Nigeria’s Presidency Slams AfDB Chief Over ‘Misleading’ 1960s GDP Claim

Nigeria’s Presidency Slams AfDB Chief Over ‘Misleading’ 1960s GDP Claim

Nigeria’s Presidency has strongly rejected a claim by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the outgoing president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), who suggested that Nigerians were economically better off in 1960 than today. The government described his statement as misleading and based on inaccurate data, sparking a heated debate over the country’s economic progress since independence.

But the Nigerian government disagrees. Speaking through Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the Presidency said Adesina’s statement doesn’t add up. In fact, they called it misleading and based on faulty data.

Dr. Adesina reportedly stated that Nigeria’s GDP per capita fell from $1,847 in 1960 to just $824 in 2024. That would suggest that average Nigerians were wealthier 64 years ago than they are today. His comments quickly spread across news channels and social media, stirring debate about the country’s economic path.

However, Mr. Onanuga was quick to challenge that narrative. He posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account that the real data tells a very different story. According to him, Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was nowhere near $1,847. It was, in fact, just $93.

“Our GDP in 1960 was $4.2 billion,” Onanuga said. “With a population of 44.9 million people at that time, that gave us a per capita income of $93—not even up to one hundred dollars.”

1. He didn’t stop there. Onanuga explained that Nigeria’s economy didn’t start expanding significantly until the 1970s, when oil revenue began to shape the nation’s income. By 2014, after Nigeria rebased its economic data, the GDP per capita rose to $3,200—a major leap from where the country stood in the early post-independence era.

Still, he admitted that GDP alone doesn’t tell the full story of how people live.

He pointed out that this measurement doesn’t show income inequality, wealth gaps, or the size of the informal economy. It also leaves out improvements in living conditions like access to health, education, and digital services.

“GDP masks many activities in a country’s economy,” Onanuga said. “It neither discloses wealth distribution or income inequality, nor accounts for the informal economy, which experts have said is enormous.”

He then gave concrete examples of how life in Nigeria has improved since 1960. At the time of independence, there were fewer schools, hospitals, and almost no telecom services. Today, nearly every Nigerian can make a phone call or browse the internet using mobile data.

In 1960, Nigeria had less than 20,000 telephone lines. Today, mobile networks are everywhere. Onanuga cited MTN as an example, which now has 84 million subscribers and earned over N1 trillion in revenue in just the first quarter of 2025.

“When Vodacom wanted to enter Nigeria around 1999 or 2000, consultants told them the economy was too small based on GDP data,” Onanuga explained. “They pulled out. But MTN and other companies stayed. And they proved the consultants wrong.”

He said these growths aren’t just about numbers—they’re about how ordinary Nigerians live and what they now have access to that didn’t exist decades ago.

“No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made progress since 1960,” he said. “Today, as we wait for the National Bureau of Statistics to recalibrate our GDP, we can say comfortably that it is at least 50 to 100 times what it was at independence.”

Even though the Presidency respects Dr. Adesina’s international reputation, Onanuga stressed that his recent statement didn’t reflect Nigeria’s journey in the right light.

The tone of the rebuttal was firm but grounded. The Presidency didn’t dismiss Adesina’s entire career. Rather, they insisted that economic facts and lived experiences show Nigeria has grown far beyond its 1960 roots.

What makes this debate especially important is that both men—Dr. Adesina and Mr. Onanuga—represent different fronts in Nigeria’s quest for development. One speaks globally for Africa’s financial future. The other speaks locally for Nigeria’s current government.

Their exchange has sparked new conversations about how to measure real progress in a country where millions still struggle with poverty but have far better access to education, phones, and healthcare than their grandparents ever did.

While data can tell part of the story, how people feel about their lives—and what opportunities they now have—also matters. That’s the point the Presidency wants Nigerians and the world to consider before drawing conclusions based on one figure.