Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Kingsley Moghalu has advised the president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the unemployment situation in the country.
Moghalu, who is a member of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) Advisory Board and a Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, made this statement in an article titled “Gen Buhari’s revolutionary win.”
He said “No sitting Nigerian president and his government have ever been removed from office through the ballot box. This is a rarity in Africa as a whole. There has been only a handful of opposition electoral victories, including in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal and Zambia.
“Perhaps just as important is incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan’s phone call to Buhari conceding defeat before final poll results were announced. This sets the tone for a peaceful transition devoid of the violence that characterised previous elections.
“The electoral aftermath opens a new chapter, signalling a level of democratic maturity in Africa’s most populous country and largest economy. And it brings hope that economic activity, stalled up to now by apprehensions about the elections, can return to normal more quickly. Nigerians have woken up to the power of their vote. This will increase pressure for better political governance and accountability.
“Buhari’s economic policy will, like Jonathan’s, continue to be based on free-market capitalism with a large role for the private sector. One difference is likely to lie in a stronger driving role for government and a bottom-up approach to economic policy that will target job creation and more inclusive growth.
“Despite Nigeria’s average annual seven per cent GDP growth over the past decade, poverty remains stubbornly high at 60 per cent of the population.
“Expectations are high. Buhari’s honeymoon will be brief, at most six to 12 months after taking office at the end of May. His task is not enviable. But, since he sought it so ardently, Nigerians are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“He has to tackle a severe electricity infrastructure shortage that markedly increases the cost of doing business, a result of universal reliance on generators.”
Moghalu also urged Buhari to tackle the fiscal and monetary problems caused by fall in Oil Prices.