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Buhari Can’t Solve Nigeria’s Problems -US Group
The annual risk report by United States political risk consultancy corporation, Eurasia Group, has said Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is too sick and lacks the energy and creativity to solve Nigeria’s problems.
Eurasia Group’s Top 10 risks report which put Nigeria as the 10th risk, came with a focus on Nigeria’s February 2019 elections.
The report described the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari as “an elderly, infirm leader who lacks the energy, creativity, or political savvy to move the needle on Nigeria’s most intractable problems.”
Eurasia believes that if Buhari’s health problems continue, it could impact the economic outlook of the nation with investors unsure of “who is calling the shots and whether they’re qualified for the job.”
“A politically weak president, for health or other reasons, would open the floodgates for political infighting, increasing the chances that his ruling All Progressives Congress implodes.
“That would turn a policy slowdown into paralysis. The risk of attacks on oil infrastructure would also rise because the absence of strong leadership in Abuja would make it harder to negotiate with the Niger Delta’s various militant groups,” the report said.
Buhari spent over 170 days on medical vacation in London since his inauguration in 2015, with the longest stretch in May 2017 where he was away for 104 days.
On one of his returns from London, where his doctors are, he tacitly acknowledged that he was very ill, telling his cabinet members that “I couldn’t recall being so sick since I was a young man.” He also said he had “blood transfusions, going to the laboratories and so on and so forth.”
There were talks about his death which distilled into more rumours that circulated about Buhari’s being a clone after he died on one of his medical vacations. He debunked the far-reaching body-double rumour.
With Buhari keen on a return to the Aso Rock as Nigeria heads to polls next month, Nigeria is plagued with economic, security and corruption problems.
Eurasia group predicts that the “election will be close, and a challenged or inconclusive result is possible.”
Buhari heavily campaigned on the same points in 2015 when he contested against Goodluck Jonathan.
During his tenure, he announced that the Boko Haram insurgents have been technically defeated but the terrorist groups have been resurgent launching attacks on military posts, carting away ammunition in recent months.
Nigeria was also named the World’s Poverty capital by the Brookings Institution with 86.9 people living in extreme poverty according to the World Poverty Clock.
Though Buhari’s major challenger Atiku Abubakar aggressively pushed his political mantra “Get Nigeria Working Again”, however, the report was also scathing in the assessment of the former Nigeria vice president.
The report predicted that Atiku ”would focus on enriching himself and his cronies, avoiding the difficult and politically unpopular tasks necessary for reform” if he emerges winner of the election.
Nigeria’s “most fiercely contested election since the transition to democracy in 1999” will be contested by candidates from 91 parties, with former minister for education and Bring Back Our Girls activist, Oby Ezekwesili, former Central Bank Deputy Governor, Kingsley Moghalu and Sahara Reporters Publisher, Omoyele Sowore, part of the contestants aiming to end Buhari’s reign.
While Buhari remains the frontrunner, Eurasia’s prediction on Nigeria’s future in the successful eventuality of Buhari’s reelection sounded ominous.
“A second term for him would mean the country at best muddles through the next four years, with little progress on critical policy priorities like tax reform or a restructuring of the energy sector.”
This prediction comes despite Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) raking in of N5.320 trillion, the highest tax revenue in the country’s history in 2018.
The Political risk consultancy firm noted that in the case of a runoff, “the complexity of organizing national elections in the country” could be a “recipe for severe uncertainty in Africa’s most important market.”
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”