muami:

I agree that Nigeria's problem has never been that of opportunity, however, you seemed to shy away from stating the obvious that the problem has been that of leadership. Yes, Leadership. Why do we celebrate now?  For the first time in the history of Nigeria, we have elected a Fresh Air as President, someone who has studied enough to undertand economic analysis and appreciate the abundant opportunities we have. It is for this reason that some of were against Buhari, and unabashedly so. We are therefore VERY OPTIMISTIC that this time, we would make progress. Don't forget that the BRICS countries were also told the same things for years and that did not stop it from coming to pass when they finally got the right leadership!

Kobojunkie:

Well, here again . . . .

There were global happenings 20 years ago, and then there were also global happenings 10 years ago .  . . even 2 years ago, there were global happenings . . .  We could have made history even then by maximizing the opportunities even then . . . so I see no reason why we celebrate every time we read this. "All things been equal" applied 10 years ago -- even 20 years ago. The problem has never been the lack of opportunity or the lack of resources. We have been the problem, and we still remain the problem. Sachs is not new to this. Many have done exactly the same before now.  We celebrated this very same truth during the yar adua years -- we do this about every other month.

Notice how the same response seems to work well for all your retorts so far??

There is a difference between having potential and achieving greatness. Sachs isn't saying anything new; most in the western world know that Nigeria as potential and they also know why Nigeria is not fulfilling its potential.

GEJ is not the man to actualise that potential by surrounding himself with the same goons that have driven Nigeria into the ground. One can not do more than his ability.

jeffrey sach my foot. does it cost a professor to tell us that we are moving forward? the answer is no. all we need to know that nigeria is moving forward for good is when politics stop been the most lucrative business in nigeria. imagine senators using a 2008 car for 3 yrs and then buying them at N200,000.00 against the original prices of about N4m. do we need that jeffrey of a professor to tell us that we are been used as tools?
look at senators taking home N15.9m monthly while another nigerian is begging to be paid N18.000 and jeffrey is a proffesor.
it is a shame the jeffrey a hired speaker over-looked the pressing problems of bombing which is rampant in nigeria to prophesy boom in the land.
whatever, nigerians lack reasons to celebrate hence they celebrate anything even the words of a man that has never visited anywhere in nigeria apart from abuja.
can this professor make a move to the niger delta or eastern states where kidnapping is the order of the day or would he risk the northern bomb/boko haram prone zone?
if any one comes to nigeria to tell us the truth, we get mad at that one. all we like are jeffreys that will tell us that we are the best country in the world in the next 24 hrs. we are so brainless.

All I know is that if GEJ delivers on electricity, the we'll be able to move mountains. I don't even care if in 10 years they take away oil allocations; that is how important electricity is to me.

Man u love electricity more than an Ekiti man loves pounded yam. Half your posts about electricity.

Whats up with electricity? Is that the only memory you have of NIgeria

Until I can have 24hrs of light to run my complex simulations and analysis in Nigeria without the need to use third parties in india then the jeff's optimism would remain just that!

Looking at how nigerians abroad flourish so well in thier chosen field of endeavour despite seemingly over bearing challenges, its no brainer that if the nigerian leadership provides similar atmosphere, nigerians will use thier innovative minds to transform the country beyond what most economists have imagined

For now, we do not need these passing comments, we want to get our hands dirty by cleaning up the leadership, and looking inwards to provide the solutions to all the challenges we face now and those we anticipate we will face in the future!

Pssssh!!

Mr Sachs speaks with peripheral knowledge of Nigeria. The reasons given by him are of someone with surface knowledge of the country, gleaned from textbooks and Bloomberg newsflashes. I dont need him to tell me anything about the Nigerian economy that Pat Utomi cannot.

If Mr Sachs had the pleasure of seeing Ken Nnanami spending £144,000 on 6 TV sets for his friends, as happened recently in London, he would know that the canker worm has eaten deep into the Nigerian fabric, from Presidential to local Govt level, and his talk of improvement in corruption vis-a-vis Abacha years may be just hot air.

Obama recently said that you cannot build a country purely on what comes out of the ground. Im sure Mr Sachs has studied classical development theory, from Adam Smith to Karl Marx and knows that the Industrialisation process is a non-negotiable factor in the wealth of Nations - at least highly populated nations like Nigeria. How does Mr Sachs square that with the rapid de-industrialisation of Nigeria and its continual loss of manufacturing sector?

Mr Sachs woulda been better served by taking a trip to the fallen glory of Nigeria's industrial heartland, Aba, Abia State to help him understand better, rather that reading from his textbook.

Finally, I believe the journalist has used too much journalistic licence with the headline as no country can become a world leading economy in 4 years, or even 8. At best, GEJ can set us on the road to greatness, but greatness cannot be achieved in his term.

If the Professors write-up is purely based on GDP growth, by all means, Nigeria can achieve double digit GDP growth. However, GDP growth in Nigeria is the rising tide that doesnt lift all boats. . . . as most of our GDP ends up skewed to a minute few, and ferried to foreign accounts.

Ibime signing out till the spambot unbans me.

Nigerian problem is the people the country have a lot of evil mind and corrupt minds.How can people with that kind of mind set produce a good leader? they will say that white people are too straight forward well that's why their country are well organised.

It appears Prof Sachs has been reading too much textbooks. Economics and politics are inseparable. Economics is an integral part of the social web. Once we dont get other things right, economics solve nothing. Let me sign out with the ff quotes:

An economist is someone who gets rich by explaining to others why they are poor.
-Anonymous

An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicated yesterday didn't happen today.
-Laurence J. Peter

oladayo042:

It appears Prof Sachs has been reading too much textbooks. Economics and politics are inseparable. Economics is an integral part of the social web. Once we dont get other things right, economics solve nothing. Let me sign out with the ff quotes:

An economist is someone who gets rich by explaining to others why they are poor.
-Anonymous

An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicated yesterday didn't happen today.
-Laurence J. Peter

I am an Economist, you are on your own jare,  na wa for you ooo!!!! lolx7

The resource in DRC can light up the whole of Africa, if it is not for greed, corruption,  and tribalism and people who after having an education abroad they tend to stay there instead of coming to Africa and putting there brains to work, Africa would not be referred to as Third world. . .
The thing with Africans instead of working together as one and moving up they fight on who owns things but when the whiteman or the chinaman come they seem to take over everything without fuss and we come here crying they are evil. . .They are smart they know how to get what they want for their people. . .All we know how to do is sit and get fat off the loots we steal from our people.

SEFAGO:

Man u love electricity more than an Ekiti man loves pounded yam. Half your posts about electricity.

Whats up with electricity? Is that the only memory you have of NIgeria

Lack of electricity is probably the biggest thing keeping Nigeria away from prosperity. So it makes sense to care about it.

Jeffery Sachs ko, Jefosun sha ni.



Nonsense. E don collect im own

Mtcheew!

fxtopedia:

I am an Economist, you are on your own jare,  na wa for you ooo!!!! lolx7

It may interest you to know that I'm also an Economist. Economists may be sometimes funny. Thank God for the likes of Armatya Sen (Nobel laureate) who is exploring the connection between politics (democracy) and economics.