Wily Tinubu stuffed his government with cronies but making progress: Financial Times

Amidst unprecedented hardship in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has been hailed for its bold yet haphazardly executed economic and monetary policies despite being “stuffed with cronies”.

“That so much has been achieved by a government stuffed with cronies — and, to be fair, one or two competent technocrats — shows how much could be achieved if Nigeria really got its act together. There are plenty of ways for Tinubu to build on a promising start,” said a Financial Times editorial published Tuesday titled ‘Nigeria’s shock therapy: Why President Tinubu should press on’.

While acknowledging Mr Tinubu’s success amid chaos, the publication claimed Nigeria is currently better off than at any time in the last 10 years.

The report said, “Halfway through the first presidential term of Bola Tinubu, who completes two years in office this Thursday, Nigeria is in better shape than at any time in the past decade. That may come as a surprise — or even sound like a sick joke — to tens of millions of Nigerians who are suffering the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

“Yet Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos and the country’s wiliest politician in a generation, has stabilised the economy and laid the groundwork for a broader recovery. This year, the World Bank expects growth of 3.7 per cent, in what would be Nigeria’s best performance since 2014 save for a post-Covid rebound.

“Most ordinary Nigerians won’t feel that yet. But it is a decent performance when oil prices are weak. The tiny green shoots have come because Tinubu’s government has tackled — albeit in often haphazard fashion — debilitating structural distortions.”

The report, however, decried Nigeria’s over-reliance on oil and the greed of its leaders, noting the country should be Africa’s engine of growth.

“For years, Nigeria has been not so much a sleeping giant as a comatose one. Home to nearly one in five sub-Saharan Africans, its market of 230mn people should be an engine of continental growth. Instead it has been a drag, stuck in an oil-dependent rut, plagued by banditry and run by a political elite bent on self-enrichment. It is hardly surprising that all but a few investors may have missed the fact that Nigeria has turned a corner.”

It claimed that Mr Tinubu’s subsidy removal and monetary policy restoration resulted in the stabilisation of the country’s currency, hailing the government for increasing tax receipts.

“As Nigeria’s election cycle edges towards 2027, Tinubu may be tempted to slow the pace of change. That would be a mistake. He should forge ahead, with the overriding aim of making ordinary Nigerians — not just investors — feel the benefits of shock therapy,” the UK-based newspaper stated.