May 29 was a historic yin-and-yang moment for Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy. On the positive side, a peaceful and orderly transfer of power followed a general election with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, 70, being sworn in in Abuja as Nigeria’s 16th Executive President. He was also the seventh elected leader, completing a quarter of a century of unbroken constitutional democracy. This puts Nigeria as an outlier in a continent with a merited reputation for political instability.
Issues and solutions
Yet, this stellar accomplishment stands diminished by a stubborn constant: a puzzling inability of the Nigerian leadership to realise the evident socio-economic potential of this oil-rich and fertile country known for competent professionals and entrepreneurs. Endemic issues of insecurity, high unemployment and corruption have long defied resolution. Nigeria has the dubious distinction of having the world’s largest number of people below the poverty line and children out of school. Insecurity has been a recurrent feature, with reports punctuated by Boko Haram carnage, mass kidnappings for ransom, bloody ethnic conflicts and petty robberies. Despite various “energetic” attempts, the country’s grid power generation has remained stuck at around 4GW — approximately half the peak power consumption of Delhi. Even after spending $25 billion on revamping the oil refineries, these continue to operate at less than 30% of their capacity, forcing the oil-exporting country to import petroleum products. Theft of the crude and its “bunkering” is estimated to cost the country $5.4 billion annually, and fund illegal activities including armed militias.
