Not too long ago, any suggestion that Nigeria was on track to emerge from its political and economic torpor would have been dismissed as fanciful but the idea is now gaining ground, albeit with important caveats.
The government estimates that the economy grew by as much as 6.5% in 2005, faster than 2004 and more than double the 2.9% average over the past decade. Significantly, non-oil gross domestic product (GDP) growth is estimated to have accelerated to 8.2% in 2005, up from 7.4% in 2004. Early forecasts suggest the overall economic growth for 2006 will top 7%.
