Nigeria: Tinubu Appointments and the Fate of Nigeria

Washington, DC — Early appointments have given some hope to Nigerians. A major one – the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) – is pending.

Africa's most populous country faces the greatest threat to its future in over half a century, when the southeastern region, known as Biafra, attempted to succeed from Nigeria a few years after its independence from British rule.

Two and a half years of war in the late 1960s is reported to have killed a million people – some estimates of deaths are three times that, many from starvation – and battlefield casualties were accompanied by massacres around the country. The conflict divided European colonial powers as well, with the United Kingdom supporting the federal government, while the French favored oil-rich Biafra.

Today an estimated 25 million Nigerians face starvation, due to erratic rains and flooding, lack of jobs, and armed conflict that has displaced millions, especially in the northeast region. Farmers and herders alike have been driven from their traditional lands. Kidnapping for ransom has spread nationwide.

All those factors fueled a youth wave of social media savvy voters, pressing for politicians they believed would "serve the people" better than previous administrations. One of the beneficiaries was third-party presidential candidate Peter Obi, whose decade-old Labour Party won an unprecedented 42 National Assembly seats.

Despite legal challenges to the national and state-level elections in March, Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria's president on 29 May. Although his administration faces enormous challenges, Nigeria's resource wealth and innovative citizenry present opportunities.

The country has Africa's second largest oil reserves, after Libya, and more exploration has begun. Abundant sunshine could provide off-grid solar power to millions in rural areas, and longer-term investment in renewables could make Nigeria an electricity exporter. Yet Nigerians have the world's worst access to energy, according to international organizations. Untapped strategic minerals could generate further riches, but most Nigerians remain desperately poor.

This article originally appeared on All Africa

Photo: Premium Times