Buhari’s administration lacks clear direction – Financial Times

Financial Times of London has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritize a “coherent agenda, implemented by technocrats rather than ideologues,” if he would have things turn round in Nigeria.

This was contained in the international newspaper’s editorial entitled “Nigeria’s president has a chance to make amend,” where it lamented the position President Buhari’s first four years in power left the most populous African nation, and suggested what the former military ruler can do to remedy Nigeria’s situation generally.

“The Nigerian people deserve better than this. Democracy has to mean more than a poorly run election every four years. With his renewed mandate, it is now Mr. Buhari’s task to rebuild faith by running a dynamic and successful administration and by building the institutions that can lay firmer foundations than in his previous term.

“The omens from his first four years in office are not good. During that time, the former military leader ran a lacklustre administration with no obvious sense of direction. There was no coherent economic strategy of the sort being attempted by the likes of Ethiopia, Rwanda or West African neighbours Ghana and Senegal to produce the rapid growth needed to haul tens of millions of people out of poverty,” the newspaper said.

It is an indictment of its leadership — both military and democratic — that the continent’s biggest oil producer should have more people living in absolute poverty than any other country in the world.”

According to the newspaper, Nigeria desperately needs to create a level playing field for business in which access to foreign currency, permits and other requirements is both predictable and rational.

It said “Buhari’s government vaunted crackdown on corruption must go beyond taking action against a few minor officials. Some big scalps would help.”

The newspaper went further to say that the more important thing Buhari should do, will be to implement systematic changes; “whether by reforming institutions, using technology or by removing arbitrage opportunities — to create a more transparent environment. People should prosper in Nigeria based on what they know and how much value and employment they can create, not by their connections.”

It also said that Buhari in his first term government was not successful on security, citing credible evidence of a renewed threat in the north-east in the form of a breakaway Islamist group.