Why is Nigeria now less developed compared to South Africa?

South Africa has always been more developed than Nigeria. Here is my analysis:

Nigeria had a per capita income of $84, whereas South Africa had a per capita income of $380 in 1961. That would be $762.46 and $3449.23 in 2021 currency, respectively. In other terms, South Africa was around five times more prosperous than Nigeria.

In 2020, South Africa’s GDP per capita was $5,090.72, while Nigeria’s was $2,097.1. That is roughly twice as wealthy as Nigeria is.

Nigeria has a few distinct advantages over South Africa, allowing it to become Africa’s largest economy in terms of GDP.
These distinct examples are population, commodities (oil), location, innovation, and education.

Economic development is determined by the Human Development Index, which measures literacy rates, infant mortality, personal freedoms and the extent to which citizens have them, institutional rankings, and so on.

While Nigeria features all of these at a greater value and scope than South Africa, South Africa lacks a large population to support them. However, South Africa has better infrastructure than Nigeria. By infrastructure, I include institutions, culture, political participation, physical infrastructure, and a variety of other factors that impact growth.
South Africa is more developed just as Seychelles is more developed than many other African states.

South Africa is considered more developed due to it is better equipped with technology, has a higher capacity for manufacturing, a smaller population, a more diverse economy, and a slightly more transparent governing system (both countries are corrupt, but South Africa’s system has more arrest capacity).

However, as time goes on, one might compare the stories of South Africa and Nigeria to those of China and the United States. Time will tell if this one will end more amicably and sustainably.