What was going on when I was born?

After years of unfettered spending, Nigeria's leaders are seeking to lower the expectations of their citizens, and have warned that the economic future can no longer be computed on high oil production levels or high oil prices. The implication for American business executives, a Western economist said, is that ''this may be the time to survey the market'' rather than to embark on new investment. For, like many other OPEC members, Nigeria has been caught in a recession caused by the abundance of oil on world markets, the increased proportion of competitive non-OPEC oil available to buyers, improved energy conservation in the West and the general slowdown in Western economies. Nigeria is America's second-largest supplier of imported oil after Saudi Arabia and a substantial buyer of United States foodstuffs. Its income has been steadily falling since 1980, when production of highpriced oil was the main element in export earnings of more than $26 billion. The projection for this year among Western economists is that export earnings will be about $16 billion.

A state law on construction bidding is costing New York City $40 million to $70 million a year in unnecessary building costs, according to city officials and some independent experts. The officials say that the statute, known as the Wicks Law, has also delayed construction and repairs of vital facilities, such as sewage-treatment plants and schools, for up to four years. And the critics contend that the statute has led to numerous multimilliondollar lawsuits against the city that ultimately inflate overall construction costs. Mayor Koch, noting that the city faced new budget deficits and cuts in Federal aid for construction, said that he would make ''a major attempt'' next year to persuade the State Legislature to amend the Wicks Law. The law was enacted in the 1920's with the intention of lowering costs by increasing competition among contractors. The main complaint against the law is that it requires the city to use four prime contractors, instead of one, for most new buildings and renovations. The statute, in effect, makes the city responsible for coordinating work schedules between the four contractors, and liable for unexpected budget increases and cost overruns.

This year's Putnam-Killingly high school football game was like many in the last 60 years: close, hard-fought and, ultimately, heartbreaking. Putnam led in the early going, fumbled away the lead in the second half and fell short in the final minute with first and goal to go. Final score: Killingly 8, Putnam 7. The loss, Putnam's sixth in a row, evened the series. Next year, however, there will be no tie-breaker because there will be no game. When Peter Jordan's field goal attempt fell short and to the right and the clock ran out, more than an athletic contest had come to a close. An entire era of the town's history, one more prosperous and optimistic than the present, had symbolically ended as well.

Markdowns on women's apparel at leading department stores across the country are exceeding those for any Christmas season in the recent past. Retailers are expressing concern about what the trend bodes for merchandising, and some even suggest it could change the face of fashion retailing. According to sellers of moderately priced and high-priced women's apparel, the retail climate appears to be worse than that in the recession of 1975. They attribute the situation to markdowns of 20 to 40 percent that were taken as early as August, in advance of the usual sales periods, and to what they see as a chronic decrease in consumer purchases. Many say they are fearful that they face what may be the bleakest holiday season in 25 years in view of third-quarter sales decreases of 10 percent or more from last year. Even though the stores do not preclude the possibility of a turnaround during the holiday season, they are increasing the scope of markdowns to keep up with last year's sales.

The Reagan Administration, searching for ways to deal with continuing high unemployment, is studying such proposals as taxing unemployment benefits and lowering the minimum wage for teen-agers for the summer. White House officials are also considering giving tax vouchers to employers who cooperate in hiring the long-term unemployed.These ideas, which drew immediate opposition from a key Democratic Congressman and from the A.F.L.-C.I.O., were described by Larry Speakes, the White House spokesman, as study proposals that the President has not yet considered or accepted. Aim to Reduce Record Deficit A Presidential council of Cabinet members is fashioning a package of options for dealing with unemployment. The ideas will not be presented to the President until sometime after his trip to Latin America next week, according to Administration officials.

Common Market representatives held firm today on their refusal to consider phasing out agricultural export subsidies, one of the major demands of the United States at a world trade conference here. Barbed exchanges between American and European officials marked the second day of the conference, as delegates from 88 signatory nations to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade discussed proposals to check worldwide protectionism and halt trade wars. Although compromise formulas were being circulated, covering agriculture and other contentious issues, there were few signs of movement by any of the principals, conference sources said. A top American official, summing up prospects at a background briefing this evening, said the chances were only 50-50 that the conference, which may run through Saturday, would be a success.

Yasuhiro Nakasone was elected Japan's 71st Prime Minister today, succeeding Zenko Suzuki, who resigned in mid-October. Mr. Nakasone, a 64-year-old veteran politician, won majority votes in both the upper and lower houses of the Japanese Parliament. He received 287 of the 497 votes cast in the House of Representatives, compared with 102 for his closest contender, Ichio Asukata, chairman of the Socialist Party. Later in the afternoon, Mr. Nakasone collected 130 of the 236 votes cast in the House of Councillors.

A recovery in housing construction has begun and will continue into 1983, say industry analysts. But the rebound will be modest compared with the surge that followed the 1974-75 recession. (D1.)

Pravda, the Soviet party newspaper, carried a detailed rebuttal today to President Reagan's arguments for deploying the new MX missile, charging that the plan would violate the accords limiting strategic arms. Western diplomats took the commentary in Pravda as an authoritative response to Mr. Reagan's speech on Monday announcing plans for deploying the missile, which he said was needed to modernize American nuclear forces. The commentary argued that the United States had started every escalation in the arms race, and that the Soviet buildup of the 1970's had only achieved a balance after the American expansion of the previous decade. It contended that the MX missiles and the Trident II missiles as well as new strategic bombers and long-range cruise missiles would expand the American military arsenal to 20,000 strategic charges by 1990.

A battle is about to break loose in the small-computer business involving a new generation of machines far more sophisticated and easier to use than those now on the market. Apple Computer Inc. is expected to introduce formally in January its long-awaited ''Lisa'' machine and to sell it for $7,000 to $10,000. At that price, industry analysts said, it is likely to be more attractive for business use than as a home computer. Apple is also developing a less expensive model for the home-computer market.

Bolstered by an influx of immigrants and a renewed interest in religious education by young Jewish couples, enrollment at Jewish day schools in the New York area has been rising for the first time in a decade, according to a group that monitors Jewish education. The group, the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York, says the number of students attending the day schools, called yeshivas, has increased 12 percent in the last two years. The schools devote half the day to teaching Jewish studies and half to a secular curriculum that parallels that of the public schools. ''We wanted a school that gave our kids a sense of who they are, to know what being Jewish is all about,'' said Margy-Ruth Davis, who has two children in a Manhattan yeshiva and who runs a Jewish education program for adults.

People who eat frozen TV dinners are harassed and hard-working, a researcher found. Based on that finding, Leo Burnett, the Chicago advertising agency, created ads for Swanson frozen TV dinners that showed an overworked housewife reaching for the product. The campaign proved ill-conceived when it made its debut some years ago. Harassed consumers, it turned out, did not like to be reminded of how hectic their lives were. In a study in the early 1970's, Needham, Harper & Steers/Chicago, on behalf of its client, the McDonald's Corporation, confirmed what consumers could see for themselves: Many fast-food establishments were dingy. The agency set about making McDonald's fast-food outlets seem more inviting.