No Manual for Economic Growth- Only Good Governance

By AVM (RTD) Akugbe Iyamu

There is no universal manual for economic growth and prosperity. What exists, however, are good policies and good governance.

Policy is not a social media clip. It is economic gravity it determines whether a nation rises or sinks.

Switzerland has no oceans, yet it stands among the most prosperous economies in the world. Meanwhile, Nigeria possesses an 854-kilometre coastline and remains economically fragile.

Singapore has no rice fields, yet it transformed itself into a global trade and financial hub. Nigeria has invested heavily in agriculture, including partnerships between Lagos and Kebbi States aimed at boosting rice production, yet food security challenges persist.

Saudi Arabia has no forests, while Nigeria holds approximately four per cent of the world’s remaining untouched forests.

Japan lacks abundant mineral resources, yet it built one of the world’s most technologically advanced economies. Nigeria, by contrast, has more than 40 commercially viable minerals, including 39 billion barrels of crude oil and 209 trillion cubic feet of gas among the most sought-after resources globally.

Netherlands has no mountains and is still engineered one of the most efficient and innovative economies in Europe. Nigeria is richly endowed with mountains, rivers, forests, minerals, arable land, and coastline, yet development remains elusive.

The problem is not nature. The problem is governance.

Natural endowment does not automatically translate into prosperity. Nations do not come with development manuals. They design their own frameworks through intellectual capacity, institutional strength, innovation, organisation, transparency, and accountability.

Where governance is weak, even the richest land becomes poor. Where governance is strong, even the most resource-scarce land prospers.

Nigeria today faces undeniable structural economic challenges:

₦25.25 trillion budget deficit

₦152 trillion national debt (approximately $99.68 billion)

₦15.9 trillion allocated to debt servicing

These figures are not abstract statistics; they represent the scale of the marathon economic challenge confronting the nation. Debt servicing alone consumes a significant portion of national revenue, limiting investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education, climate resilience, and environmental sustainability.

These realities raise fundamental questions about fiscal sustainability and long-term economic direction.

The time has come to move beyond perpetual election cycles and political theatrics. Sustainable development requires discipline, long-term planning, policy continuity, and institutional reform.

Economic growth is not accidental. It is designed. It is managed. It is sustained by systems that reward productivity over patronage, innovation over rhetoric, and competence over convenience.

Nigeria has the resources. What remains is the resolve to implement sound policies and uphold good governance.

History has shown that prosperity is not a gift of geography. It is the outcome of deliberate leadership.

AVM (RTD) Akugbe Iyamu

Consultant on Climate Change and Environmental Policy Analyst

President, Association of Environmental Protection, and Climate Change Practitioners