The President of Nigeria Economic Society and a World Bank
consultant, Olu Ajakaiye, has described the economic growth recorded
during the administration of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, as
fake.
Ajakaiye, while delivering a Keynote address at the 2017
edition of The Bullion Lecture organised by the Centre for Financial
Journalism, yesterday, explained that the economic growth under Jonathan
was fictitious because government only deployed oil revenue into the
economy.
He said, “When the economy was growing in a fictitious
way — I regarded the growth of 2010 to 2014 as fictitious. Why is it
fictitious, it is growth that is driven by government just deploying oil
revenue into themghj economy.
“The
structure remained dis-articulated and we are actually deceiving
ourselves in a very interesting way by saying the economy leaped-frog,
we have now got to a stage where we are arrived, because in advanced
countries, service sector is now dominant.
“They call it tertiarisation of the economy. Our economy was prematurely tertiarised, and this was the harbinger of poverty.
“I
always tell people, when you go to Europe where their economy is
already tertiarised, do you see anybody running after you in traffic to
sell you recharge card? Do you see anybody hanging pure water in front
of you? Do you see people running 140? That is our tertiarised service
sector.”
Ajakaiye, had earlier urged the President Muhammadu
Buhari-led Federal Government to develop Nigeria even if it means
stealing from other countries.
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