London-based news magazine, The Economist, has described the
government of the President, Muhammadu Buhari, as inept and high-handed, adding
that he had also failed to tackle corruption.
The 178-year-old magazine said this in an editorial titled,
‘The Crime Scene at the Heart of Africa,’ which was published in its October
23, 2021, issue.
It said due to Buhari’s mismanagement of the economy, food
prices had soared while life had become more difficult for Nigerians.
The editorial read in part, “Economic troubles are
compounded by a government that is inept and heavy-handed. Mr Buhari, who was
elected in 2015, turned an oil shock into a recession by propping up the naira
and barring many imports in the hope this would spur domestic production.
“Instead he sent annual food inflation soaring above 20 per
cent. He has failed to curb corruption, which breeds resentment. Many Nigerians
are furious that they see so little benefit from the country’s billions of
petrodollars, much of which their rulers have squandered or stolen.”
The Economist stated that even before COVID-19 last year,
Nigeria was already witnessing unprecedented poverty.
The news magazine opined that this economic hardship was
fuelling the current insecurity in the country.
“Two factors help explain Nigeria’s increasing instability:
a sick economy and a bumbling government. Slow growth and two recessions have
made Nigerians poorer, on average, each year since oil prices fell in 2015.
“Before COVID-19, 40 per cent of them were below Nigeria’s
extremely low poverty line of about $1 a day. If Nigeria’s 36 states were
stand-alone countries, more than one-third would be categorised by the World
Bank as “low-income” (less than $1,045 a head). Poverty combined with
stagnation tends to increase the risk of civil conflict,” it argued.
The Economist gave the Nigerian Army a dressing down,
describing the military organisation as only strong on paper.
It alleged that the army had ghost workers on its payroll
and often sold equipment to insurgents who destabilise the nation.
The news magazine said the Nigeria Police Force was poorly
trained and underpaid hence they rob innocent citizens in order to augment
their salaries.
The editorial further read, “When violence erupts, the
government does nothing or crack heads almost indiscriminately. Nigeria’s Army
is mighty on paper. But many of its soldiers are ‘ghosts’ who exist only on the
payroll, and much of its equipment is stolen and sold to insurgents. The army is
also stretched thin, having been deployed to all of Nigeria’s states.
“The police are understaffed, demoralised and poorly
trained. Many supplement their low pay by robbing the public they have sworn to
protect.”
It called on the Department of State Services to stop
disobeying court orders and release all those being detained illegally.
The Economist described as scandalous the refusal of the
Nigerian government to arrest and prosecute any of the security operatives that
killed protesters in Lagos last year.
The news magazine said in order to stop the slide towards
lawlessness, Nigeria’s government should make its own forces obey the law.
The editorial further read, “Soldiers and police who murder
or torture should be prosecuted. That no one has been held accountable for the
slaughter of perhaps 15 peaceful demonstrators against police abuses in Lagos
last year is a scandal. The secret police should stop ignoring court orders to
release people who are being held illegally. This would not just be morally
right, but also practical: young men who see or experience state brutality are
more likely to join extremist groups.”
The news magazine noted that Nigeria was home to one of the
largest film industries in the world and had the most successful start-ups in
sub-Saharan Africa.
It argued that despite the great potential of the country,
youths were beginning to emigrate in droves because of the sorry state of
Nigeria.
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