Looking Backward and Thinking Forward: A Discussion of over Fifty Years Economic Performance of Nigeria

This paper evaluates economic performance of Nigeria over the past half a century and this was juxtaposed with other countries like South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Botswana. Trends analysis using graphs was employed. The analysis reveals that Nigeria’s economic performance relative to the aforementioned countries was disappointing over the past half century. Comparing the statistics of input factors, it was clear that the income divergence between Nigeria and Korea and Singapore cannot be explained by geographical factors non colonial history rather it is due to differences in investments and quality of institutions. It is therefore concluded that for Nigeria to rewrites her economic history in the second half of the century, conscious and solemn actions must be taken to increase investment in physical and human capitals and improve the quality of institutions such as rule of law, control of corruption, regulatory qualities and political institutions.