Nigeria's economic growth

     According to Bloomberg.com, Nigeria's Ecomony is expected to grow by 7.98% in 2011. This growth exceeded the 7.85% growth in 2010, and is lead by non-oil industries, including agriculture.

     "Commitment to grow the non-oil sector to become the major driver of economic growth,” Finance Minister Olusegun Aganga said in a speech at the capitol on Friday.  

     Nigieria is the most populous country in Africa, and is looking to expand and diversify its ecomony. Oil counts as 95% of export income for the country. This industry accounts for only16% of the GDP, while agricultue counts for 42%. The 24 banks of the country pledged to triple agricultural lending for 2011 to help boost growth for the year, said Phillips Oduoza, chief executive officer of United Bank for African Plc.

     This projected economic growth is one bright spot in Nigeria. The country has been plagued by excessive violence and crime over the past few months because of upcoming presidential elections in April.

     This story shows some of the correlation between economic growth and political change. The upward trend of the Nigerian economy is something that the country should be proud of and embrace during such a difficult year. It will be very intresting to see if this projection comes true by the end of 2011. The political change may or may not effect the ecomony, but it has the potential to decrease growth if excessive violence continues in the African nation.