By Peter Osalor
Sometimes last year, the government actually admitted that over 90% of all new jobs in the country were being accounted for by the informal economy.

Nigeria’s mammoth unorganised sector is its veritable backbone and makes up, according to some estimates, as much as 65% of the formal economy.

A plethora of activities in this sector has been the traditional provider of incomes and livelihoods to much of Nigeria’s poverty-ridden population. Successive decades of non-inclusive growth have left this vast majority fending for itself and surviving on cottage-level, backyard employment in small-scale enterprises.

Over the years, this economy has multiplied in both scope and dynamism, and currently provides 80% of rural employment opportunities and 60% of all urban jobs. The crux of the matter is that Nigeria has an available and sizeable manpower that has hands-on entrepreneurial experience and is ready to be mobilised in government-guided venture schemes. This is a substantial, if hidden potential for the country.

Historically, the bulk of Nigeria’s current economic problems grew out of a traditional over-dependence on the oil industry to the detriment of almost all other sectors. The reforms process initiated after 1999 focussed on undoing this and achieved a healthy 7% growth rate in the non-oil sector between 2003 and 2006, comparable to average growth rates for the entire economy. Further, Nigeria initiated first steps in the right direction by deregulating oil prices, disinvesting oil refining and marketing entities and successfully negotiating with the London and Paris clubs for conditional waiver of outstanding debts.

The Virtual Poverty Fund was initiated soon after the debt relief in 2005 to divert finances toward poverty eradication. Nigeria has been allocating an estimated $1 billion annually to support revamp operations in health, education, sanitation and energy and related sectors since 2006. Additional legislative measures have been brought about to promote micro-financing and the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Significant progress has been made the world over in achieving many of the Millennium Goals. According to UN data, average global incomes rose by 21% in the decade since 1900.

Positive figures are also being reported in the areas of child mortality, life expectancy and access to drinking water, together with a fall of over 130 million in the number of people living in extreme poverty for the same period. However, the progress has been far from uniform and sub-Saharan Africa remains the acknowledged epicentre of the crisis. Due to its sizeable economy and population, as also its strategic influences, Nigerian progress in the MDGs and 2020 goals are often reflective of the entire region.

Practical lessons come from Asia, which has seen rapid and significant development despite problems that are fundamentally not unlike Nigeria’s. An especial reason behind this variable difference in progress is the difference between policy and execution. Beyond a dedicated commitment to achieve its targets, Nigeria faces the ubiquitous challenge of effective implementation of its reform and regulation measures.

In 2007, the IMF listed Nigeria 41st in its ranking of global economies, based on a combination of indicators including GDP, Gross National Product and per capita income. Meeting both its MDG and 2020 goals will require Nigeria to compete against economic powerhouses like the US, Japan, Germany, China and the UK. Clearly, how it fares in the final analysis will depend as much on the intensity of its efforts, as on the amount of innovation and ingenuity it brings to the process.