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Chapter 4: The irresistible potential of Nollywood
The non oil sector in Nigeria is driving growth
Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, the strong performance of the non oil sector has
driven growth highlighting the efforts made by the Nigerian government to diversify its
economy
. Nigeria displays the characteristics of a dual economy characterized by a
strong oil sector with few link to the rest of the other sectors. Further the non-oil
economy is heavily dependent on the performance of agriculture, services and limited
manufacturing activities. Benefiting from the governmental reforms, the non-oil
economy grew by 9 percent per year in 2003-07, in contrast to 3.5 percent per year
between 1997 and 2000. Interestingly growth was driven largely by the agriculture and
services, which dominate the economy, with particularly strong growth in general
commerce and telecommunications.
Agriculture and telecommunication are driving growth in Nigeria.
The agricultural sector
grew by 6.2 percent during 2009. High agricultural growth continues to be fueled by a
variety of factors including clement weather conditions, government subsidization of
seeds and fertilizers and consequent bumper harvests; and expansion of the cultivated
land area (stimulated by higher commodity prices, both for food and cash crops). While
manufacturing has also grown rapidly, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in 2008 is modest, at some 7.7 percent while the telecommunications sub-sector
maintained its exceptionally strong growth, growing at 20 percent, largely due to robust
mobile telephone activity. Due to statistic limitation and to the high level of informality
of the Nigerian economy, it is difficult to articulate precise figures related to the
contribution of the entertainment industry to GDP. However, it is possible to estimate the
size and the market of the most vibrant media scene in Africa.
Figure 8 : The future of Nigeria’s is in the non oil economy