Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has dismissed as inaccurate and misleading a recent assertion by outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina that Nigerians were economically better off in 1960 than they are today.
In a social media post on Monday, Onanuga faulted the data cited by Adesina, who reportedly claimed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was $1,847 compared to $824 in 2025. Onanuga said the figures were flawed and not supported by historical economic records.
“The quoted figures are not correct,” he wrote. “In 1960, Nigeria’s GDP was $4.2 billion and the population was 44.9 million, which means the actual per capita income was about $93, not $1,847.”
According to Onanuga, Nigeria’s economic growth trajectory only began to change in the 1970s with the rise of oil revenues. He listed GDP figures across the decades to illustrate the gradual increase: $12.55 billion in 1970, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981.
He said GDP per capita did not surpass $880 until 1980 and only hit a high of $3,200 in 2014 after a GDP rebasing exercise. “These facts raise serious questions about the data source Dr. Adesina relied on,” Onanuga added.
He also challenged the notion that GDP per capita is an adequate measure of quality of life, noting that it does not reflect improvements in infrastructure, access to services, or wealth distribution.
“GDP per capita says nothing about whether Nigerians today have better access to education, healthcare, transportation, or digital services compared to 1960,” he said.
Drawing comparisons, Onanuga noted that while Nigeria had fewer than 19,000 telephone lines in 1960, today, over 200 million citizens are connected to digital and mobile services. He cited MTN’s Q1 2025 revenue of N1 trillion and user base of 84 million as evidence of significant technological and economic progress.
“Can a country with such digital penetration be said to be worse off than it was in the analogue era of the 1960s?” he queried.
Onanuga also took a swipe at Adesina’s tone, suggesting the remarks sounded more political than objective.
“He spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi, and did not do the due diligence required of someone of his stature before making such sweeping claims,” he said.
He concluded that Nigeria’s economic transformation since independence is undeniable.
“With or without the pending GDP recalibration by the NBS, Nigeria’s economy today is at least 50 to 100 times larger than it was in 1960. That is an undisputed fact.”
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