Nigerian citizens became poorest in the world under Buhari —Economist

Nigerians have been rated as the poorest set of citizens in the world under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in the last four years.

The rating was done by Economist Magazine on Thursday.

According to the magazine, “Nigerians became poorer, and in fact, have become the poorest citizens of a country in the whole world, under President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term in office.

The Magazine also projected that there is a tendency that Nigerians will be poorer in the years to come adding that indications have had it that average income per Nigerian will continue to fall for the next six years, haven continually fallen for the last four years that Buhari came in.

It also said that Nigeria’s economy is “stuck like a stranded truck.”

It also spoke against the growth claimed by the National Bureau of Statistics that “Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.01%(year-on-year), in real terms, in the first quarter of 2019.”

The Economist claimed that “by 2030 a quarter of very poor people will be Nigerian.” It said while the inflation is at 11%, some 94 million Nigerians live on less than $1.90 a day.

The report by the magazine made a reference to the horrible situation that truck drivers face in Apapa traffic.

According to the report, “Long lines of lorries stretch like tentacles from Apapa port, the largest in Nigeria. Drivers doze in their cabs, feet flung over dashboards; some sling hammocks beneath the chassis.

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“Musa Ibrahim, an ebullient trader, says he has been queuing for two days. He gestures at empty buildings. “Most of the companies you see here they done close,” he sighs.

“The Nigerian economy is stuck like a stranded truck.

“Average incomes have been falling for four years; the IMF thinks they will not rise for at least another six.

“The latest figures put unemployment at 23%, after growing for 15 consecutive quarters. Inflation is 11%. Some 94m people live on less than $1.90 a day, more than in any other country, and the number is swelling”.

The Economist is an English-language weekly magazine-format newspaper owned by the Economist Group and edited at offices in London.

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