The Economist:

NIGERIANS might be forgiven for thinking they have travelled back in time. Their president, Muhammadu Buhari, has revived some of the economic policies he favoured when he was last in power, as a military dictator in the 1980s, such as restricting imports and propping up the currency. Such retro thinking has failed to rescue Nigeria from its first recession in 20 years; indeed, it has probably made it worse. And now social policy is going back in time, too.

Under a new “national reorientation” campaign called “Change Begins with Me” Mr Buhari wants to tame Nigerians. Moral “degeneration”, he says, is the reason that drivers run red lights and militants blow up pipelines. “Our value system has been badly eroded,” the president lamented in a speech that plagiarised Barack Obama’s 2008 victory address. A presidential spokesman blamed an “overzealous” speech-writer who will face “appropriate sanction”.

Others may face the same fate. A “War Against Indiscipline” brigade, first drafted by Mr Buhari in 1984, was relaunched last month and is hunting for funds for its 150,000 volunteers, who are patriotically clad in green and white. According to the National Orientation Agency (whose Orwellian departments include one for “Behaviour Modification”), their job is to restore order and “inculcate the spirit of nationalism in all Nigerians”.

Nigeria’s public services have been hollowed out by years of corruption, and some locals remember the era of military rule as more orderly. Others remember it as brutal. During Mr Buhari’s first War Against Indiscipline soldiers used horse whips to beat those who littered or jumped queues and punished others by making them jump like frogs. “It became totally arbitrary,” says Clement Nwankwo, a human-rights campaigner. One of his friends, he recalls, was jailed for owning an unlicensed telex machine.

The dangers of unleashing the moral police are manifest. One man has been arrested for naming his dog after the president. In Kano, a mostly Muslim northern state, an Islamic unit called the Hisbah has long terrorised people accused of committing adultery.

Mr Buhari’s critics gripe that, if he wants to make Nigeria a more moral country, he should start by cleaning up the government. Police officers regularly extort bribes with menaces. The army is accused of killing and torturing civilians. In Lagos the state government’s “Kick Against Indiscipline” enforcement team demands weekly bribes from long-suffering roadside vendors.

Matthew Kukah, a bishop in the northern city of Sokoto, doubts that Mr Buhari’s campaign will work. “Chaos is a function of scarcity,” he argues. “You cannot expect hungry people to line up for a few bags of rice.”

sanandreas:
We would learn from this mistake. How can a stark illiterate run the affairs of a country? He has displayed nepotism and favouritism over the past one year. No economic blue print whatsoever. I think it is high time we have institution put in place. For anyone vying for the post of a senator, governor and president. They must pass through a school to certify them of being able to lead. Look at Buhari's poor academic performance. What do u expect him to offer?

eshietIntrepid:
I'm tired of these economies or any other group condemning buhari now, were they not the same people that praise buhari as a born again democrat.


Stop blaming buhari and start blaming urself from seen to little from the election
Let me just live with this force hardship,

cuteboy2:
For those looking for source. Here you have it:>>>>

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21707549-former-dictator-dredges-up-old-social-policies-behave-or-be-whipped

Standing5:
While the usual suspects come to do their part I want to point out the fact any economic challenge faced today is largely cause by mismanagement and dependence on oil. Most people here are only interested in heaping blame on Buhari and barely understand the extent to which policies can influence a capital-less system like Buhari inherited.

EternalTruths:
Is that lady in uniform a member of War Against Indiscipline.


Buhari go kill person

cuteboy2:


Yes, and that mismanagement and dependence on oil alone, or what is called monocultural economy, or a single-commodity-driven economy and the devastating effect of that on the Nigeria's external reserves is aptly amplified in another thread:

https://www.nairaland.com/3365622/external-reserves-drop-24bn

Regardless, Obasanjo has come out to say that he met just $3billion in the national reserves when he took over from General Abdulsalami Abubakar, whereas Buhari inherited $30billion.

Today, as reported by CBN that reserve has dwindled to $24 billion. That is a drop of $6billion under 18months of Buhari's government with absolutely nothing to show for it. In addition to this, this government claims to have recovered almost $500m (N78b, $185m, £3.5m, Euro 11,250 = $452m) from looted funds.

Nigerians are beginning to ask the troubling question. Where has all the money gone?. Considering no infrastructure project in power, rail, aviation, road refinery, LNG, fertilizer or ports facilities has been implemented by this government. In fact the government is actually looking up to Dangote to provide some of these industrial facilities. Yet workers are being owed months of salary arrears.

On top of this it has gone on massive borrowing campaign to IMF and China.

cuteboy2:
For those looking for source. Here you have it:>>>>

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21707549-former-dictator-dredges-up-old-social-policies-behave-or-be-whipped

cuteboy2:
For those looking for source. Here you have it:>>>>

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21707549-former-dictator-dredges-up-old-social-policies-behave-or-be-whipped

Standing5:
All the funds injectected into the economy is nothing to you. Keep it up.

cuteboy2:



All the funds injected where? And the Minister of Finance is struggling to "guess" where the N2.2 trillion was spent on?

If you know where the "injection" was done, maybe you should help Kemi Adesosun out. Because she is obviously at sea as what the money was spent on.

Standing5:
FG's salary bill per month is over N170B. Add to that the N350B, ~N400B, and N200B+ released.