Over reliance on oil reason for economic distress –Don

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

Special Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Akinwumi Adesina, Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, has linked over reliance on crude to the reason Nigeria battles economic distress and lack of industrialisation.

He made this known while delivering a lecture at the School of Economics and Political Science, at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), yesterday.

Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, who presented a paper titled: “Divergent Outcomes: Asia and Africa Development Strategy,” examined how four countries, namely, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh, were able to transform key sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, and textiles, into competitive, export-oriented industries.

According to him, despite possessing similar resources and initial conditions with four Asian countries, Nigeria’s economy has faced stagnation, largely due to its overreliance on oil exports and a lack of diversification.

He outlined three major causes for Nigeria’s underperformance: the failure to transition from resource dependence to diversified industrial production, resource dependence resulting in shocks from volatility of oil-based revenues, and persistent gaps in political leadership and institutional capacity.

In addition, he argued that industrialisation “does not occur by accident, noting that it requires deliberate action, visionary leadership, and sustained investment in education, technology, and long-term policy planning.

“Countries that made early investments in these areas were able to build competitive economies that navigated external shocks and maintained steady growth. Nigeria, however, has struggled due to its continued dependence on commodity exports and the importation of finished goods, which has hindered the development of a robust industrial base,” he stated, in his presentation, which is part of his book, “Reversal of Fortune to Economic Resurgence: Industrialisation and Leadership in Asian Prosperity and Nigeria’s Regress,” co-authored with Dr. Oyebanke Abejirin.