeria GDP figures dey measured monthly but di quarterly figures — wey cover three consecutive months one time — dey considered more important.
Di bigger di figure, di more productive di economy. So, economy dey grow wen each quarterly GDP figure dey slightly bigger dan for di previous three-month period.
GDP wey dey rise na good news for economists, politicians and businesses sake of say e mean say pipo fit spend more, more jobs dey-dey created, more tax dey-dey paid and workers fit dey paid more.
But falling GDP mean say di economy dey shrink, wey mean say pipo no dey make more money — therefore, dem no fit buy wetin dem need and businesses dey suffer.
If a kontri record negative GDP growth for two quarters inside one row, dat one dey known as recession, wey fit lead to unpaid salaries and job losses.
How GDP dey affect me?
GDP na important tool wey dem dey use judge how well, or bad, kontri economy dey do.
Steady increase for GDP suggest say pipo dey earn and spend more.
E dey allow goment to plan and work out how much dem fit spend and tax pipo.
E also dey help businesses decide weda to expand dia production or hire more pipo.
Growth for GDP mean say goment get more money to spend on public services, like schools, hospitals and roads.
Dis na why goments dey use GDP as evidence say dem dey handle economy wella. And wen GDP fall, opposition politicians go tok say di goment dey do bad job.
More dan dis, a decline for GDP mean say pipo dey buy and sell less. E also get effect on di goment purse. Dem fit even get less money for tax, wey fit force dem to cut public spending or even increase taxes.
For 2020, di coronavirus pandemic bin push Nigeria into im deepest recession for four decades. But growth resume for 2021. E fit go down inside two years wey follow.
How unemployment dey affect GDP?
Wen pipo no work, GDP dey shrink.
More pay from jobs mean say more moni for pipo pockets.
Unemployment bin rise to 5% for di third quarter of 2023 from 4.2% for di second quarter of di same year, according to NBS.
Why I no dey feel di impact of rising GDP?
Dat na sake of say GDP no tell di whole tori.
Just sake of say GDP dey increase, e no mean say pesin get more money.
Di increase fit be sake of say kontri population increase, sake of say wit more pipo, more money go dey spent.
But pipo wey dey within dat kontri fit no dey become richer. Dem fit dey become poorer on average, even while GDP dey go up.
E fit also mean say di richest pipo dey become richer, rather dan everyone for di kontri dey get more money.
Critics also say GDP no include all productive activity. For example, unpaid works like di ones wey pesin dey do for house or by volunteers and black-market activities no join sake of say dem dey difficult to measure and value accurately.
Make we put am for simple terms, if you bake bread for one customer you don contribute to GDP, but if you bake bread for your family we no fit calculate am as part of GDP even though di ingredients wey you buy go dey counted.
Dis na why we get GDP per capita — or head of population — wey dey compare di economic activities for one kontri wit im population to measure di average moni for di hands of each individual.
If kontri X get GDP of $4 million and population of 4,000 pipo e mean say dia per capita GDP na $1000. But if anoda kontri Y get GDP of $400 million and population of 4 million pipo dia per capita GDP go be $100. Dat one mean say di individual pesin for X dey richer pass di ones for Y.
Dis na why, while Nigeria and Egypt dey among di kontries wit di highest GDP for Africa, dem no dey di top ten kontries wit di highest per capita GDP for di continent.
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