Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has stated that Nigeria’s potential to achieve a N500 trillion economy by 2026/2027 can only be realised through the establishment of robust legal and institutional frameworks.
According to him, without such an approach, meaningful development would remain elusive.
Agbakoba stated this in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, accompanied by a document titled: “Governance and Economic Analysis and Forecast 2025: To succeed, Nigeria needs innovation and efficiency to create a ₦500 trillion Budget for 2026/2027,” which he urged the President to consider.
The former NBA President said the policy document outlines a bold yet achievable vision for the country’s economic transformation, with particular emphasis on the critical role of legal policy frameworks in driving sustainable economic development — an aspect he noted is often overlooked in economic planning.
He noted that there is a commonly held view that legal policy plays no role in economic development but refuted such a perspective, stating that research and analysis by his organisation had demonstrated “that legal policy is, in fact, a key determinant—indeed, a primary driver—of economic development.”
The former NBA President argued that, although a country may possess abundant natural resources, human capital, and financial investments, the absence of strong legal and institutional frameworks would render meaningful development unattainable.
He further asserted that the quality of institutions is not merely a peripheral factor but a central pillar in fostering sustainable growth.
He noted that when “legal frameworks are weak, investment is deterred, property rights remain insecure, contracts become unenforceable, and corruption flourishes — all of which undermine development regardless of a nation’s resource endowment.”
He also lamented that most of Nigeria’s economic development plans reviewed so far notably exclude legal policy considerations, describing such an omission as a grave error.
“Eminent development scholars have long highlighted this grave error, including Professor Mancur Olson, whose research emphasises that ‘development will not occur unless legal analysis is taken into account.’
“Professor Olson’s scholarly work demonstrates that while traditional economic theories focused on aggregate factors like capital, land, and labour, these factors alone cannot explain development disparities. His simple but profound conclusion is that ‘the quality of a country’s institutions is a principal determinant of its economic performance.’
“Similarly, Hernando De Soto’s groundbreaking work ‘The Mystery of Capital’ explains why Nigeria lacks a functioning mortgage system despite enormous potential — a direct consequence of inadequate legal frameworks for property rights. De Soto illustrates how property consists of two values: physical and conceptual.
“While the physical value may be a house, the conceptual value exists in property law systems. Without robust legal frameworks to represent property conceptually, Nigeria cannot access the estimated six trillion dollars in housing assets that could generate capital for development.
“The links between institutional and legal frameworks and economic performance have been extensively demonstrated in Acemoglu and Robinson’s seminal work ‘Why Nations Fail.’
“Their research convincingly shows that inclusive institutions — those that promote widespread economic participation, encourage competition, innovation, equal opportunities, and respect for private property — represent the key determinant of sustained economic performance.
“Their analysis reveals how nations with similar resource endowments follow drastically different development trajectories based primarily on their institutional quality,” he stated.
Agbakoba explained that legal policy and economic reforms are deeply intertwined, positing that legal frameworks provide the foundation for markets, transactions, and governance.
According to him, legal reforms enable economic reforms by making them credible, enforceable, and attractive to investors, adding: “Legal policy is not a technical side issue — it is central to economic performance.”
“Legal policy and economic reforms are deeply intertwined because legal frameworks provide the foundation for markets, transactions, and governance.
“Legal reforms enable economic reforms by making them credible, enforceable, and attractive to investors. Legal policy is not a technical side issue — it is central to economic performance,” the former NBA President said.
Agbakoba, therefore, urged President Tinubu to attend to the policy document, which he said offers a detailed roadmap for integrating legal policy reforms with economic transformation strategies.
He expressed the belief that this approach would revolutionise the country’s development trajectory and help realise its immense potential.
