NIGERIA PROGRESSES IN BUHARI’S ABSENCE
Ever since president Muhammadu
Buhari embarked on his medical leave, things have been moving on well for
Nigeria. It appears from all indication that many Nigerians both home and
abroad do not mind if the president stays longer in London. In fact, they even
welcome it.
It can rightly be said that there
could hardly be a worse time for the 74-year-old Buhari to be incapacitated,
but it seems to be a blessing in disguise owing to the fact that much of the
blame for Nigeria’s current economic troubles can be laid at his door.
Since assuming power in 2015,
Buhari has implemented rather archaic policies which are akin to those he had
implemented when he last held power as a military dictator in the 1980s to wit:
propping up the currency which has led to shortages of foreign exchange and
negatively impacting on imports.
Read also: Why Nigerians have forgotten about Buhari
Businesses are crumbling and
investors are leaving. Several embargoes have been placed on importation
without any alternative being provided for the domestic production of such
goods. Prices of goods are skyrocketing and Nigerians are hungry.
It was in the midst of all these
and much more that the man who brought the current wave of hardship abandoned
Nigeria- an abandonment that stands to favour those who were abandoned rather than the one who abandoned.
However, if president Buhari
remains in London much longer, and he should, his absence could provide a
window for Nigeria’s technocratic vice-president, Yemi Osinbanjo, who seems to
have better policies and implementation strategies to push for reforms of the
country’s dilapidated sectors.
Osinbanjo, who is currently in
charge, has proved an energetic antidote to his ponderous boss. Unlike Buhari,
he has been visiting the Niger-Delta for peace talks. He has also been announcing
measures intended to boost Nigeria’s position in the world Bank’s Ease of Doing
Business rankings, in Nigeria currently ranks a lowly 169 out of 190.
Indeed it will not be out of place
to say that Osinbanjo has achieved more in the less-than-two-months period he
has been in charge of Nigeria than Buhari has in almost two years. Of course I need
not mention that the naira has been gaining ground against the dollar.
Should things continue in the
Osinbanjo inspired velocity, I believe Nigeria will be on her way rapid
developmental strides and hearty reforms.
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