The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has predicted that Nigeria is on track to become the world’s 5th country within the next 50 years.

 

 

 

The forecast, made during the bloc’s 2026 parliamentary session in Abuja, predicts that Nigeria could eventually rank as the world’s fifth richest nation if regional trade expansion and long-term economic reforms continue to accelerate.

 

 

 

Dr Kalilou Sylla, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, who made the remarks, argued that West Africa is entering a period of major economic realignment.

 

 

 

Sylla also projected that Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire could emerge among the world’s top 15 economies within the next 25 years.

 

 

 

He suggested Côte d’Ivoire could one day surpass France economically.

 

 

 

For Nigeria, Sylla stated that the next phase of Nigeria’s growth will depend less on relationships with Western markets and more on strengthening economic ties within West Africa itself.

 

“It is not the American or English markets that will let the Nigerian market grow, but the sub-regional markets,” he told lawmakers during the ECOWAS session.

 

 

 

He added that regional institutions have struggled to keep pace with the level of cooperation already happening between businesses and citizens across the bloc.

 

 

 

The ECOWAS officials also pointed to rising intra-regional trade as evidence that deeper economic integration is already underway.

 

 

 

According to Sylla, trade within the bloc has doubled to 40 per cent over the last four years despite political instability, border tensions, and currency pressures across parts of West Africa.