Divergent timelines on possible end of recession push Nigerians to lose hope
Since the declaration of the Nigerian economy in recession late last year, government officials and other gladiators have continued to give speculative timeline for the end of the economic scourge.
Even some even said that recession will end before the end of the first quarter or before the end of the first month in second quarter.
However, a session of Nigerians who were asked by our Correspondents on their views on recession said their concerns are not necessarily that Nigeria economy is in recession, but the divergent timelines given by government officials.
They said they are yet to see clear reasons to believe that government is serious in exiting recession because one of the best ways to exit recession is to deepen investments that will drive job creation and not to be running up and down looking for money to borrow.
Many of them argued further that for government to have known that Nigeria is in recession since last and it is just coming up in second quarter with an economic recovery plan simply indicate lack of seriousness to drive the economy out of the scourge.
Only recently, the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), relied on the series of economic interventions by the Federal Government to conjure that the country would exit from current recession in this second quarter.
The group said the stability in oil price, and Presidency’s dialogue with the Niger Delta militants, which has reduced disruption of oil production, signified huge improvements in the economy.
Giving more insights at its 21st yearly general meeting in Lagos, the NESG Chairman, Kyari Bukar, said the two factors have increased the hope for brighter prospects, coupled with the intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria on foreign exchange market.
According to him, “Since we didn’t get out of recession by Q1, we will get out by Q2. But the concern for us as a nation is that growth must be at a higher percentage rate for it to translate into jobs, well-being of average citizens among others.”
He explained that based on the projection of the group, the economy is expected to experience a Gross Domestic Product growth rate of 0.6 per cent in 2017, which means economic activities will improve in the year. “As stated in our Macroeconomic Outlook for 2017, we believe that any economic recovery achieved outside the scope of supporting the productive base of the economy will not be sustainable,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer, NESG, Laoye Jaiyeola, said with the projections of growth being pronounced in several quarters, conscious efforts by government to synthesize and implement a growth recovery plan for the nation is acknowledged and indeed reassuring.
