Economic Gift Source of Diversifying Nigerian Economy for Economic Growth and Economic Development Sustainability

Abstract

In the wake of public concerns on the impact of the tumbling prices of oil on government revenue and expenditure in the 2015 budget, the Nigerian economy is an oil-dominated one and crude oil exports is a major source of revenue for the Nigerian government. However the sector has been hit below the belt by the recent fall in global oil prices, a development that could cripple the economy, following this there has been several calls from various sectors of the country for government to diversify the economy by increasing its non-oil exports, a move many see will free the country from its current woes, an emerging trend suggests that in the last seven years the economy was growing without job creation and poverty reduction. Expectedly, attention of scholars had shifted towards non-oil mining export as a remedial for this quagmire. This study investigates the specific impact of the non-oil mining exports to the growth of Nigerian economy. The first part gives an overview of the profile. The second part deals specifically on the Nigeria economy structure and nature of export financing in Nigeria, etc. the third part discusses the contributions of non-oil mining to Nigeria's economy. A summary and a conclusion based on our discussion in the proceeding parts draws the curtain on this discourse, with providing a data benchmark for appraisal of possible improvements in future performances of non-oil mining export trade, with respect to its contributions to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

Keywords: Economic gift, co-integration, economic growth, diversification, mining, Nigeria economy.