A renowned development economist and the Chairman of the Board of ACUF Initiative for Policy and Governance, Prof Chiwuike Uba, on Tuesday called for a decisive, inclusive, and well-sequenced approach to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
Uba said Nigeria must recalibrate its policy priorities to achieve inclusive growth and national stability.
In a statement he signed, Uba urged the Bola Tinubu-led administration to urgently address what he termed a “misalignment of national priorities.”;
He cited the rising debt, entrenched poverty, escalating insecurity, record unemployment, and deepening macroeconomic instability as symptoms of underlying policy gaps and implementation missteps.
According to Uba: “This is a defining moment for Nigeria.
“The choices we make now will determine whether we entrench resilience or spiral further into instability.”;
Uba noted that the findings of the April 2025 Africa’s Pulse report has shown that Nigeria’s macroeconomic performance is lagging regional peers.
“We are faced with a paradox, despite our immense resource endowments, Nigeria remains trapped in cycles of low growth with GDP growth failing to match population growth and per capita incomes steadily declining, fiscal distress, and insecurity. We cannot afford to continue business as usual,”; he said.
He pointed out that despite its resource abundance, “Nigeria remains heavily dependent on crude oil, which accounts for over 75% of foreign exchange earnings.”;
Uba stressed that sectors like agriculture and manufacturing remain underutilized due to regulatory bottlenecks, poor infrastructure, policy inconsistency, inadequate financing, and weak policy coordination.
