Early Childhood Investment Critical to Nigeria’s $1tn Economy Goal-World Bank

The World Bank has warned that Nigeria’s ambition to build a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2050 will largely depend on how urgently the country invests in early childhood development.

Speaking in Abuja at a policy dialogue on early childhood and productivity, the Bank’s Early Years Programme Lead, Dr Ritgak Tilley-Gyado, said productivity gaps often begin before the age of five and become increasingly difficult and costly to reverse later in life.

She questioned whether Nigeria could realistically achieve its economic ambition without deliberate investment in young children, noting that those currently aged between zero and five will form a significant portion of the workforce by 2050.

Tilley-Gyado argued that policy debates frequently focus on infrastructure, fiscal reforms, and employment while overlooking early childhood development, which forms the foundation of human capital.

She stressed that investment in young children should be seen as an economic strategy rather than social spending, explaining that inequalities formed early in life often persist into adulthood.

Citing global studies, she noted that early childhood interventions generate some of the highest returns available to societies, with each dollar invested potentially yielding multiple gains in productivity, income, and reduced social costs.