President Muhammadu Buhari, who was inaugurated May 29, is the antithesis
\nof the stereotypical Nigerian politician: incorruptible, soft-spoken,
\nself-effacing and deliberate.\u00a0 He embraces the nickname \u201cBaba Go-Slow and
\nSteady.\u201d Buhari\u2019s unhurried style has its downsides, however: It took him
\nan unprecedented four months to name a solid but unextraordinary cabinet.
\nHis reform agenda appears to be sauntering out of the gates, according to
\nthe civil society-run Buharimeter.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the challenges facing Africa\u2019s most populous nation and
\nlargest economy continue to grow: Oil revenues are down, currency value
\nhas slipped and Boko Haram has killed more than 1,700 since June.
\nNigerians nevertheless expect their new president\u2019s reform agenda to show
\ntangible results, and soon. Given these imperatives, here are five things
\nBuhari can do to get the ball rolling:<\/p>\n
1. Carefully clean house. Buhari\u2019s reform agenda probably faces its
\ngreatest threat from corrupt, old-school politicians within his own All
\nProgressives Congress (APC) party.\u00a0 Buhari should neutralize some of the
\nAPC\u2019s shadiest figures, who could emerge as \u201cveto players,\u201d as described
\nin Carl LeVan\u2019s recent book.<\/p>\n
Examples of these kleptocrats are not hard to find.\u00a0 The U.S. Department
\nof Justice has accused one sitting APC governor of helping former dictator
\nSani Abacha steal at least $458 million from state coffers.\u00a0 Likewise,
\nboth APC candidates in the upcoming Kogi and Bayelsa State governorship
\nelections have been indicted by Nigeria\u2019s anti-corruption agency.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, housecleaning carries political risks for Buhari. After all,
\nhis victorious electoral coalition included powerful defectors from former
\npresident Goodluck Jonathan\u2019s People\u2019s Democratic Party (PDP).\u00a0 If he
\nunduly antagonizes these establishment figures, they could derail his
\nparty\u2019s newfound dominance by joining their former comrades in the
\nopposition PDP.<\/p>\n
2. Pare down the parastatals.\u00a0 Buhari has an opportunity to realize
\nimmediate savings by eliminating or merging some of Nigeria\u2019s more than
\n500 federal parastatals and boards. Parastatals are government-operated
\ncompanies or commercial agencies.\u00a0 Pundits allege that past presidents
\nused parastatal appointments to cultivate national political allies and
\nprovincial cronies.\u00a0 These institutions, which range from the lucrative to
\nthe modest to the moribund, have long been a cornerstone of corruption in
\nNigeria \u2014 a complicated topic expertly explained by Daniel Jordan Smith.<\/p>\n
Buhari may also want to disband some nice-to-have but non-essential
\nparastatals in light of competing priorities and current fiscal
\nconstraints.\u00a0 Does Nigeria need to spend more than $4 million annually on
\na Center for Space Transport and Propulsion? Is there an effort underway
\nto rescue the supposedly stranded Nigerian astronaut featured in this
\nlegendary scam letter?<\/p>\n
3. Tame the white elephants.\u00a0 Buhari\u2019s apparent determination to revive
\ntwo \u201cwhite elephant\u201d\u00a0 economic sectors \u2014 domestic oil refineries and steel
\nmills \u2014 worry industry experts.\u00a0 Nigeria is replete with these kinds of
\ninvestment projects where state-owned enterprises are funded for long
\nperiods even if they incur huge losses.\u00a0 For decades, Nigerian leaders
\nhave thrown good money after bad at these projects because, as Robinson
\nand Torvik argue, white elephant projects yield short-term political
\ngains.<\/p>\n
Buhari, like any of the rest of us, could stumble into a sunk cost dilemma
\nwhere his efforts to maximize future returns of Nigeria\u2019s white elephants
\nonly increase their cumulative losses. Instead, he should address the
\ngraft, inconsistent policies and opaque privatization deals that experts
\nsay turned these industries into white elephants in the first place.<\/p>\n
4. Rein in subnational debt.\u00a0 As Buhari tries to put Nigeria\u2019s public
\nfinances back in order, the balance sheets of the country\u2019s 36 states are
\nsinking deeper into the red.\u00a0 In a decentralized federal system like
\nNigeria\u2019s, state budgets typically affect the lives of ordinary citizens
\nmore than federal spending does. Since taking office, Buhari has already
\nbailed out 27 cash-strapped states to the tune of $2.1 billion.\u00a0 States\u2019
\nborrowing trends are risky and need to be addressed, according to a recent
\nreport by the African Development Bank.<\/p>\n
All but a few states generate minimal revenue outside of their monthly
\nallocation of Nigeria\u2019s anemic oil income.\u00a0 While Nigeria\u2019s national debt
\nis still relatively low by global standards, fiscal federalism means that
\nif states default on their debts, the federal government foots the bill.
\nBuhari\u2019s reasons for watching state borrowing should also be personal: One
\nof the stated reasons for the 1983 military coup that first brought him to
\npower was runaway borrowing by state governors.<\/p>\n
5. Legislate for the long run.\u00a0 Nigeria will need to feel the \u201cBuhari
\nEffect\u201d (the sense, evident in a recent New York Times article, that there
\nis a new sheriff in town) long after the president\u2019s tenure is over.\u00a0 The
\nbest way for him to protect his legacy is to partner with the National
\nAssembly to enact legislation enshrining key reforms.\u00a0 With few other
\npoliticians like him on the horizon, Buhari should put his legacy in
\nwriting.<\/p>\n
A good place to start would be an act prohibiting the use of \u201csecurity
\nvotes.\u201d Both a definitive article by Uche et al. and a 2007 Human Rights
\nWatch report illustrate how these secretive budgetary line items are used
\nby officials at all levels of government as slush funds. Even Nigeria\u2019s
\nleading anti-corruption agency had a $1,000,000 security vote included in
\nits 2014 budget. Buhari has his work cut out for him.<\/p>\n
Matthew Page is an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign
\nRelations. You can follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTPage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Muhammadu Buhari, who was inaugurated May 29, is the antithesis of the stereotypical Nigerian politician: incorruptible, soft-spoken, self-effacing and deliberate.\u00a0 He embraces the nickname \u201cBaba Go-Slow and Steady.\u201d Buhari\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n