Jonathan's Tough Choices
8 June 2011
By: Nasir El-Rufai
Nigeria, a nation of over 150 million people generated a little over 2,000 megawatts of electricity last week. Ethnic, religious and political crises have claimed thousands of lives and displaced many more. Infant and maternal mortality are among the highest in the world. Education has practically collapsed. Infrastructure, where it exists is broken and neglected. Yet this year, government will spend more on petroleum subsidies than on power, roads, education, police and health care combined. This perverse prioritization is indicative of the political economy of today’s Nigeria – and the tough choices facing President Goodluck Jonathan.
At stake is whether Nigeria remains a "Clique Democracy" or a real, people-driven democracy. It might interest Nigerians and our friends to know whether the current leadership has the character, vision and will to defy vested political and business interests to govern decently and develop the economy.
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