Vunderkind
Social Member
Arguments and counter-arguments are flying in the political airspace, and true to type, disquisitions are becoming rife with a potpourri of truths, half-truths and downright lies.
My interest was piqued when Buhari spoke about Nigeria's economy in a widely-publicized interview that rapidly became politicized. One thing I remember starkly - primarily because I, myself, was horrified to hear it - was Buhari's mention of stabilizing the oil market.
Politically resolute writers took to their blogs and social media mechanisms of choice, firing off vitriol at Buhari and in the general direction of APC: "How can a man who doesn't know how the economy works bring stability? How the hell does he think he can stabilize the oil economy? Only someone who doesn't know anything about the oil economy would say something as ignorant as that."
I had my misgivings as well, and the sense of foreboding I've been having over 2015 thickened. Being politically asexual, I bear no affiliations to any party, but I have - like every other Nigerian - become increasingly concerned about who manages the helm of Nigerian affairs since our security and economic plight nosedived like a kamikaze pilot.
Let us quickly examine Buhari's portfolio:
In 1984, Buhari introduced belt-tightening measures to Nigeria's economy in the form of counter-trade and restriction of importation. The immediate result was a sharp rise in inflation (as the tables below show): from 40.91% in 1984 to 22.22% in 1983.
But in 1985, Nigeria's inflation dropped into one of the lowest the country has ever seen - 3.21% in 1985.
In keeping with the principle of cause and effect, when Buhari's government was overthrown, in 1986 inflation crept up to 6.25%, and by 1989 it had reached 49.02%. (Source: (http://www.indexmundi.com/nigeria/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices).html))
How about Nigeria's GDP? Some argue that Buhari's measures were so heavy-handed it totally damaged the Nigerians forced to bear the brunt financially.
Another statistic from Trading Economics (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/nig...power-parity-ppp-per-capita-gdp-imf-data.html) would state otherwise.
It's the same pattern as before. In 1983 - or pre-Buhari - the country's GDP (based on purchasing power parity (PPP)) was $875.662. In 1984, it dropped to $866.54, then in 1985 it jumped to $940.74.
Switch over to 1986 and 1987 - IBB's reign - and we see the remarkable drop to $852.865 and $761.044 respectively.
An argument can be made for the fact that Buhari inherited Nigeria's economic woes from Shagari (let's not forget the global economic meltdown that rocked the world between the late 1970s and the early 1980s).
In an attempt at fairness, I will also mention here that there are counter-arguments that state that Buhari's economic measures resulted in poor standards of living of several Nigerians, and that several people lost their jobs during the 'austerity measure procedures of Buharism.'
Perhaps people were hurt as the wheels of Buharism turned. I do not know. However, do we really entertain the illusion that drastic economic measures wouldn't have obvious effects on the polity? If the figures above are to be trusted, and if we sustain the argument that Buhari made life generally harder for the masses, how do you explain the tables/charts above?
References: Abusidiqu.com, Wikipedia, Index Mundi, Trading Economics
My interest was piqued when Buhari spoke about Nigeria's economy in a widely-publicized interview that rapidly became politicized. One thing I remember starkly - primarily because I, myself, was horrified to hear it - was Buhari's mention of stabilizing the oil market.
Politically resolute writers took to their blogs and social media mechanisms of choice, firing off vitriol at Buhari and in the general direction of APC: "How can a man who doesn't know how the economy works bring stability? How the hell does he think he can stabilize the oil economy? Only someone who doesn't know anything about the oil economy would say something as ignorant as that."
I had my misgivings as well, and the sense of foreboding I've been having over 2015 thickened. Being politically asexual, I bear no affiliations to any party, but I have - like every other Nigerian - become increasingly concerned about who manages the helm of Nigerian affairs since our security and economic plight nosedived like a kamikaze pilot.
Let us quickly examine Buhari's portfolio:
In 1984, Buhari introduced belt-tightening measures to Nigeria's economy in the form of counter-trade and restriction of importation. The immediate result was a sharp rise in inflation (as the tables below show): from 40.91% in 1984 to 22.22% in 1983.
But in 1985, Nigeria's inflation dropped into one of the lowest the country has ever seen - 3.21% in 1985.
In keeping with the principle of cause and effect, when Buhari's government was overthrown, in 1986 inflation crept up to 6.25%, and by 1989 it had reached 49.02%. (Source: (http://www.indexmundi.com/nigeria/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices).html))
How about Nigeria's GDP? Some argue that Buhari's measures were so heavy-handed it totally damaged the Nigerians forced to bear the brunt financially.
Another statistic from Trading Economics (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/nig...power-parity-ppp-per-capita-gdp-imf-data.html) would state otherwise.
It's the same pattern as before. In 1983 - or pre-Buhari - the country's GDP (based on purchasing power parity (PPP)) was $875.662. In 1984, it dropped to $866.54, then in 1985 it jumped to $940.74.
Switch over to 1986 and 1987 - IBB's reign - and we see the remarkable drop to $852.865 and $761.044 respectively.
An argument can be made for the fact that Buhari inherited Nigeria's economic woes from Shagari (let's not forget the global economic meltdown that rocked the world between the late 1970s and the early 1980s).
In an attempt at fairness, I will also mention here that there are counter-arguments that state that Buhari's economic measures resulted in poor standards of living of several Nigerians, and that several people lost their jobs during the 'austerity measure procedures of Buharism.'
Perhaps people were hurt as the wheels of Buharism turned. I do not know. However, do we really entertain the illusion that drastic economic measures wouldn't have obvious effects on the polity? If the figures above are to be trusted, and if we sustain the argument that Buhari made life generally harder for the masses, how do you explain the tables/charts above?
References: Abusidiqu.com, Wikipedia, Index Mundi, Trading Economics
