WHEN BABANGIDA SEIZED POWER ON AUGUST 27, 1985, the country owed $12 billion. The squandering regime raised the national debt to $33 billion in only about six years. When he hijacked power, only N11.8 billion naira was in circulation in Nigeria. At the termination of his misrule, General Babangida, Osoba argues, had injected ‘an intolerably… Read More »
1. Another one strikes black gold (trying desperately to resist using the line from Queen’s popular song) 2. Can stocks be safer than bonds (strange times, right?) 3. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, formerly of World Bank, then of Nigeria’s finance ministry, then of World Bank, returns to take charge of Nigeria’s economy 4. Commentary on Islamic finance… Read More »
Here. The concluding paragraph: At close quarters it is hard not to warm to the man. He has a winning sense of humour and unshakeable belief in self as well as country: “I love Nigeria,” he says over breakfast. “Some people see that as a weakness.” There is also a streak of ruthlessness and a… Read More »
BBC: The chairman of Nigeria’s governing party, Vincent Ogbulafor, has been charged with fraud. Mr Ogbulafor is accused of fraudulently awarding $1.5m (£1m) in federal funds when he was a government minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo. He denies the charges but if convicted, Mr Ogbulafor would have to resign. Correspondents say the case is being… Read More »
No, it is not 419. The BBC reports: Charles Taylor ‘duped’ by Nigeria: Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has said he was duped by Nigeria into being arrested there in 2006. Speaking at his war crimes trial in The Hague, he said Nigeria’s then-leader had reneged on a promise to let him leave the country… Read More »
$140 per barrel is the appropriate price of crude oil – Rilwanu Lukman, Nigerian Petroleum Resources Minister. Hat-tip to Nigeria, What’s New?. Mr Obasanjo on Hardtalk. The disconnect of the Pope. Are we really in the age of mass intelligence? Individuals give NGOs more funds than donors. The Berlin wall came down 20 years ago… Read More »