Lagos, May 29 – Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s newly inaugurated president, confronts a host of pressing issues including widespread violence, soaring inflation, and rampant oil theft as he assumes leadership.
Challenges to Tinubu’s victory in the February election by his main rivals have led analysts to suggest that he will need to engage with opponents in order to reconcile a deeply divided nation.
Outlined below are Tinubu’s proposed strategies for addressing the problems that many Nigerians believe were exacerbated under his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, under whose party Tinubu ran.
Tinubu intends to build upon Buhari’s infrastructure initiatives to generate employment opportunities and eliminate legal restrictions on government spending. Nigeria’s revenue-to-GDP ratio, the lowest among its peers according to the World Bank, will be improved by reducing corporate taxes to attract investments and closing tax loopholes to boost revenue.
The popular fuel subsidy, which incurred a staggering $10 billion cost last year and contributed to mounting debt, will be phased out. The saved funds will be directed towards infrastructure, agriculture, and social welfare programs. Additionally, Tinubu aims to address the issue of multiple foreign exchange rates, which the International Monetary Fund considers susceptible to abuse and impedes investors in repatriating their funds.
The president plans to utilize any new foreign borrowing to finance projects that generate revenue, facilitating debt repayment.
Tackling crude oil theft, responsible for a significant decline in production, is a paramount concern for oil companies operating in Nigeria. Tinubu pledges to establish a surveillance unit to protect the country’s pipelines and attract new investors by offering tax incentives.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s leading crude oil producers, heavily relies on imported refined fuels. Tinubu envisions reducing this dependence with the commissioning of a new 650,000 barrels per day refinery near Lagos.
The escalating insecurity across Nigeria, from kidnapping for ransom in the northwest to the prolonged Islamist insurgency in the northeast, separatist violence in the southeast, and longstanding ethnic tensions between herders and farmers in the north-central region, poses a critical challenge.
Tinubu’s strategy involves recruiting more soldiers and police officers while ensuring better pay and equipment for them. He plans to establish “anti-terrorist battalions” and special forces to combat jihadists and armed gangs. Furthermore, Tinubu aims to engage the military in community initiatives to win public trust and support.
Instances of human rights abuses by all parties involved in conflicts, particularly in the northeast, have been documented by human rights groups and media outlets, including Reuters. The International Criminal Court noted the presence of grounds to investigate potential war crimes and crimes against humanity by Nigeria’s security forces and insurgents in 2020. However, no investigation has been initiated by the court.
Tinubu positions himself as a human rights advocate, highlighting his past activism against Nigeria’s former military rulers during the 1990s, which led to his exile. Nevertheless, critics question whether he will hold authorities accountable, as he suggested that protesters shot during anti-police brutality demonstrations in 2020 should justify their presence in the locations where security forces opened fire.
This year’s election marked nearly a quarter-century of democracy in Nigeria, and many anticipated it to be the most credible yet, thanks to an increasingly professional electoral commission and measures to curtail the fraudulent practices that plagued previous polls. However, malfunctioning voter verification and result transmission equipment, coupled with incidents of violence and disruptions in certain areas, eroded confidence in the electoral process.
Tinubu’s closest challengers, Atiku Abubakar from the main opposition People’s Democratic Party and Peter Obi from the Labour Party, have contested the election results in court. Tinubu emerged as the victor with 37% of the vote, with a turnout of only 29%, according to data released by the Independent National Electoral Commission.