http://punchng.com/jonathan-buhari-blame-poor-economy/
Rather than apportioning blame, I would consider the factors that are responsible for the economic challenges. There are two major factors to consider – external and internal problems.

The external factors are outside the control of the country but they have serious impacts on our economy. The collapse of the global oil market has a direct implication for the Nigerian economy. About three years ago, a barrel of crude was over $100. Now the same barrel is about $40. Oil is the main source of the revenue of the country.

Also related to this is the crisis in the Niger Delta, which has drastically reduced the volume we were producing a few years ago. We used to export over two million barrels per day. Now, we export 600,000 barrels below that quantity.

Secondly, the United States has become a major producer of crude. That used to be our market. The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas is not doing well as it used to because there are many other countries that operate in the market. Apart from that, the global economy has slowed down. If the global economy was doing well, there would be more demand for oil and gas. Demand for both oil and gas has fallen while supply has increased, causing a crisis in the market.
Because of several reasons, the inflow of foreign capital has gone down. That is another extraneous factor that is responsible for the current problems.

But more fundamental are the internal factors. And some of these factors originated from the immediate past administration. That is where I would blame the past administration for part of the problem. One, we did not prepare fully for the kind of economic crisis that we are confronted with now. Both our external reserve and excess crude account reduced drastically during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Many of the states are insolvent today because they went borrowing without much check by the Federal Government. Corruption was high while the Petroleum Industry Bill that should have been passed to lay a strong foundation for investment in the sector was stalled. There were challenges.

But the current administration cannot continue to hide under those challenges. We are over a year into the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Yet, people are still asking – what is the economic direction of the country? Where is the document that one could look at to see our objectives, strategies and the coordination of the economic programmes that would take us to our destination? I cannot see any concerted effort or blueprint that would take us out of the problems.

Every government meets challenges. The responsibility of the government is not to emphasise those challenges but to bail out the country. President Barack Obama met challenges; the US’ unemployment rate was about 11 per cent when he came into the office. But that has dropped to about five per cent. There were policies and programmes to address the challenges. In the case of the Buhari administration, I have not seen any sense of urgency to get out of the challenges. We expected to see an economic document like the one developed by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo when he came into power in 1999.

The economic policies (of the government) do not have linkages. Look at the exchange policy. You don’t even know what policy it is. Is it deregulated, controlled or regulated floating exchange rate? We have all kinds of markets; the existence of unofficial and official rates is an indication of the inefficiency of the monetary authority. At the black market, it is about N390/dollar; at the official market, it is about N300/dollar. I understand there is also a window where you can get N199/dollar. That creates uncertainty among investors.

Prof. Adeola Adenikinju (Director, Centre for Petroleum Energy Economics and Law, University of Ibadan)
I do not think this is the appropriate time to blame anybody. We may do that later. Political governance is a continuous thing. President Muhammadu Buhari started where his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, stopped.

Jonathan might not have done his best, hence, Buhari was elected to right what went wrong in the six years of Jonathan’s administration.

So far, I think Buhari is doing well. The fight against corruption is a good way to reposition the economy. Also, we need to guarantee the safety of lives and property in order to have a robust economy. I would give good marks to Buhari in the area of security.

Yet, there are certain things I think the President needs to do to fast-track economic recovery. He needs to encourage local production. The economy also needs to be diversified and our infrastructures need to be fixed. So far, we have not seen much effort in this regards.

Abudullahi Etsemeuno (Acting Registrar/National Coordinator, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria)
The economic challenges were caused by the Goodluck Jonathan administration. This is because there were supposed to be sufficient savings for the rainy day. But the administration squandered the savings left by the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

The administration, at a point, was borrowing money to survive. That should not have happened.

The current administration inherited problems; it did not know the magnitude of the problems until it assumed power. It did not realise that the country was already borrowing before it came in. when ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo was leaving office, we had about $50bn in the reserve.

When Jonathan assumed office, it was still above $40bn. The administration should have built on the reserve because the prices of oil were still high. But the public officials were busy stealing money when they should have been building on the reserve.

The government did not develop the infrastructure. Yet, it blew away the reserve and started borrowing as soon the prices of oil fell.

Sheriffdeen Tella (Professor of Economics and former Vice-Chancellor, Crescent University, Ogun State)
The current administration is grappling with perennial economic challenges. However, the administration lacks the focus and the appropriate expertise to handle the challenges. The fact is that there is no country that does not have challenges. Every country finds a way to manage its challenges. That is what this administration has not been able to do. There has to be a sound economic team at a critical time like this.

The administration seems to have good economic programmes but it appears to lack competent individuals required to implement them.

You cannot say that you are fighting corruption and you put the economy on suspension mode. The Buhari administration is using military tactics to lead a democratic country. That is the challenge.

For me, the administration has the responsibility to put the economy on the path of growth, which it is not doing. It has continued to complain of lack of funds. What has it done with the loots it recovered from corrupt politicians? That money should have been channeled to the productive sectors of the economy.

Ken Oteje (Economic analyst)
The administration of Goodluck Jonathan did not do what was required to avert the problems we face today. The money the past administration earned from crude some years back was not properly used. The reserve was wasted; that was the money the government should have used to fix the infrastructure and diversify the economy.

But we cannot exclude the current administration entirely. We are like a country that is on a battlefield. You cannot send naval officers to the desert to fight neither would you send those who should be operating fighter jets to the sea to fight and expect a good result. The administration needs to put the right people in strategic positions if we must overcome the economic challenges facing us.

