On Tuesday, 18th of April 2017, World Economics stated that the Nigerian Economy is now out of recession and growing strongly. According to the organisation which is dedicated to producing analysis, insight and data relating to questions of importance in understanding the world economy, this development was reflected in the growth of its April Sales Managers’ Index (SMI) for Nigeria, which rose to 58.5 percent from 56.7 percent in March. This is the highest value since 2015 and a representative of rapid growth.
“Although conditions remain difficult for businesses, they are adapting to the challenges and the recent changes to the Naira’s FX rate are aiding sales transactions. Overall, conditions in Nigeria have improved further over the past month and managers are expressing renewed optimism that the economy will continue to grow and regain strength after the recession,” the World Economics panellist explained.
This was announced on the same day the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that Nigeria’s economic growth would rise by 0.8 percent in 2017. IMF is an organisation of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. IMF has argued that despite the slight rebound in the price of crude oil in the international market, Nigeria’s economy remains in a crisis zone.
Speaking during the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in the United States, IMF’s Economic Counsellor and Director of Research, Maurice Obstfeld, said Nigeria is still struggling under the challenges of 1.5 percent contraction in 2016 and as such, must make ‘serious adjustments’.
The different views on Nigeria’s economy coming out of recession by both organisations have made it quite confusing for Nigerians to know whom to believe with regards to the state of the economy. Currently, there are lots of concerns about the policies in place in Nigeria, which have hampered the growth of the economy.
“It will take a minimum of 18 months for Nigeria to get out of recession and the signs of recovery will start showing in 2017 with the best policies. Nigeria will start showing symptoms of wellness in 2017 and by 2018, Nigeria will be well again,” Mr Bismarck Rewane, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Derivatives Company Limited, said during the 2016 Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) Triennial Delegates Conference/Gala Night in Lagos last year.
This means that Nigeria will come out of recession if the right policies are put in place.
