The economic legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari
On the eve of the 2015 presidential elections, hope and
desire for a new Nigeria were believed possible by many Nigerians as a military
man who seemed to be a man of virtue to many of his supporters was leading in
the polls. President Buhari had promised many the end of waste and carried a
manifesto of great economic evolution. Unfortunately, as his term has
concluded, his run has led the nation to a state of confusion and
vulnerability. To fairly evaluate the former General's contribution, it is
critical to evaluate his three key promises, which he aimed to control
insecurity, the economy, and corruption.
Buhari came to power at a time when abductions and severe
bombings were being reported daily, most often attributed to Boko Haram. This
Islamist group controlled large parts of northeast Nigeria. Professor Tukur
Abdulkadir of Kaduna University stated, "In terms of security, there are
some triumphs to speak of." "In 2015, substantial parts of the
northeast, especially Adamawa, Yobe and Borno States, were under the control of
Boko Haram insurgents," said Tukur. "Millions of people were
displaced." "Today, in 2023, tens of thousands are returning to their
villages and local governments. Boko Haram are actually on the run in most
parts of northern Nigeria." However, Nigeria news has shadowed this
triumph with the recent Unknown Gunmen attacks and the aggressive protests from
the naira notes redesign.
It is safe to say that economically he has not done much
better. In Buhari's first year in power, Nigeria entered a recession where the
economy shrunk with a GDP growth of -2.4% between April and June 2016. Over the
last seven years, food inflation in Nigeria has averaged 17 per cent – rising,
for instance, from 9.78 per cent in May 2015 to 20.3 per cent in November 2017.
The number of Nigerians living in poverty rose by 35 million in 2022. The
country's inflation rate increased to 21% in 2022, compared with an average of
10.6% for emerging and developing economies and 8.8% for the world. Finally,
for the international guideline for how well a nation is doing, the naira to
dollar in 2015 was 179.8 to 1 dollar at its best and 204.3 to 1 dollar at its
worst. In the final year of Buhari's administration, it is 757 to the dollar at
the black market and around 461.3 at the banks that, recently, have been
reluctant to take in the local currency (Naira).
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