In April 2014, Nigeria rebased its economy. This had a profound effect on the African continent. With a GDP of half a trillion dollars, Nigeria now eclipsed South Africa as Africa's largest economy. However, in terms of projecting its image to the rest of Africa, Nigeria still has a long way to go. For one, South Africa has a much more advanced economy, and Nigeria cannot even hope to match South Africa on this front anytime soon. For instance, nearly all the top universities in Africa are in South Africa. This is true of other infrastructure such as healthcare and roads. How then can Nigeria project its image to the rest of Africa, and ensure that it becomes Africa's greatest nation?
One thing that Nigeria has going for it is the Nollywood sector. Nollywood churns out more movies in a single year than any other place in the world. As a result, Nigeria has projected its soft image to the rest of the continent, and in due time, it should begin exporting its culture to the rest of the world. However, there remains great challenges for Nigeria even as it seeks to project its image to the rest of the African continent.
The country's instability in the northern part is an ever present eyesore. Boko Haram is making it hard to believe that there are tremendous positive stories in Nigeria. For Nigerian image to improve then, the country must rapidly tackle the insurgency occasioned by Boko Haram. Nigeria's minister for Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala frequently sights that Nigeria unfairly suffers from a negative image, and she could be right in her assessment. However, what is true is that in the present world, perception is the new reality.
On another front, the political instability that too often encumbers a country as it approaches a Presidential election is a matter of concern. All pundits will be watching the Nigerian election closely to gauge whether democracy has really arrived in Africa. If Nigeria can pull off successful elections and remain stable after that, then the country will have made one more step to becoming a beacon of hope in Africa, and further eclipsing South Africa in the process.
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