Why Nigeria is moving away from oil
Efforts to shift Nigeria’s economy away from its dependence on black gold — including diversification into gas and rice — may yield the growth that the country desperately needs
Over the past 40 years, Nigeria has emerged as an oil powerhouse — the biggest in Africa. But as the Nigerian government struggles to emerge from petroleum dependency, opportunities for growth have emerged in other sectors.From Kano’s rice plantations to a fledging gas economy in Bayelsa, Nigeria is moving away from oil.Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan at the end of March, co-founder and executive director of the Sahara Group Tonye Cole said investors often made the mistake of looking for opportunities only in the cities of Lagos and Abuja, instead of scouring the potential in other states.With a multibillion-dollar industry created from oil export earnings, government hasn’t placed much emphasis on economic diversification as infrastructural development stagnates and poverty increases.While US$1bn in investment entered Nigeria in 2017, its economy recorded paltry growth of 0.8%.The oil sector grew at 4.8% and contributed 8.7% to the economy, but the non-oil sector grew ...
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