Perhaps, the Statistician General of Nigeria may not have understood the real meaning of Recession or his source of data collection was restricted within federal parastatals in Abuja. It is important to give elementary definition of recession so that even a primary school certificate holder will understand that Nigeria is in economic depression not recession.

Recession is a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are at bottom-line mostly within a period of six months .Put in another form, Recession is when the economy declines significantly  leading to a drop in real income, employment ,sales.

We need to also examine the relationship between recession and depression. A recession can become a depression if it lasts long enough say one year. In a recession, the economy contracts for two or more quarters. A depression will last for several years.

How would any rational mind posit that Nigeria economy is out of recession when unemployment rate has risen to the ceiling in the last 1 year? When the general market prices have skyrocketed and the price of food stuff(s) outside the reach of the ordinary people. How are we out of recession when minimum way is still at N18, 000 with civil servant recording minimal purchasing power, when power remains epileptic and factories operational cost increasing by the day? What of dissatisfactions and agitations across the country!

How did NBS come about the conclusion that Nigeria economy has exited recession? In Nigeria, anything is possible as people can sit inside air conditioned office to concoct  figures for certain desired economic decision.

A country with no plan for 110m unemployed youths could be say to be in economic depression not recession .

Ndubuisi is an economist and image maker of CG-IPOB



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