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.
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