﻿Nigeria_ Africa’s super power Nigeria is Africa’s most populist
country and it’s also the country responsible for making all the noise on the continent.
In this video were going to decipher together what all the noise is about and decide if we
should take notice or ignore all the noise. Wether it be entertainment, business or joloff,
a cuisine perfected by Nigerians or something else like business or infrastructure, Nigerians
have mastered the art of seeking attention. Becoming arguably the most recognized African
passport around the world, it only begs to ask the question, how did a country that was completely
caught up in years of civil war and military rule only a few decades ago rise to such prominence.
The answer… well it’s a little complicated. Taking a short trip down memory lane, The country
initially gained it’s independence from Great Britain on October 1st 1960 about 3 years later it
formed into the republic of Nigeria. Unfortunately due to the ethnic and regional tensions, the
government was never stable and by 1967 they were on the verge of civil war only 4 years after the
republic was formed which led to period of several governments being formed ultimately failing due
to one of the greatest challenges Nigeria still continues to face till this very day, corruption.
Political instability led to a military government taking over the territory by 1983, putting Major
General Muhamadu Buhari in charge. Muhamadu Buhari is Nigeria’s current president. But his
initial reign as leader of Nigeria was cut short after he fell out of favour with the military
and just 2 years later in 1985 he was replaced by General Ibrahim Babangida.
But as the story would go, Babangida and and his predecessors
established what could only be described as a cruel and despicable corrupt military regime
that persisted for 13 years until 1998 when the then ruler Sani Abacha died
and his predecessor Abdulsalami Abubakar took over promising to revolutionise Nigeria
and transfer power back to the people. And transfer power, he did. On May 29th 1999
he transferred power to the elected president Olusegun Obansanjo. And from thence we can say
the rest is history as Nigeria fully started to immerge as a force to be reckoned with in Africa.
Now lets talk numbers,
since it’s independence the population of Nigeria has increased a staggering 362%
summing up to about 208 million people today from around 45 million in 1960. Wow that’s a whole
lotta people. This figure is more than double the current country in second place, the DRC. This
remarkable growth has been triggered by so many fators namely; high birth rates, caused by early
marriages and large families and summed up with decreasing mortality rates due to improvements in
health care. This massive population growth is projected to continue into the future
as it’s population is said to surpass brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan and even the USA. This would
make Nigeria the 3rd most populated country in the world behind china and india. Infact by the
year 2100 its population is projected to reach around 733 million people. This rapid population
boom will present roads blocks on economic growth but not undermining the potential opportunities
Nigeria could very well just managed to spin it around. Here are some points to back this up,
as the country’s economy continues to expand dramatically just to put this in perspective,
from 2000 to 2019 Nigeria GPD by purchasing power rose a remarkable 282% that is figuratively
from around $282 billion to $1.08 trillion this figure simply makes it the largest economy in
Africa, this rapid growth is also tied to the growth of Nigeria’s industrial and service sectors
with a large amount of cheap young labor and a huge domestic market manufacturing in Nigeria
has boomed summing to that banking and telecommunications services have as well received
sustainable growth and although Nigerians will tell you different the country still has very poor
infrastructure though huge investments are being made in that domain. Included in these investments
are a $2.7 billion railway in Abuja, an $8.3 billion railway to connect lagos and kanu in the
north also an $11 billion railway connecting lagos and calabar other areas of infrastructure include
the 5.8 billion mambilla hydroelectric power plant in eastern Nigeria and the $1.65 billion dollar
lekki deep sea port outside of lagos. And you may have also heard that Nigeria is also planning
to contruct some brand new cities which are to invite investors into the Nigerian real estate
market. These cities include a $6 billion dollar tiny city to be built off the coast of lagos.
And also there has been talk of centenary city which is an $18 billion dollar construction
project in the making. These investments are Nigeria’s shot at becoming an African super power
and a world power. As of the making of this video it’s projected that Nigeria’s GDP by
purchasing power will reach $4.35 trillion by 2050 and yes that’s trillion with a T.
this meteoric rise in purchasing power will correspond to a GDP per capita of around $10,800
compared to just over $5000 today. This economic growth also accounts for the fact that it’s
military might has risen significantly as well for almost two decades now Nigeria has maintained a
defense budget of around 0.5 percent of GDP if this continues it’s defense will only go along
in the same trajectory as its economy giving the country a truly powerful military. As mentioned
earlier Nigeria’s population growth will only increase the country’s manpower. And of course,
Nigeria’s foreign influence will skyrocket and they won’t only be noise makers on the continent
but might actually have something to bring to the table. If you haven’t been living under a rock for
the past two decades then you’re very familiar with just how much the Nigerian entertainment
industry has grown. Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry has grown into the world’s second largest
movie industry second only to india’s Bollywood in terms of output. It’s movies have caught the eye
of a growing audience throughout the continent and internationally as well. And as Nollywood expands
it is slowly exporting Nigerian culture and Nigerian stories around the world just like
Hollywood has done for the United States expanding the Nations cultural influence around the globe.
And if it’s you thought it’s film industry was something then get ready because it’s music
industry is taking the world by storm Nigerian songs like the infamous Love Nwantinti by C_kay
and artist like Wizkid, Davido, D’Banj, Tecno Savage, Burna boy and many more have attracted
global audiences many of these musicians have collaborated with top artist from around the
world including drake, nicki minaj and ed sheeran and this music industry only seems to expand even
more. Nigeria’s fashion industry is growing as well its designs have become an integral part of
global pop culture and are quickly increasing in relevance in review, Nigeria is gradually
transforming into a super power however it’s path to that status doesn’t look to be an easy one it’s
currently facing a lot of challenges despite all the recent growth. Probably at the top of that
list would be terrorism, since the insurgence of Boko Haram in 2009 the terrorist group has been
a menace to north western Nigeria and killing tens of thousands of Nigerians and allegedly displacing
over 2 million. Unless the terrorists can be completely wiped out the country will continue
to experience low terrorism and development will be hampered. Another major problem facing Nigeria
is over population. If over population surpasses economic development then poverty will skyrocket
from it’s already super high level. But fortunately Nigeria’s population growth
rate has started declining in recent years. The country will also have to deal with climate change
lagos , nigeria’s largest city is currently at a very low elevation from sea level which in the
case of rising sea levels every year will lead to flooding in the coming years. Climate change
is increasing the frequency of draughts in the north and putting large amounts of crop plants
in jeopardy. Moreover like earlier mentioned the country is still pretty much tied up in so much
corruption and it’s current president Muhamadu Buhari has started a crackdown on corruption from
2016 to 2021 nearly 700 nigerian public figures have been convicted on corruption charges on top
of all this inequality, unemployment and lack of education continue to plague the country.
Around am appalling 40% of Nigeria’s population live under a dollar a day. Lastly the covid 19
pandemic has also hit Nigeria’s economy hard and this will also hinder economic growth in the short
term. So what do you guys think are Nigerians making the right noises on the continent or is
just pride over nothing, in my opinion they’re in the right direction but due to some of the facts
pointed out in this video Nigerians should take a chill pill cause they’re not out of the water yet
and so many issues have to be addressed if they’re to become a super power. If you enjoyed watching
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at Think Rich Africa as we shall continue to bring you only the smoothest, the hottest and the most
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