Nigeria close to becoming failed state, says Financial Times

THE Financial Times of London has described Nigeria as a country going backwards economically and plagued with terrorism, illiteracy, poverty, banditry and kidnapping and risks becoming a failed state if things don’t take a drastic turn.

The UK-based newspaper said this in an editorial on Tuesday titled, ‘Nigeria at risk of becoming a failed state.’

It said the abduction and subsequent rescue of over 300 schoolboys in Kankara, Katsina State, revived memories of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls abducted in Borno State in 2014.

According to the newspaper, while the government’s claim that no ransom was paid to the abductors of the schoolboys remains doubtful, other acts of criminality could not be overlooked.

The editorial read in part, “The definition of a failed state is one where the government is no longer in control. By this yardstick, Africa’s most populous country is teetering on the brink.”

The newspaper also questioned the claim by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), that Boko Haram had been technically defeated.

It said contrary to the government’s claim, Boko Haram remained an ever-present threat.

The newspaper said security was not the only area where “the state is failing”, adding that Nigeria had more poor people than any other country.

According to the newspaper, Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children on earth.

It stated that as oil continues to lose its value, Nigeria’s economy would worsen.

“The population, already above 200 million, is growing at a breakneck 3.2 per cent a year. The economy has stalled since 2015 and real living standards are declining. This year, the economy will shrink 4 per cent after COVID-19 dealt a further blow to oil prices.

‌In any case, as the world turns greener, the elite’s scramble for oil revenue will become a game of diminishing returns. The country desperately needs to put its finances, propped up by foreign borrowing, on a sounder footing,” it said.

According to the newspaper, Buhari, who has less than three years left in office, must use the remainder of his term to redouble efforts at improving security.

It advised the government to restore trust in key institutions, among them the judiciary, the security services and the electoral commission, which will preside over the 2023 elections.

The Financial Times said the #EndSARSprotests led by Nigerian youths, signaled a glimmer of hope for Nigeria’s teeming youth population

The newspaper concluded by saying that it was time for Nigeria to restructure its political system and concentrate on security, health, education, power and roads.