Yesterday, our Gross Domestic Product was rebased to give an accurate picture of where we are as a nation.
I am glad to report to you that Nigeria is officially the largest economy in Africa with a Gross Domestic Product of $510 billion which also places us as the 26th largest economy in the world.
This feat is a collective achievement of all Nigerians particularly when you take into account the fact that our Per Capita Income had increased by over 60% from $1091 in 2009 to $1700 in 2013, prior to the rebasing.
While this calls for celebration, I personally cannot celebrate until all Nigerians can feel the positive impact of our growth. There are still too many of our citizens living in poverty.
Three years ago, I was asked to define Transformation and I said "Transformation in my view simply means taking what you have and making the best of it and in so doing produce results that can bring about a paradigm shift".
Regardless of our present challenges, our place as a nation at the table of greatness is assured. GEJ
This statistics is nothing to rejoice about but to take a deeper look at all the problems bedeviling the country. What is the essence of being the biggest economy without any commensurate dividends to the citizenry? A country where nearly 85 percent of the people are living on less than two dollars a day. What is seen as a norm and basic necessities for people of South Africa remains a luxury for most of Nigerians. Politicians and Civil Servants are just stealing left and right. My Advice for the president is to stop gallivanting around the world but to sit down and resolve all the challenges of the country.
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