- By Raheem Akintade
Nigeria, like every nation committed to economic growth and the well-being of its people, continues to develop long-term economic transformation blueprints.
The last was the failed Vision 20:2020, introduced in 2009, aimed at improving the living standards of the citizens and placing the country among the top 20 largest economies in the world.
The vision had targeted a minimum GDP of $900 billion and a per capita income of not less than $4000 per annum. It also had other objectives, including achieving fiscal prudence, low inflation and increased availability of infrastructural facilities to propel the economy.
In 2023, under the Buhari administration, Agenda 2050, a new economic transformation blueprint was presented by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to State Governors and other members of NEC, including federal ministers, at a meeting presided over by the former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
The plan, according to many, will succeed because of its execution period of 30 years, a view shared by Osibanjo after the presentation when he observed that the Agenda 2050 plan “captures a lot of the expectations for Nigeria in the future and hopefully implementation which is key if effectively done.”
Ticking all the boxes of a road map for accelerated, sustained and broad-based growth, with frameworks for reducing unemployment, poverty, inequality, and human deprivation, Agenda 2050 is designed to transform the country into an “Upper-Middle Income Country” with a significant improvement in per capita income.
Formulated against the backdrop of several subsisting development challenges in the country, it aims to address challenges which include low, fragile, and non-inclusive economic growth; high population growth rate; pervasive insecurity, limited diversification; macroeconomic and social instability; low productivity and high import dependence.
Between Renewed Hope Agenda & Agenda 2050
One aspect where the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu seems to be getting it right is having Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, in the driving seat of the budget Ministry marshalling the plan for Agenda 2050.
The current administration has been able to harmonise its Renewed Hope Agenda, and 8 Priority Areas, which is a transformative policy thrust aimed at repositioning Nigeria as a prime global investment destination, with the aim of fast-tracking the goals of the Nigeria Agenda 2050 and the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, and the results have been impressive.
Every key figure in the current administration has jumped on the campaign, aligning the country’s economic goals with the Renewed Hope Agenda, a win-win strategy that the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, in 2023, at a world press conference in Abuja ahead of the 29th Nigeria Economic Summit themed “Pathways to Sustainable Economic Transformation and Inclusion”, reinforced the government’s plan for the economy along five sub-themes; namely, Stimulating Economic Growth; Mobilizing Finance for Sustainable Development; Harnessing Human Capital Development; Promoting National Cohesion & Inclusion; and Reforming Public Institution.
Putting into effect the essence of implementation, Bagudu expressed optimism during the first anniversary of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, highlighting the importance of international cooperation rooted in Nigeria’s constitution, development plans and the Renewed Hope Agenda. He went ahead to assure the international community of Nigeria’s commitment to abolishing waste financing and remaining a reliable global partner, stating that the mandate of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning included bilateral relations for the national economy.
He advised that challenges in the world cannot be solved in isolation.
He praised the courageous reforms taken by the President in the past year, with the adoption of significant constraints in macroeconomic management to earn the trust of foreign investment, aimed at achieving a deficit close to the three per cent international standard.
Bagudu: Unlocking Agenda 2050 through the private sector
In a September 2024 report, Bagudu had clamoured for strong public-private sector partnership with a focus on the main target of the Nigeria Agenda 2050, which is to increase the country’s per capita GDP to US$6,000 and US$33,000 by 2030 and 2050 respectively.
Harping on the pivotal role of the private sector in advancing the nation’s economic agenda, he stressed the importance of collaborative efforts between government and industry stakeholders in driving innovation and prosperity, explaining that successive governments will effectively implement the plan through six number 5-Year Medium-Term National Development Plans and Annual Budgets.
In his usual sense of accountability and faith in the government’s economic plan, he stated that “Our Agenda 2050, which is our long-term perspective plan, was developed in 2020 and was chaired by both the private sector and public sector under the Minister of Finance, and with the sub-nationals, projected that for us to achieve a GDP per capita of 33,000 by the year 2050, we must be investing no less than $100 billion per annum, with about 85 per cent of it from the private sector.”
All things being equal, Agenda 2050 will help Nigeria attain her desire to successfully join the upper-middle-income countries group and subsequently join the high-income group.
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Significant improvement is required in the country’s per capita GDP, which will be powered by rapid and sustained economic growth.
A view that Bagudu maintained is possible, and believes that through strategic partnerships and targeted investments, the Federal Government aims to unleash the full potential of the nation’s economy and thus create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
In conclusion, the Federal Government has demonstrated unwavering commitment to economic growth with the President and every member of his cabinet aligned.
Nigeria’s long-term ambition, improving its per capita GDP from about US$2,084.05 in 2020 to US$6,223.23 in 2030 and US$33,328.02 in 2050, with rapid and sustained economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction, looks achievable. The future is filled with promise, and no stones would be left unturned, as expressed by Bagudu, “We have put the policies in place, for us to pitch all the rating agencies and say you have done well, you are doing the right thing.
So, we now have to be deliberate in meeting those investors, that hoarding capital and Mr President has been personally leading investment drives, meeting with sovereign wealth funds, private equity firms, and institutional investors.”