The Financial Times of London has described Nigeria as a
country going backwards economically and plagued with terrorism, illiteracy,
poverty, banditry, and kidnapping and risks becoming a failed state if things
don’t take a drastic turn.
The UK-based newspaper said this in an editorial on Tuesday
titled, ‘Nigeria at Risk of Becoming a Failed State’.
It said the abduction and subsequent rescue of over 300
schoolboys in Kankara, Katsina State, revived memories of the 276 Chibok
schoolgirls abducted in Borno State in 2014.
According to the newspaper, while the government’s claim
that no ransom was paid to the abductors of the schoolboys remains doubtful,
other acts of criminality could not be overlooked.
The editorial read in part, “The government insists no
ransom was paid. Scepticism is warranted. In a country going backwards
economically, carjacking, kidnapping and banditry are among Nigeria’s rare
growth industries. Just as the boys were going home, Nigerian pirates abducted
six Ukrainian sailors off the coast.
“The definition of a failed state is one where the
government is no longer in control. By this yardstick, Africa’s most populous
country is teetering on the brink.”
The newspaper also questioned the claim by the President,
Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), that Boko Haram had been technically
defeated.
It said contrary to the government’s claim, Boko Haram
remained an ever-present threat
The Financial Times stated, “President Muhammadu Buhari in
2015 pronounced Boko Haram technically defeated’. That has proved fanciful.
Boko Haram has remained an ever-present threat. If the latest kidnapping turns
out to be its work, it would mark the spread of the terrorist group from its
north-eastern base.
“Even if the mass abduction was carried out by ‘ordinary’
bandits — as now looks possible — it underlines the fact of chronic criminality
and violence. Deadly clashes between herders and settled farmers have spread to
most parts of Nigeria. In the oil-rich, but impoverished, Delta region,
extortion through the sabotage of pipelines is legendary.”
The newspaper said security is not the only area where “the
state is failing”.
The Financial Times added that Nigeria has more poor people
than any other country even as Nigeria has the highest number of out of school
children on earth
The newspaper stated that as oil continues to lose its
value, Nigeria’s economy would worsen.
“The population, already above 200 million, is growing at a
breakneck 3.2 per cent a year. The economy has stalled since 2015 and real
living standards are declining. This year, the economy will shrink 4 per cent
after COVID-19 dealt a further blow to oil prices.
“In any case, as the world turns greener, the elite’s
scramble for oil revenue will become a game of diminishing returns. The country
desperately needs to put its finances, propped up by foreign borrowing, on a
sounder footing,” it said.
The newspaper said Buhari, who has less than three years left
in office, must use the remainder of his term, to redouble efforts at improving
security.
It advised the government to restore trust in key
institutions, among them the judiciary, the security services and the electoral
commission, which will preside over the 2023 elections.
The Financial Times said the #EndSARS protests led by
Nigerian youths, signaled a glimmer of hope for Nigeria’s teeming youth
population
It added, “The broad coalition that found political
expression this year in the EndSARS movement against police brutality provides
a shard of optimism. At least Nigeria has a relatively stable democracy. Now
Nigeria’s youth — creative, entrepreneurial and less tainted by the politics of
extraction — should use that system to reset the country’s narrative.”
The newspaper concluded by saying that it was time for
Nigeria to restructure its political system and concentrate on security,
health, education, power and roads
“At the present trajectory, the population will double to
400 million by 2050. If nothing is done, long before then, Nigeria will become
a problem far too big for the world to ignore,” it warned.
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