GDP Growth, NNPC Profit And National Cohesion

Three important positive developments grabbed the headlines last week and gave hope to a beleaguered nation seized by constant news of bloodshed and violence. The growth of the GDP by 5% in the second quarter, a third consecutive climb, and the N287 billion profit posted by NNPC in the 2020 financial year, the first time it’s ever recorded a profit in its 44-year history broke a constant stream of negative stories and astounded many analysts. Very few people saw it coming. 

Capping the week was the uplifting speech by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo last Thursday at the National Cohesion Dialogue organized by the Africa Polling Institute, in which he noted that despite the divisive agenda of some people, Nigeria will prevail over its tribulations due to the resilience, faith, hope and strength of the citizens. 

The 5.01% GDP lift in Q2 is the highest quarterly growth since 2014, a significant jump from a marginal 0.51% growth in Q1. It signifies the rebound of the economy following the COVID-19-induced contractions seen in Q1 and Q2 2020. The non-oil sector is a significant contributor to the economic performance in Q2 2021 with growth of 6.74% in real terms, the fastest growth in the sector since the third quarter of 2014.

The contribution of the non-oil sector to GDP increased from 91.07% in Q2 2020 to 92.58% in Q2 2021. The main drivers of the Q2 2021 economic growth include Trade, Information and Communication (mainly Telecommunications), Transportation, Electricity, Agriculture (Crop Production) and Manufacturing. The service sector, specifically, recorded its strongest performance in more than a decade, growing at 9.27%. These main growth drivers of this second quarter performance are reflective of the gains from easing restriction of movement locally and internationally, and the improvement in the business and economic environment compared to the same period in 2020.

 Soon after the NBS made the announcement, an excited President Muhammadu Buhari was quick to commend the managers of the economy, urging them to keep at it till the positive development “touches the lives and pockets of the average Nigerian.” He had the Vice President in mind, among other officials of government who have been working hard to restore the economy on the path of growth. Professor Osinbajo deserves a special acclamation for his hard work in coordinating the economic agenda of the administration.

There is no doubt that this recovery is largely due to contributions of the National Economic Sustainability Plan developed by the VP and other stakeholders. The N2.3 trillion plan, launched last year, aims to respond robustly to the negative impacts of COVID pandemic; identify fiscal measures to grow oil and non-oil revenues for the government; create financial stimulus package for Nigerians; support for MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and support the state governments to play their own roles.

In the last six years, the VP has made a big difference in practically every important socioeconomic agenda of this administration such as the Social Investment Program (SIP), Economic Sustainability Program (ESP), Micro Small Medium Enterprises Clinics, Technology and Innovation Programs of the government. 

Take the ESP as an example. This program was designed by the VP, in collaboration with NEC last year to protect the economy against the negative fallouts of the pandemic. He serves as its Chair. So far there are over 465,820 beneficiaries of the Payroll Support element of the plan and many other beneficiaries of the Artisan Formalization Support Track. In all, over 1.5million beneficiaries would be impacted.

The administration has given unprecedented support to the MSMEs in the country. MSME Clinics have been held in 28 States, twice in Ebonyi, across the country including the FCT. Just last week, the Vice President was in Anambra State to launch the MSMEs Shared Facility at the Ogbunike Leather Trading Cluster.

The leather cluster has about 2,000 stores with almost 30,000 MSMEs operating there. They produce 200 to 400 pairs of shoes monthly using manual processes. But with the Shared Facility, the output should go up to 96,000 shoe soles, 44,000 slippers, 44,000 pairs of shoes and 22,000 boots. This is a major support to shoe manufacturing in the company. It should be noted that under this administration, domestic leather and shoe production has received a major boost to the extent that our military and paramilitary forces are using shoes and boots manufactured in Aba and other cities in Eastern Nigeria.

Over 400,000 MSMEs have so far participated in the MSME clinics nationwide. About 300,000 new business names have been registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) at a reduced 50% price of N5000, down from the normal N10, 000. In addition, seven One-Stop Shops have been established for MSMES in Cross River, Kwara, FCT, Abia, Bauchi, Osun and Plateau. The federal government has also launched Shared Facilities for MSMEs in Oyo, Bauchi, Benue and Lagos. This is to allow MSMEs which do not possess the financial capacity to own their equipment the opportunity to go into a fully equipped cluster-style facility to pay a token to use such equipment.

