How Far is Nigeria From Economic Growth?

You know, we Nigerians tend to see the glass half-empty. And often-times we have good reason to. What with various social issues like corruption, mis-governance, political instability, etc. You can hardly blame anybody for being pessimistic about the outlook for the future.

But is it really that bad? I think a lot has happened since 1999 that gets me thinking, well, Nigeria may not be so far off from development after all. Sure, the pace is slow, and the impact is hardly felt. But a lot of things have happened in the economy that we don't usually take notice of. I'll list a few:

1. Pension Act: This fund has grown to around $11bn as at 2010. The funds, having being largely secured in bonds rather than equities or futures, are largely secure from the tanking of the global markets we're currently experiencing everywhere. I wonder if U.S. 401(k) holders can say the same?

2. Insurance Industry: Though not yet uhuru, the industry has managed to grow 11% over the last 4 years, since 2007. They've also diversified into various products. The challenge they still face is the natural pessimism of Nigerians. But that they have managed to grow and sustain their business is quite remarkable.

3. Health Care: The health insurance scheme has changed the face of health care in Nigeria for the better. The only problem is, there is very little investment in private health care by Nigerians. I'd have expected that, just like in India, the Nigerian healthcare entrepreneurs could have teamed up with their diaspora counterparts to finance mega projects in health care delivery, pharmaceutics, and biotech. Health insurance bridges the gap, and more people can now get access to good services. But right now the few private hospitals cannot cope with the volumes, and end up delivering poor service.

4. ICT: I won't dwell too much on this, cos it has been said too many times. However, it is worth mentioning that ICT, especially telecom deregulation, has probably generated an income for Nigeria in the billions of USD, and may have created over a million direct or indirect jobs.

Maybe you guys can help me with a few more sectors where you think we have made progress. Remember, this is about positive developments, and especially areas where we all should be looking at for investment, rather than trying to make our fortune from forex trading or IB jobs (I am saying that tongue in cheek!)