Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has said Nigeria’s economy has the potential of leapfrogging the economies of France and United Kingdom by within the next three decades.
Mr Soludo attributed the realisation of his prediction to the readiness of the people and the leaders, through unity, will and zeal to make the economy a leading one.
The ex CBN governor said this an event held by the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos, to mark the 241 independence anniversary of the United States of America.
“It won’t be easy to achieve the feat because it will require a lot of dialogue, contestations, but I think where there’s a will, there will always be a way. We already have the human and natural resources.
“If we get our acts together especial economically, Nigeria will by 2050 be ahead of France and the UK in terms of economy. But the big question is if we can get our acts together to begin. This is a responsibility for all Nigerians, he said.
He said there is no country in the world that developed overnight, but has had to endure a product of continuous struggle by the citizens to make a perfect union.
Mr Soludo said “What creates a good society, in fact institutions don’t just emerge from heaven, and institutions are products of struggle.
“The next Nigeria must be everything that the first Nigeria has not been and that is trying to be, in a process of creating a more perfect and prosperous nation. And I will dare to say a more united country trying to forge a nation out of the disparate nationalities.”
