Speech-less! Nigeria's Economy Out of Buhari's Control - Lai Mohammed. By Felix N.Jarikre.

Lai Mohammed.

To be loquacious has its downside in a man that should be restrained and measured in the gravity of his official speeches. Having stayed in opposition, and played loose with facts to score political points, it is arguable if, as a government spokesman presently, Lai Mohammed has the comportment to defend the government credibly.

The minister of information, on March 12, answering questions in Abuja from a radio station, said the Nigerian economy has totally spun out of President Mohammadu Buhari’s control because Nigeria cannot regulate the price of crude oil and gas. 

Replying the critics of President Buhari’s government, the information minister said Buhari’s frequent trips abroad were necessary to draw Foreign Direct Investment into Nigeria, and also find support for the stability of the global oil prices. 

Lai Mohammed said: “That is why the President cannot stay here. Staying here in Nigeria is like an army general who in the face of war remains in the bunker.”

The minister added that finding solution to the crash in oil prices will assist to upgrade the naira.

He noted also that it is a credit on the side of the incumbent government because they still have managed to drive the economy.

But the growing armies of analysts and critics of Buhari’s government are not converted. They believe that a time when serious governments all over the world are urgently turning their attention to seek for alternative energy sources, President Buhari’s fixation on oil is unhealthy and short-sighted. They believe that when the government seize the opportunity of the crash in oil prices to eliminate waste and reduce ostentation in governance without inflicting unwarranted pains on the people, it would earn plaudits for creating the right environment to encourage economic growth.

 They point out that the bungled budget simply showed absent-mindedness in leadership, which could have been avoided if the president learned to stay home more rather than flying out at the slightest opportunity.

When President Buhari on Al Jazeera TV did not hide his cold reluctance to have even a talk with Biafran agitators while remorseless soldiers mowed down defenceless protesters for “hindering movement and security” – in Buhari’s words – that cannot be a prescription for encouraging foreign investors to beat a hasty path to our doors.

Many don’t see how a crash in oil prices could be responsible for the economy spinning out of Buhari’s control. If the economy had spun out of his control, a more plausible explanation would be that the president was not paying attention.

Clearly, Lai Mohammed’s intention was not to wound his boss, but defend him. But this is one spin that went out of control.