Nigerian President Muhummadu Buhari writes of building an economic bridge<\/p>\n
to Nigeria\u2019s future (\u201cThe Three Changes Nigeria Needs,\u201d op-ed, June 14).
\nIt\u2019s hard to see how his administration\u2019s inflexibility, lack of vision
\nand reactive approach will achieve this.<\/p>\n
Mr. Buhari notes that building trust is a priority for Nigeria. But an
\nanticorruption drive that is selective and focused on senior members of
\nthe opposition party creates deep political divisions. Meanwhile, members
\nof Mr. Buhari\u2019s own cabinet, accused of large-scale corruption, walk free.
\nSeventy percent of the national treasury is spent on the salaries and
\nbenefits of government officials, who make upwards of $2 million a year.
\nAs for Mr. Buhari\u2019s ideas to rebalance the economy and regenerate growth,
\nhis damaging and outdated monetary policy has been crippling. The
\nmanufacturing sector, essential to Nigeria\u2019s diversification, has been
\nhardest hit, exacerbating an already fast-growing employment crisis.
\nForeign investors have started to flee en masse.<\/p>\n
Mr. Buhari makes only brief mention of the country\u2019s deteriorating
\nsecurity situation. But security and stability are precursors to economic
\ngrowth and development. Boko Haram has been pushed back for now, but
\nlittle attention is paid to the structural issues that have spurred its
\nrise.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Nigerian government has diverted much-needed military
\nresources to the Niger Delta, where rising militancy has reduced Nigeria\u2019s
\noil production to less than half the country\u2019s capacity, and half the
\namount required to service the national budget. Much of these tensions
\narise from Mr. Buhari\u2019s decision to cut amnesty payments to militants and
\nan excessively hard-line approach in a
\nsocially and politically sensitive environment.<\/p>\n
Other ethnic tensions are also growing. In the country\u2019s south, protests
\nhave been met by a bloody response from the Nigerian military, stoking the
\nfire and galvanizing support for an independent state of Biafra. Rising
\ntensions could again pose one of the greatest threats to Nigeria\u2019s
\nstability and future.<\/p>\n
Pete Hoekstra<\/p>\n
Senior Fellow<\/p>\n
The Investigative Project on Terrorism<\/p>\n
Washington<\/p>\n
Mr. Hoekstra was the former chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence
\nCommittee from 2004 to 2007.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigerian President Muhummadu Buhari writes of building an economic bridge to Nigeria\u2019s future (\u201cThe Three Changes Nigeria Needs,\u201d op-ed, June 14). It\u2019s hard to see how his administration\u2019s inflexibility, lack…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n