Senior Special Adviser on Industrialisation to the President of the African Development Bank, Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, has blamed Nigeria’s stunted economic growth on protracted bad governance, high level corruption coupled with unabated insecurity.
He said this in a lecture at the eighth edition of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) annual distinguished lecture series in Abuja.
In a paper presented and entitled: “Nigeria’s Development Reversal: Halting Descent Into Industrial Backwardness,” in Benin, yesterday, the professorial Fellow, United Nations University, and Fellow, NSE, said Nigeria’s reversal of fortune manifests in several dimensions, namely: economic, social, technology and industrial conditions.
He lamented that the acclaimed giant of Africa is living in the shadows of itself as it has been in, not only, a conspicuously retarded state of development but in a retrogression when compared to other nations of its generation.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka said, by all indications, global statistics are not favourable for the growth of Nigeria.
“Nigeria is poor because the country has experienced, not only, weak industrial growth, but also industrialisation. Nigeria’s descent into the ranks of poor nations resulted from the nexus of technological backwardness and resource dependence.
“The gap in knowledge, especially scientific and technological knowledge is terrifyingly widened. The inability of nations like Nigeria to convert their natural resources to high value goods as well as master nature for growth.
“Nigeria has practically destroyed all the institutions necessary for this nation to acquire scientific and technological knowledge over the last 50 to 60 years: primary, secondary schools, Universities Research and Development institutes (RDIs), all in decay.
“Due to a weak industrial base, Nigeria’s oil and gas make only small contribution to GDP, despite generating the bulk of earnings, as it is a highly technology and capital intensive industry that employs few people. We do not produce the materials and equipment used in the exploration and production domestically. There is minimal domestic manufacturing input in the oil sector, especially in the oil product refining.”