s and oil are the biggest energy contributors in Nigeria. They are one of Nigeria’s biggest exports and therefore play a very pivotal role in Nigeria’s economy. When Nigeria discovered that they have crude oil this shifted the country’s production possibility curve outwards meaning that the economy has grown. From this discovery there have been more benefits than drawbacks. Even though the government has discovered crude oil, there has been a lack of government policies to encourage the local private sector to participate in the economy. Local private sector participation has not been greatly involved in crude oil production, this has hindered the efforts that Africapitalism has made.
Figure 3: Shows contribution of each sector to the GDP
Source: http://www.afdb.org/en/
Infrastructure Improvement
Infrastructure in any country is important for economic development. In Nigeria there is a problem with regards to infrastructure, this pushes the country back in terms of development. Countries such as Nigeria which lack proper infrastructure will heavily depend on other nations for survival. Improved infrastructure is a healthy indicator of economic development in a nation, constructions of firms can help reduce structural unemployment as new firms will have a demand for certain types of employees. In recent times, Nigeria has also had huge economic growth, improved infrastructure has increased industrialisation and competitiveness throughout the business sector. Telecommunications, sanitation and water supply are some of the many things that the Nigerian government has promised to improve. Africapitalism has not yet significantly had an impact on infrastructure. However as Africa’s natural resources and population grow, there will be many more opportunities to invest in the transport sector.
Economic Growth in Nigeria
Nigeria for the past decade has had very high economic growth, clocking at an average of 7.4%, this has been achieved via the thriving telecommunications, tourism, construction and manufacturing sectors. Economic growth was projected to be 6.9% in 2013 which was roughly two years after Africapitalism was adopted. In 2014 inflation rates were relatively high in between 7%-8.6%, however that same year the government of Nigeria implemented monetary policies that helped lower the average price level. In the year 2013, the government of Nigeria implemented contractionary monetary policies such as limiting the supply of money in the market and increasing interest rates, the government felt inflation rates were too high and also needed to lessen aggregate demand which were the main objectives of the government that financial year. In 2015, inflation was expected to plateau at 8.4%. Although economic growth has blossomed, poverty and unemployment still loom – the unemployment rate was at a staggering 23.9% in 2013 with roughly two thirds of the Nigerian population living under one dollar per day. The government has since promised that they will create jobs for the youth, which has not been going well so far.
