In an article published on its website, the Economist says
the Nigerian economy has grown since acting president
Yemi Osinbajo took over the mantle of leadership over a
month ago. In the article, the International business
website called on President Buhari to leave the economy
to Osinbajo to run once he recovers and comes back to
Nigeria. Read the article after the cut...
EVER since word trickled out that Muhammadu
Buhari, Nigeria’s 74-year-old president, was not
just taking a holiday in Britain but seeking medical
care, his country has been on edge. Nigerians
have bad memories of this sort of thing. Mr
Buhari’s predecessor bar one, Umaru Yar’Adua,
died after a long illness in 2010, halfway through
his first term. During much of his presidency he
was too ill to govern effectively, despite the
insistence of his aides that he was fine. In his final
months he was barely conscious and never seen
in public—yet supposedly in charge. Since he had
not formally handed over power to his deputy,
Goodluck Jonathan, his incapacity provoked a
constitutional crisis and left the country
paralysed.
There is nothing to suggest that Mr Buhari is as ill
as Yar’Adua was. But that is because there is
little information of any kind. His vice-president,
Yemi Osinbajo, insists that his boss is “hale and
hearty”. Mr Buhari’s spokesman says his doctors
have recommended a good rest. Yet even
members of Mr Buhari’s cabinet have not heard
from him for weeks, and say that they do not
know what ails him or when he will return.
Such disclosure would be expected in any
democracy. In Nigeria the need is even more
pressing. Uncertainty is unsettling the fractious
coalition of northern and southern politicians that
put Mr Buhari into power. Nigeria is fragile: the
split between northern Muslims and southern
Christians is one of many that sometimes lead to
violence. The country also faces a smouldering
insurrection in the oil-rich Delta and an insurgency
in the north-east by jihadists under the banner of
Boko Haram (“Western education is sinful”).
Mr Buhari, an austere former general, won an
election two years ago largely because he
promised to restore security and fight corruption.
Although his government moves at a glacial pace,
earning him the nickname “Baba Go Slow”, he has
wrested back control of the main towns in three
states overrun by Boko Haram. Yet the jihadists
still control much of the countryside, and the
government has been slow to react to a looming
famine that has left millions hungry.
On corruption, Mr Buhari has made some
progress. A former national security adviser is on
trial in Nigeria for graft, and a former oil minister
was arrested in Britain for money laundering. So
far, however, there have been no big convictions.
Mr Buhari’s main failures have been economic
(see article). The damage caused by a fall in the
price of oil, Nigeria’s main export, has been
aggravated by mismanagement. For months Mr
Buhari tried to maintain a peg to the dollar by
banning whole categories of imports, from soap to
cement, prompting the first full-year contraction
of output in 25 years.
First, do no harm
With Mr Buhari in London, the country’s economic
stewardship has, whisper it, improved a bit. Mr
Osinbajo has allowed a modest devaluation and
started on reforms aimed at boosting growth.
This is already paying off. In February the
government sold $1bn-worth of dollar-
denominated bonds, its first foreign issue in four
years. Demand was so great that investors bid for
almost $8bn-worth of the notes, raising hopes of
a second bond sale later this month. If his health
recovers, Mr Buhari still has two years left in
office.
He should focus on doing what he does best:
providing the leadership his troops need to defeat
Boko Haram and the moral authority to clamp
down on corruption. And, noting how much better
the economy is doing without him trying to
command it like a squad of soldiers, he should
make good on a long-forgotten electoral pledge to
leave economic policy to the market-friendly Mr
Osinbajo.
Alabatvnews.
No comments:
Post a Comment