In the area of technology and innovation, Prof Osinbajo has also made significant contributions. The VP’s involvement in tech brought about the following:

Microsoft opened an African Development Center in Lagos in 2019 employing engineers building Microsoft products for global use. This was as a result of the meeting the VP had with the leadership of Microsoft on the 10th of November, 2015 where Microsoft promised a significant presence on the African continent and Nigeria in particular. Google Inc. in July 2020 announced plans to establish its Google Launchpad Space in Lagos, the first outside the United States. Facebook, in September 2020, made public its decision to open an office in Lagos as part of its planned expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. This should materialize this year. HUAWEI on the other hand last November promised the Vice President that the company will position Nigeria as a technology centre for the African continent and give more jobs to young Nigerians. These initiatives are partly responsible for the visible roles of ICT in the GDP growth.

But it is saddening that despite these positive outlooks, a lot of Nigerians, especially those in the opposing political arena, continue to denigrate the nation and spew fake news to malign the people. For them, no news about the country is worth celebrating until there are bomb blasts, abductions or killings. Prof Osinbajo had these in mind when he went to the Yar’Adua Center in Abuja to speak at the National Cohesion Dialogue. He wanted to instill hope and motivate those who have been depressed by a steady stream of distressing news. Describing Nigerians as “an unbreakable people”, the VP emphasized the shared interests of Nigerians across different facets of life, noting that Nigeria’s diversity can be used to drive further economic growth.

He explained: “And in the face of the challenges confronting us, we must remind ourselves of certain truths. The first is that our present challenges are neither unique nor exceptional. Various nations at various points in their histories underwent similar tribulations. It is within our power to address these issues and emerge from them even stronger as a people’’. He argued that ‘’despite the divisive rhetoric of demagogues and the utterances of those who profit from disharmony, Nigerians do not hate each other. Every day, millions of Nigerians of different ethnicities and creeds comingle, make common cause and forge friendships across our fabled fault lines.

While we have our share of such acrimony, the situation does not support the narrative that we are a nation of fragments condemned to be perpetually at each other’s throats. “What matters is how committed we are to the constructive management of diversity and the peaceful resolution of such conflict. This is where we can and should certainly work much harder.”  These are inspiring words from the man who continues to present the humane face of the hi government. The administration should work harder to defeat the spate of insecurity which has apparently swamped out its good deeds.

I should also pay tributes to other members of the Economic Sustainability Committee that worked with the VP to design the ESP. They’re are Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed; Trade & Investment Minister Niyi Adebayo; Labour & Employment Minister Chris Ngige; Humanitarian & Disaster Management Minister Sadiya Farouq and Petroleum Minister Timipre Sylva. Others are CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele; NNPC MD Mele Kyari and Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Office, Babatunde Lawal who served as the Secretary.

The forum noted that against the backdrop of genuine and excellent performance of Governor Ortom in the last six years plus, the presidency must stop painting Dr Ortom in a bad light in order to portray him as the problem.

“In a democracy like ours, the silence of Governor Ortom amounts to encouraging forces of evil that are committed to unleashing devastating attacks on our people in the Middle Belt,” the forum stated.

It advised that President Buhari must be told that his actions and inactions are the major instigators of genocidal killings, adding that the government should raise and deal with demons of terror decimating our communities and unleashing coldblooded murders on our innocent citizens.

“President Buhari should recall his attack dogs from the trenches and halt the hate-filled propaganda targeted at Governor Ortom,” the forum explained.

“The embarrassing silence and discriminatory disposition by the Federal Government over the intentional obliteration of our communities and massive massacre of our people must be brought to an end. The Buhari-led government must stop its discrimination in the manner it reacts to terror attacks on other groups and take swift actions against perpetrators. Governor is not an instigator of violence, but a patriot who can’t keep silent in the face of glaring multiple injustices and destruction of communities. He ought to be praised for what he stands for and not to be vilified by a biased presidential spokesman that is living in self-denial,” the forum noted.

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