On Monday, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics released GDP figures for Q2 2020 (April – June), and the outcomes were not so surprising. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by 6.10% from the exact same period last year, ending a 3-year trend of low but positive economic growth recorded since the 2016/17 recession (remember that dark time when son of men would rather eat rice with dollars, not stew?).
Fat Kids Are Shrinking
The thing is, every fat kid in the class is shrinking. The US economy shrank by 32.9% April to June 2020, the worst on record since 1945. The UK’s trade heavy economy also deflated 20.4% within the same period, and South Africa’s reserve bank sees a 32.6% economic contraction in the 2nd quarter.
But even though Nigeria was already the lean Kenyan (or Nigerian) marathoner in the class, the coronavirus lockdowns, particularly in April and May, is doing everyone dirty. Economies are not generally forecast to get back on their full feet until well into 2021.
Don’t Rush, Slow Touch, Something On Something
You probably did one of the online challenges to keep yourself sane during the lockdown. Well, thanks to you and many other benevolent Nigerians, Telecommunications (within the ICT sector), grew by 18.1% compared to 9.7% in the first three months of 2020. Meaning that the telecoms guys were cashing out dirty from our online challenges, video calls and long distance calls to loved ones during the lockdown.
The ICT sector itself contributed N15.9 trillion to the economy, making it the only sector alongside financial services, crop production and ‘others’ to grow within within the quarter.
Again, double your hustle, triple it if you wish. But don’t expect miracles on economic recovery until well into 2021.
Check back every morning by 10am for more Zikoko Citizen stories.
