‘Not Correct’ – Presidency Tackles AfDB President For Comparing 2025 To 1960

The Presidency has faulted recent comments by the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, suggesting that Nigerians were economically better off at independence in 1960 than they are today.

Reacting to the claim in a statement posted Sunday night via X (formerly Twitter), Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Adesina’s comparison was based on flawed data and a narrow reading of Nigeria’s economic development.

Naijaonpoint reports that Adesina had reportedly referenced data from Naijaonpoint indicating that Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1,847 in 1960, compared to $824 today, a statement that drew wide attention.

“According to available data, our country’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93 — ninety-three, not even one hundred dollars,” he wrote.

He noted that Nigeria’s economic trajectory began rising significantly in the 1970s following the oil boom.

“GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned,” he added.

Onanuga also argued that GDP per capita alone was not a comprehensive tool for measuring citizens’ wellbeing, as it fails to account for income distribution, quality of life, or access to essential services.

“GDP per capita is silent on whether Nigerians in 2025 enjoy better access to healthcare, education, and transportation than in 1960,” he said.

He cited improvements in infrastructure and access to social services since independence, stating that:

• Nigeria now boasts thousands of primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions compared to a fraction in 1960
• Health and road infrastructure has expanded across the country
• Telecommunication has witnessed exponential growth

“At Independence, Nigeria had just 18,724 phone lines for 45 million people. Today, over 200 million Nigerians have access to mobile phones and digital services,” Onanuga stated.

The presidential spokesman also referenced Vodacom’s 1999 pull-out from the Nigerian market over concerns Nigerians could not afford telecom services, a decision he said was based on poor GDP assessments.

“MTN and other companies that entered later laughed all the way to the bank,” Onanuga wrote.

He noted that MTN’s recent Q1 2025 results showed a revenue of ₦1 trillion and over 84 million subscribers, questioning how such economic activity could reflect a country supposedly worse off than in 1960.

Onanuga concluded that Nigeria has made significant progress since independence.

“No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made progress since 1960. Today, our GDP is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, higher than it was at Independence.”

He said while the nation awaits fresh GDP figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, Adesina’s comparison remains misleading and fails to capture the full picture of Nigeria’s economic growth.