By Aduragbemi Omiyale
“Nigeria could witness a sharp upturn in economic growth” in the next two to three years, once the administration of President Bola Tinubu succeeds in “reversing the harmful policies and economic malaise of the past eight years,” Morgan Stanley has predicted.
In a note sighted by Business Post, the firm applauded Mr Tinubu for taking the bull by the horns, with the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of the exchange rate regimes in the country.
Though these policies have caused hardships among citizens of the nation, analysts, including Morgan Stanley, believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
In its outlook for Nigeria posted on November 15, 2023, the company said the removal of fuel subsidies was a good one because it cost the nation “a whopping $10 billion in 2022 and primarily benefited middle- and high-income members of the population.”
It noted that the dismantling of the “complex currency regime, which led to an overvalued currency and curbed much-needed foreign investment, as foreign direct investment fell by 60 per cent under President Muhammadu Buhari,” was a step in the right direction.
Morgan Stanley expressed optimism that before the first term of Mr Tinubu ends in 2027, Nigeria’s economy would record a “sharp upturn” and “present investors with opportunities in local equity markets, especially in the telecom, consumer goods and durables sectors.”
“In the long term, the new administration’s challenge will be devising sound policies in education and training to unleash Nigeria’s human capital potential, perhaps its greatest asset.
“Tinubu and his team of technocrats have a unique opportunity to introduce policies to free up the economy and attract foreign investors looking for sustained growth,” it added.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya