Amadi: Buhari’s ‘Highly Disappointing’ Gov’t May Cause ‘Disastrous Political Fallout’ In 2023

Nigeria must experience a ‘radical political reform’ if the country’s efforts at achieving economic stability and sustainability must be realized.

Professor Sam Amadi, who stated this on Wednesday, however, said that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration lacked the political will to bring about the needed radical changes.

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The human rights lawyer and former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Board (NERC) disagreed with the Federal Government on its claim that the country’s present economic woes came as a result of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an article posted on his Facebook page and titled “The obstacle to Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 economic revival”, Amadi said the country’s economy had started witnessing a rapid decline long before the pandemic.

He also identified the country’s “failing governance” as the major threat to its economic sustainability.

According to Amadi, the Buhari administration’s failure to address increased Boko Haram insurgency, banditry and kidnapping across the country had affected agricultural activities and put more people at risk of hunger.

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“If more and more Nigerians continue to become poorer and poorer, banditry and insurgence will increase. This will further fray national cohesion and drive a highly contentious political manoeuvring, which would further erode political stability, economic productivity, and poverty alleviation,” he said.

Amadi also warned that Nigeria risked becoming like Guinea, Mali, and Chad, where emphasis is placed on transactional leadership and consolidation of power, “rather than entrenching democratic accountability and empowering the citizens.”  

His article partly reads: “As Nigeria moves closer to a definitive general election in 2023 with the hope of replacing the highly disappointing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the lack of political will to undertake radical changes to the country’s political economy means the security and economic crises would worsen, potentially leading to a disastrous political fallout.

“Meanwhile, Nigeria’s administrative state is very weak, which means that the instruments of regulating economic and social transactions are underdeveloped. To compound the issue, the politics of economic rent and extraction has weakened the middle class and made elite consensus difficult to forge. Therefore, kickstarting economic growth as well as ensuring equity and justice will continue to challenge the current administration.

“If the elite cannot agree on basic structures of their society, especially those that relate to social justice and fairness, then the political stability needed for economic progress will be jeopardized. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who chaired the committee that produced the NESP (Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan), has hinted at the danger of vanishing elite consensus and the need to rebuild trust in government in order to raise social capital amongst Nigerians. However, the incompetent and biased policies of the government constitute an obstacle to his recommendations.

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“The Chandler Institute of Governance rating has newly highlighted the fact that Nigeria is in a governance quandary. Nigeria is rated the third worst governed country in the world, just ahead of Zimbabwe and Venezuela. The 2021 report says Nigeria is poor in governance, leadership, and foresight, and that the country’s leadership lacks the ability to innovate and develop long-term vision. Under the government that came into office on the promise to decisively fight corruption, the country is also found wanting in strict enforcement of antigraft measures.

“The foregoing indicates that the most formidable challenge to achieving the economic sustainability plan is not the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, Nigeria’s failing governance is the major threat its economic sustainability.”

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