At a time when Nigerians thought they have had a field day in Nigeria’s political theatre of the absurd replete with blame game, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Yemi Cardoso, proved them wrong. He apportioned blame by asking us to blame former President Muhammad Buhari for the current economic hardship.
During the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Cardoso shifted the blame for the current mess the Nigerian economy is enmeshed in to former President Buhari, whose administration he accused of poor handling of the nation’s economy between 2015 and 2023.
He insisted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was handed over a distorted economy, and he inherited “a very loose money supply situation.” According to Cardoso, Buhari excessively pumped money into the economy throughout his eight-year rule.
The CBN reminded us again of what Governor Godwin Obaseki boldly told the nation during the Buhari days about the former administration’s excessive printing of money.
“In 2015, the money supply was about N19 trillion. And in 2023, it was N54 trillion. That’s a huge, very, very huge increase, and a substantial amount of that was through Ways and Means.” The printing of N35 trillion resulted in a huge amount of money in circulation, hence the reason for the current inflation the country is struggling to contain.
A Messy Economy
For the fear of sounding like a broken record, the Nigerian economy is in a mess. There is hardship all over the land. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the nation recorded an increase in food inflation from 25.25% in June 2023 to 40.87% in June 2024. It is clear that President Tinubu oversaw the jump in food inflation from 25.25%, which he inherited when he assumed office, to 40.87% under one year.
Under PBAT, it is estimated that 32 million Nigerians, including 15.6 million children, are at risk of hunger should there be no food and cash assistance offered to the vulnerable segment of the country’s population.
Only recently, ActionAid disclosed that 86 million Nigerians are living in multi-dimensional poverty. In a report entitled, “Austerity Measures, Poverty and Gender Inequality in Nigeria” and “Impact of the Removal of Fuel Subsidies and Naira Floatation Policies on Nigerian Women, Girls”, ActionAid detailed the sufferings Nigerians go through daily in the face of economic policies of the current administration.
When the current administration removed subsidies, floated the naira, and failed to implement concrete measures to cushion the impact of these policies, it was clear that the days ahead would be tough for the citizens. Indeed, the days are tough. Attempts at gaslighting notwithstanding, Nigerians know that the government’s economic policies place most citizens in very disadvantaged and disquieting positions.
Under this gloomy situation, including the fact that the government met food inflation at 25.25% in June 2023 and it currently stands at 40.87% in June 2024, Cardoso is asking Nigerians to blame Buhari for the current hardship.
‘Taste of his own medicine’
It all began with former President Buhari, who, for a substantial part of his eight-year rule spanning 2015 to 2023, used every opportunity to blame the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for all the nation’s problems.
Initially, a significant number of Nigerians were happy hearing Buhari heap blame on the PDP, but when this became a new normal and was being used as a justification for his inept leadership, most of those on the same ship with him backtracked.
But it appears Buhari is being served in his own coin. He is getting a taste of his own medicine – something in the region of reaping what you sow. This time around, while he heaped his blame on an opposition party, those blaming him are members of his own political party who campaigned on his APC’s ideals, policies and philosophy.
It is surprising that Cardoso is raising this at a time when there are reports that the president has asked him to resign. Although the president’s spokesman has since debunked the report, it is clear that the presidency’s rebuttal is not taken with a pinch of salt because Nigerians are at home with Otto Van Bismarck’s admonition that we shouldn’t ‘believe anything …until it has been officially denied.
Why is Cardoso shifting the blame now? Like most Nigerians, I believe the CBN boss is raising this now to save himself from imminent sack, considering his inability to effectively navigate the current economic challenges.
It’s been one year since Cardoso assumed office as CBN Governor. One year after his assumption, the nation is still battling high inflation, a volatile foreign exchange market, and a fragile banking sector. As a matter of fact, the economy is at its worst ever.
For years, the nation’s inflation rate has been higher than the average for most African and sub-Saharan countries. Cardoso and, indeed, members of the current administration’s economic management team have not impressed most Nigerians with a current inflation rate of 32.15 and an unemployment rate that, we have been told, is up by 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024.
One year after assuming office, Nigerians are questioning Cardoso’s capacity to stabilise the Nigerian economy, address structural deficiencies, and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth.
It is clear that Cardoso’s attempt to heap the blame for the current mess on President Muhammadu Buhari, which we all know has been a colossal failure of unimaginable magnitude, is simply a case of the Biblical ‘Hand of Esau, Voice of Jacob’. Is he speaking for President Bola Tinubu, who told us during the campaigns that he would continue from where Buhari stopped? Is he speaking for the APC government that has repeatedly sanctified the Buhari administration?
Nigerians expect results
Whether Cardoso is speaking for his principal or using that as an excuse to justify the CBN’s seeming ineptitude in handling the nation’s economy, he needs to be reminded that Nigerians want results. People are hungry and want food. Able-bodied youths are unemployed and need jobs. Businesses are winding down almost daily, and this has far-reaching negative implications on employment, job creation, and poverty eradication.
It is true that the immediate past administration of the ruling APC mismanaged the economy. The election of the present APC administration is an opportunity for the party to redeem itself. That cannot happen under an atmosphere of blame-shifting. Cardoso must sit down and work. Nigerians need results, not a blame game. Yes, it is true that Buhari’s administration mismanaged the Nigerian economy. Cardoso and other members of the current economic team must fix it, pure and simple.
Aina’s Upsetting Data
It appears Nigerians have become so accustomed to bad news that it no longer shocks them. Otherwise, one would expect a stronger reaction to Muyi Aina, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency’s recent disclosure that the country loses around 2,300 children under the age of five and 145 women of childbearing age daily.
Aina noted that most of these deaths occur in northern Nigeria, a region burdened with high rates of illiteracy, disease, poverty, and insecurity due to banditry. The reality that so many women die from pregnancy-related complications and that so many children do not live past their fifth birthday due to preventable diseases is deeply troubling.
This situation cannot continue. The government must ensure that antenatal services are accessible to all pregnant women, and husbands must encourage their wives to seek these services. Every child must also complete their routine immunizations.
