“By definition, the well-connected investors are few and so our Investment/GDP ratio is likely to remain low until we make it possible for all other investors (Nigerian and foreign) to come back and partake in the task of baking a bigger cake on the basis of a level playing field.”
Founder of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, has described Nigeria’s economy as ‘rigged against all’ except the very well-connected investors.
The economist gave this view during his keynote speech at the 25th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, the country’s capital, on Monday.
He said, “Investors appear to have concluded that the Nigerian economy is rigged against all except the very well-connected and they are right.
“By definition, the well-connected investors are few and so our Investment/GDP ratio is likely to remain low until we make it possible for all other investors (Nigerian and foreign) to come back and partake in the task of baking a bigger cake on the basis of a level playing field.”
Speaking further, Peterside observed that the country’s investment to Gross Domestic Product ratio has been on a decline since it reached a peak of 35 per cent in 2000.
He added, “The double-digit growth of 2002 came on the back of the very high Investment/GDP ratio of 35 per cent recorded in year 2000, which was the first full year following the restoration of democracy.
“Thereafter, the long term trend for Nigeria's Investment/GDP ratio has been a near-continuous downward slide.
“By 2012, the investment to GDP ratio had slid all the way to below 15 per cent and so GDP growth rates were bound to fall sharply after 2013.”