distinction of being the country with
the highest number of poor people in
the world.
Yet, this is Africa‘s largest economy,
the largest oil producer in Africa.
According to a report published by
Brookings Institute, the number of
people falling into poverty in Africa‘s
largest economy, grows by ‗‘roughly six
people every minute.‖
An expected corollary of sustained
growth is employment creation, which
is usually required for poverty
reduction and inclusive growth. While
this economy has experienced high
growth at various times within the last
fifteen years, employment growth has
failed to keep pace with the growth of
the labor force, leaving a large part of
the country‘s predominantly young
population either unemployed or
underemployed. This lack of job growth
has retarded poverty reduction and is
responsible for the increase in
inequality in Nigeria.
Why is this so?
Labor trends might provide
an answer.
In a research paper by Olu Ajakaiye,
Afeikhena T. Jerome, David Nabena,
and Olufunke A. Alaba (published on
Brookings.edu, 2016), the authors
noted that labor in Nigeria is moving
from the low-productivity agricultural
(primary) sector for the services
(tertiary) sector, contrasting this with
structural transformation trends seen
in Asia where labor moves to the high-
productivity manufacturing (secondary)
sector instead.
In essence, the Nigerian
economy is trying to run
before it has learnt to walk.
The agricultural sector in Nigeria is still
largely focused on primary production
and Nigeria‘s non-oil exports mostly
consist of primary commodities. The
absence of a vibrant industrial sector
(manufacturing) means that Nigeria is
mostly unable to add value to most of
its raw produce and hence, not able to
play a significant role in the global value
chain.
In this scenario, if we are to increase
non-oil exports from Nigeria, we have
to increase productivity in low
productivity sectors. That is, we have
to find ways to generate more produce
for export. In the agriculture sector,
that would mean reducing food waste
and food loss, improving compliance
with global standards, perhaps bringing
more land under cultivation to increase
the agriculture production, improving