Nigeria in 2008

Nigeria in 2008

Area: 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi)
Population (2008 est.): 146,255,000
Capital: Abuja
Head of state and government: President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua

During 2008 Nigeria’s economy was severely affected by the global financial crisis that forced the central bank to revise financial policy and caused Nigerian industrialists to panic and begin withdrawals from their local and overseas accounts. The price of crude oil, the country’s major export, underwent wild fluctuations—beginning the year at $95, peaking at $147 in July, and then plunging below $70 in October. Earlier in the year Nigeria’s prospects had looked hopeful to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and realize its Vision 2020: the average growth rate was about 6.9%; external reserves amounted to about $63 billion; the naira (national currency) had appreciated significantly against leading currencies; and the non-oil sector showed strong performance. By mid-October, however, the government had completely depleted $14.6 billion in windfall oil profits. Meanwhile, fears that the world oil price might fall below Nigeria’s benchmark figure of $62 a barrel necessitated a rethinking of budgetary priorities for 2009.

Pres. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who had come to power in May 2007 after a flawed election in April, consolidated his position, though he was criticized for his gradual approach in implementing campaign promises and was nicknamed “Baba-go-slow.” In February his election as president was upheld by a tribunal, which freed him to assert his independence from former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Yar’Adua instituted a reform of the oil sector, tightened his grip on the military, and reduced corruption; he faced daunting problems, however, in repairing the electricity grid. In August worries about his health surfaced owing to his prolonged 19-day trip to Saudi Arabia for religious and medical reasons, but his vigorous return to public life allayed these fears.

Transparency International (TI), a global watchdog organization in the fight against corruption, acknowledged “significant improvement” in Nigeria’s status, moving it up on TI’s corruption index from 147 (in 2007) to 121 of 180 countries (in 2008). The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was praised for some high-profile arrests but was also ridiculed as a tool for attacking the government’s political enemies. The EFCC claimed that it had obtained about 250 convictions and recovered about $4 billion in confiscated assets and fines. Nevertheless, powerful interests obstructed its activities. Some state governors arrested under EFCC charges of corruption had also been generous contributors to Yar’Adua’s presidential campaign. They joined other implicated members of the political elite to force the dismissal of the first EFCC director and turned the spotlight in the direction of former president Obasanjo and his family. In mid-October, however, the EFCC dismissed the charges against Obasanjo and 31 state governors for lack of sufficient evidence.

Violence in the Niger delta surged to new levels, pushing the region to the verge of anarchy and resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in oil revenue. A volatile mix of armed militias, criminal gangs, unemployed youths, greedy politicians, corrupt police and military officers, and intransigent oil companies competed for a share in oil profits. In June and again in September, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) spearheaded two well-organized, sophisticated armed operations against the oil companies and the federal army, which succeeded in disrupting production and forcing Royal Dutch Shell to suspend production temporarily. In some areas oil production fell from 20% to 50% of capacity. Unilateral cease-fire declarations demonstrated the militants’ strength and discipline and reinforced their demand to participate in a “stakeholders’ summit” to discuss local autonomy and a more equitable distribution of oil revenue. Rather than address the socioeconomic roots of unrest, the Joint Task Force launched military attacks on rebel camps and arrested hundreds of suspected militants, while the Senate passed legislation criminalizing organized violence and acts of terrorism. Meanwhile, ordinary people lived in poverty on devastated land with little hope of relief in the near future.

by: LaRay Denzer