When it was announced that
Nigeria's economy has been "rebased" and that it has reclaimed the position
of Africa's largest economy, many of us were confused, some even scoffed at
what appears to be the usual "transformation" gimmicks we are yet to
personally encounter.
Here is an economic term that drew some of us reluctantly to our dictionaries and economic textbooks, that for the sake of it let us just know the meaning. Thus just the usual public with less than half knowledge. I can now authoritatively define REBASE without fear of being contradicted by learned economics.
REBASE is simply a calculation of the various productive sector, with a combination of all the sectors such as oil and gas, power, agriculture among others to make up a country's GDP in a capital year, which is often every five (5) years.
Here is an economic term that drew some of us reluctantly to our dictionaries and economic textbooks, that for the sake of it let us just know the meaning. Thus just the usual public with less than half knowledge. I can now authoritatively define REBASE without fear of being contradicted by learned economics.
REBASE is simply a calculation of the various productive sector, with a combination of all the sectors such as oil and gas, power, agriculture among others to make up a country's GDP in a capital year, which is often every five (5) years.
In Nigeria's context, the
Nigeria's GDP was last calculated in 1990. This meant that productive areas
like Telecommunication, Entertainment among others were not accounted for. Thus
rebasing the Nigerian economy simply meant calculating all the areas where the
country is producing, how much they contribute to the national economy in terms
of real money and percentage. This will then help in the calculation of the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
All said and done, Nigeria's GDP
for the 2012/2013 base year is put at $510 billion dollar. South Africa trails
with over #300 billion dollar. What this means is that Nigeria has a high
potential and investment opportunities, It also means that it is the collective
effort of past and present administrations. However, after receiving an
applause for this deconstruction of an Economic term (I assure you, I am
Proud), I checked my pocket and realized that I am as poor as I was after
receiving the news.
Thus, "rebasing" the economy is one of those great things that hardly benefit’s the masses. It is only the pride (if there is any) that is collectively shared. The gap between the haves and have nots has only even widened. So if you were hoping that after receiving this great lecture that you will become richer, I bid you to think twice.
Thus, "rebasing" the economy is one of those great things that hardly benefit’s the masses. It is only the pride (if there is any) that is collectively shared. The gap between the haves and have nots has only even widened. So if you were hoping that after receiving this great lecture that you will become richer, I bid you to think twice.
No comments:
Post a Comment