Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has said Nigeria’s current economic growth rate of about four per cent is insufficient to significantly reduce poverty, create enough jobs, and accelerate the country’s industrial transformation.
He said Nigeria must achieve sustained double-digit economic growth, supported by massive investments exceeding 30 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to realise its ambition of becoming a $1tn economy.
Soludo stated this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the public presentation of a book titled Economic Diversification and Structural Transformation in Nigeria: Past, Present and Future, authored by a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) acknowledged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had rescued the economy from the brink of collapse and restored a measure of stability, but warned that the current growth trajectory was insufficient to meet the country’s development needs.
“The administration has done very well, rescued the economy. As I previously described it, the economy when this government came in was like a dead horse that was still standing.
“It sprayed some oxygen to it. Growth has begun to come back, and we are now on the right trajectory. But acceleration, speed and building to last become important considerations going forward,” he said.
Soludo, who spoke on the theme, Speeding Up and Building to Last, said Nigeria had lost considerable time in its economic development journey and must now pursue structural transformation with greater urgency.
“Four per cent growth rate for the economy so far is an improvement over the recent past, but very moderate growth for the requirement for significant poverty reduction or accelerated transformation,” he said.
He explained that achieving a $1tn economy within the next few years would require the country to grow at a minimum rate of double digits.
“Such growth that will be required to be able to have a $1 trillion economy in the next few years will require this economy growing at a minimum of double digits.
“And to grow at double digits, you require huge investments in excess of 30 per cent of GDP. Currently, we are doing about 17-point-something per cent,” the governor said.
He warned that the challenge was becoming more urgent given Nigeria’s rapidly expanding population, with about 70 per cent of its citizens aged 30 years and below.
According to him, the country must prepare to provide employment, education, healthcare, housing and other essential services for a population projected to reach approximately 400 million within the next three decades.
“We have lost time and must now run at the speed of 1,000 kilometres per hour if we want to leapfrog, catch up and surpass our peers in this increasingly competitive and disruptive world,” he said.
The governor identified the weakness of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector as one of the major obstacles to sustainable economic diversification.
He said Nigeria had moved from an agriculture-dominated economy to one driven largely by services without developing the industrial base required to generate large-scale employment and productive capacity.
Soludo disclosed that agriculture, which accounted for about 64 per cent of economic output around independence, had declined to approximately 23 per cent by 2025, while the services sector now contributed roughly 60 per cent.
However, manufacturing had remained largely stagnant at about eight per cent of GDP over the past 56 years.
“There is a major missing link. Nigeria transited from the primary to the tertiary services sector.
“Our economic diversification and transformation have happened with a missing middle. There is a middle that is missing, which is the secondary sector,” he said.
He warned that Nigeria could not achieve sustainable economic transformation without industrialisation, particularly as millions of young people would require productive employment in the coming decades.
“The manufacturing sector is still less than 10 per cent, and that is where the jobs are for the 400 million Nigerians coming. They need manufacturing jobs.
“Industrialisation must happen if we are to have a sustainable economy that creates jobs and widespread prosperity,” he said.
On investment, Soludo said Nigeria needed substantially more resources to finance infrastructure, industrial development and other critical sectors.
Using the Federal Government’s N68tn budget as an illustration, he argued that the country’s fiscal capacity remained inadequate when measured against its population and development requirements.
He calculated that the entire budget would amount to approximately N772 per Nigerian per day, or about 57 cents, if fully implemented.
“Forget the trillions. Nigeria is a resource-rich but financially very poor country,” he said.
He added that government revenue stood at about 10 per cent of GDP, compared with approximately 18 per cent in Kenya and 16 per cent in Ghana.
The former CBN governor consequently called for stronger revenue mobilisation, increased private-sector investment and a development strategy capable of attracting substantial capital.
On economic reforms, Soludo commended Tinubu for confronting longstanding distortions in the foreign exchange market, saying a competitive exchange rate was essential to improving Nigeria’s export capacity and industrial competitiveness.
He cited the country’s reported non-oil export earnings of $6.1bn in 2025 as evidence of the potential benefits of a more competitive exchange rate environment.
He urged the President to sustain the reforms, stressing that economic transformation required consistency and long-term planning.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, Soludo also warned political leaders against sacrificing economic reforms for short-term electoral popularity.
“Eyes on the ball. We must avoid the temptation of short-term populism,” he said.
He noted that policy reversals and lack of continuity had undermined previous development programmes, urging political leaders to build consensus around reforms that could survive changes in government.
Soludo further advocated greater patronage of locally manufactured products, saying domestic demand for Nigerian goods could stimulate investment, expand production and create millions of jobs.
“Imagine for a moment if all Nigerians only eat and wear made-in-Nigeria products. Imagine the millions of jobs and the foreign direct investment that will relocate to exploit the Nigerian market,” he said.
He said sustainable economic transformation would require self-belief, national consciousness and collective commitment from government, businesses and citizens.
President Tinubu was represented at the event by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas. Other dignitaries included the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, ministers, lawmakers and senior government officials.