The World Bank has once again said that Nigeria’s economy is worse than it was ten years ago under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
These conclusions are published in the ‘Global Economic Prospect’ study, which is the organization’s flagship report for 2022.
“The epidemic has erased at least a decade of advances in per capita income in certain countries—per capita incomes in about a third of the region’s economies, including Angola, Nigeria, and South Africa, are expected to be lower in 2022 than a decade ago,” according to report.
According to the paper, rising food costs might magnify the negative impact of rising poverty on economic growth, adding that approximately 110 million people in countries such as Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and South Sudan have experienced food crises.
Food price spikes might be exacerbated by interruptions in supply systems or violent conflicts, according to the paper, with disadvantaged populations bearing the brunt of the consequences.
“Further increases in food costs will stifle household buying power and damage consumer confidence, resulting in slower development and obstructing poverty alleviation,” the report said.
The findings of the global bank back up a study released by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which found that the number of people living on less than $1.90 per day increased from 2.3 percent to 2.9 percent in 2021, and that countries’ debt burdens increased as a result of slow economic recovery, shrinking fiscal space, and poor resource mobilization.
Mr. Buhari’s fiscal policies were strongly criticized by the global bank last year, with the Nigerian Central Bank’s exchange rate policies having a detrimental impact on investments and fuel inflation.
The World Bank, on the other hand, anticipates that Nigeria’s economy would grow by 2.5 percent in 2022, thanks to higher oil prices, a gradual lifting of OPEC output curbs, and other domestic regulatory changes.