As an economist, I consider economic stabilisation the most crucial in every decision I analyse. We must be able to stabilise the economy. The government needs to sustain the growth we have recorded after which it could think about growing the economy. If the President had put in place his cabinet and put the right people in sensitive positions much earlier, we would have probably averted some of the current challenges.

• Friday Udo (Port Harcourt-based economist/accountant)

Both jointly and severely... FTC

Start from Lugard

This seems like a thread for bloody fight btw pdp and apc. *Make i just park here go grab popcorn

This thread will bring out all the E-sabres, sticks and stones for sure..




The fact is that, the blame remains squarely the fault of Low oil price + Low reserves that have been acting as band aids on the festering and gangrene sore called Mono product, import dependent economy.m

We've never had a productive and viable economy, we've been coasting because of strastropheric (especially between '10-'13) oil prices...

Not appointing cabinet on time, previous administration almost obliterating the foreign reserves, manipulating FX & such wouldn't have mattered if record oil sale proceeds were still rolling in to cater to kind of non productive, consumptive lifestyles!!

We are free to continue to speak oyinbo sha.

Jonathan put us in this mess we've found ourselves. Some idiots won't still see the big picture.

I foresee a bloody E_war


Mayday! Mayday!! Mayday!!!


Over over,do u copy!

Jonathan might not have done his best, hence, Buhari was elected to right what went wrong in the six years of Jonathan’s administration.

This part above got me.
People abeg make i blow small grammar here.

Buhari was elected to right the wrongs in jonathan's administration but not only has he not done that, buhari is now wronging the rights in jonathan's administration.
Buhari is a disaster and must take the blame for what is happening in naija. The dullardona inherited the best economy in africa but has now turned it to the worst. You people can blame the fall in oil price or blame jona or blame avengers, the fact still remains that buhari destroyed the economy with his lack of policies. Its edging towards two years he's been in power but the only tging he does is to pick up fights here and there.

Jonathan hands down!


Thanks to his cluelessness, incompetency and sheer stupidity, we find ourselves a beggar nation!

EpicMaurice:
This seems like a thread for bloody fight btw pdp and apc.
*Make i just park here go grab popcorn

Bros abeg I dey your side-o, try make the popcorn go round!

blackpanda:
Jonathan hands down!


Thanks to his cluelessness, incompetency and sheer stupidity, we find ourselves a beggar nation!

Banning of banks receiving or paying out dollars caused this wahala;many people took their foreign currencies to Niger,Ghana,Repubic of Benin and so on. Hence non liquidity of foreign exchange

All of us pretending here!

We all contributed to it!!!

suzan404:
na the both of them jarebirds of the same feather

lalasticlala I beg come settle this blame game tussle oh. Happy new week sir, God bless us All

Omooba77:


Banning of banks receiving or paying out dollars caused this wahala;many people took their foreign currencies to Niger,Ghana,Repubic of Benin and so on. Hence non liquidity of foreign exchange

On the contrary, this problem started long before banning of banks. The banning of banks was to prevent the scarce forex from being fleeced out. For some reason, nigerians are blessed with selective amnesia. We tend to recollect history in such a way that it suits our political bias.

blackpanda:


On the contrary, this problem started long before banning of banks. The banning of banks was to prevent the scarce forex from being fleeced out. For some reason, nigerians are blessed with selective amnesia. We tend to recollect history in such a way that it suits our political bias.

Oga you are the one that forgets history sir; in 1984 denominations were changed and same effect as we are having now.

The president bears the brunt.

The blame is always on the president.

Blame the current president he has been on the sit for more than a year.

juman:
The president bears the brunt.

The blame is always on the president.

Blame the current president he has been on the sit for more than a year.

You mind the hypocrites;during the last regime uptil now self,everything wrong was(is) GEJ

Is Seun or mynd44 to be blamed as chief lalasticlala no wan take side

Very thoughtful write up

Jonathan...


He blew our savings on nothing and blew all our earnings as well..

Under GEJ, oil at one point Oil sold for 160 USD per barrel, yet excess crude account depreciated from what Obasanjo left.


Under GEJ, our debt profile rose after Obasanjo had negotiated and paid off our previous debts.

The Agricultural revolution he kept talking about during his campaign was a scam because now that Oil prices are in the gutters, we still have no agricultural exports to back the economy.. (Don't tell me about Obiano's phantom 5 Million Dollars Bitterleaf and Ugu).

BLAME BOTH

both of them

Lol

I blame Jonathan, he was also responsible for 1984 economic disaster

Both of em to be honest.
Johnny didn't save and Bubu is fùcking up the economy...
#dicksoutforharambe

silllly question, during GEJ i used to by a bag of rice at rate of 8k, Now is now 20K and u asking me for who to blame for the poor economy ?

Oil price fell to $40 in June 2014 while GEJ was in power, he was still able to manage the economy for 1 year before pmb came to power.... During that one year, dollar was $220 to a Naira and people are not complaining like this.....

PMB resumed May 2015, used 6 months to find his saint ministers, within 1 year and few months, the Dollar is exchanged at double what GEJ left..... and people are suffering except we want to lie.....

The difference, PMB was voted to implement his change, his economy policy and not to blame past administration.... So what we are going through now is PMB fault.

Quote me 1 million times, I won't respond.

What i do know is that under the supposed 'clueless one' our economy became the strongest in Africa and has now been on the decline since 'our saviour buhari' took over.