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Buhari Weak In Managing Nigeria’s Economy, Governance – Report

Published

3 years ago

November 14, 2022

Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari has performed poorly in governance, economic and political transformation, according to the BTI 2022 Country Report.

The Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) measures the development status and governance of political and economic transformation processes in developing and transition countries.

Founded in 1977, the report is published biennially by Bertelsmann Stiftung, an independent establishment based in Gütersloh, Germany.

More than 250 experts from leading academic institutions and civil society organizations worldwide assessed 137 nations.

Nigeria is 108th overall: 86th spot for political transformation, 113th for economic transformation, and 99th for governance index.

The 31-page report warns that under “the weak leadership” of President Buhari, dangers in all political fields will persist and continue to shape the system.

It said after the lawsuits against the 2019 presidential and gubernatorial election results were dismissed, Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) consolidated power but have failed to meet expectations.

Noting that the last presidential election “was seriously flawed”, BTI said Buhari’s poor performance in his first term “continued and even worsened”.

The body criticized the President’s COVID-19 policies, as well as “his inability to professionalize the military in its campaign against the Islamist insurgency”.

The report said the military suffered repeated setbacks and faced new challenges in central Nigeria and in the northwest.

“Hundreds of people have been killed by organized criminal gangs involved in cattle rustling, looting villages and kidnapping for ransom.

“The increase in violence and crime indicates that endemic corruption has reached new heights, and the militarization of state and society is increasing,” it observed.

BTI said the Buhari administration’s “only halfheartedly pursued anti-corruption campaign did not yield any significant results”.

In the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released annually by Transparency International (TI), Nigeria is currently placed 149 out of 180 countries evaluated.

BTI recalled how the peaceful End SARS protests against police brutality and the government “were hijacked by hoodlums and criminals” and “turned into mayhem”.

The experts found violence throughout northern Nigeria increased again and continues to claim jihadists, security forces and civilians.

“The multidimensional violent conflict with various groups of insurgents has spread fast to the border areas of the neighboring states.”

BTI said people in southern Nigeria remain in the sphere of influence of border conflict, piracy, kidnapping and robbery.

The report decried the authorities’ incoherent policy to bring succor to millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

It stressed that judging by the attitude, “the international community will have to assume responsibility for these IDPs”.

The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria heightened over the past few months due to flooding, partly caused by climate change.

In its updated November 2022 report, the United Nations (UN) indicated that more than 3.2 million people are affected, amid food crisis fears.

There were over 600 fatalities, and 1.4 million people displaced, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Also, about 14,000 people have been affected by cholera in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States since January, with 443 deaths.

The UN says the flooding increases risk of waterborne diseases, and while 4.1 million people face severe food insecurity, 1.74 million children may suffer from malnutrition this year.
DAILY POST

Headline

92-year-old Convicted For 1967 Killing In UK’s Oldest Cases

Published

7 hours ago

June 30, 2025

Editor

A 92-year-old British man was convicted on Monday for a rape and murder committed nearly 60 years ago, in one of the UK’s longest-running cold cases.

Ryland Headley was found guilty by a UK court for raping and killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne after breaking into her house in Bristol, southwest England in June 1967, when he was 34 years old.

It is “one of the oldest cold cases to ever be solved in the UK”, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which brings criminal prosecutions, said.

Local police reopened the case in 2023 and matched DNA from the victim’s skirt and other items from the original probe to Headley, who had also served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women in 1977.

He is due to be sentenced by a judge at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday.

During the initial investigation, police had found a left-hand palm print from Dunne’s home, where she was found dead from strangulation.

The palm print was compared to 19,000 men to no avail.

At the time, Headley was a railway worker who lived just outside the area in which men and boys were asked to give prints.

Reaching a dead-end, police sealed away forensic evidence for half a century. Both DNA testing and later Headley’s palm print resulted in matches.

When Headley was arrested at his home last November, he told detectives: “I don’t know what you are talking about. Very strange, very strange.”

“For 58 years, this appalling crime went unsolved and Ryland Headley, the man we now know is responsible, avoided justice,” said Charlotte Ream of the CPS.

Following the conviction, Dunne’s granddaughter Mary Dainton said her death had a “far-reaching impact throughout my family”.

“I was just 20-years-old when my grandmother died and I’m now almost the same age as she was when she was killed,” Dainton said outside court.

Police said they were now looking into other possible cold cases Headley could be linked to.

“Ryland Headley has now been convicted of three rapes of elderly women within their own addresses, and in the case of Louisa Dunne, her murder as well,” Dave Marchant of Avon and Somerset Police told the PA news agency.

“I think there’s every possibility that there are other offences out there – over the 60s, 70s, however long a time period – which Mr Headley could be culpable for.”

Headline

Hope Dashed As Norwegian Company Apologizes For ‘Mistakenly Telling’ Thousands They Won Big On Lottery

Published

7 hours ago

June 30, 2025

Editor

A Norwegian lottery company on Monday apologised to 47,000 crestfallen gamblers who were mistakenly told they had won huge sums in a lottery, the firm blaming a currency conversion error.

State-owned gambling group Norsk Tipping said they had published incorrect prize amounts after a Eurojackpot draw on Friday because of an error converting from euro cents to Norwegian kroner.

The winnings had been multiplied by 100 instead of being divided by 100, the company said.

Among the disappointed was Ole Fredrik Sveen, who was on holiday in Greece when he received a message from Norsk Tipping that he had won 1.2 million kroner ($119,000).

“I thought: ‘Wow, is it finally my turn? Could it be true?’ I go onto the Norsk Tipping website, and there it says in black and white: ‘Congratulations, you have won!’,” Sveen told public broadcaster NRK on Monday.

In reality, he had won 125 kroner ($12).

On Monday, Sveen and the 47,000 others received apologies by text message from Norsk Tipping for the snafu.

“The apology was a poor consolation. They should have sent it out after the mistake, not today,” he said.

The Lottery Authority said Monday it had launched a review to determine if gambling laws had been broken, and Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery called the error “totally unacceptable”.

The firm’s chief executive Tonje Sagstuen resigned on Saturday after the scandal, leaving acting chief executive Vegar Strand to apologise on Monday.

Strand said his company’s state ownership made the mistake particularly problematic, noting that the firm was “entirely dependent on the trust of the population”.

“We have deeply disappointed our customers and take full responsibility for rectifying the situation. Such errors are serious for a company that is supposed to manage the trust of Norwegians,” Strand said.

“The work to rebuild trust again has the highest priority going forward.”

AFP

Headline

Musk Renews Attack On Trump, Says ‘Big, Beautiful Bill Utterly Insane’

Published

8 hours ago

June 30, 2025

Editor

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has renewed his public criticism of United States President Donald Trump, taking aim at the administration’s controversial “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which recently cleared a critical hurdle in the Senate, TIMES reported.

In a post on X on Saturday, Musk denounced the 940-page legislative package as economically harmful, claiming it would severely damage emerging industries while supporting outdated sectors.

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” he wrote to his more than 220 million followers.

He further described the legislation as “utterly insane and destructive.”

The senate narrowly voted 51–49 to advance the bill on Saturday night, following extended negotiations among Republicans. Vice President J.D Vance was present to cast a tie-breaking vote, though it was ultimately not required.

Musk, who once served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency under Trump, left the administration after a high-profile fallout and has since emerged as one of the bill’s fiercest opponents.

He described the measure as “political suicide” for Republicans and warned that it would raise the national debt ceiling by $5 trillion — the largest such increase in US history. “America is in the fast lane to debt slavery,” he added.

Responding in an interview aired Sunday on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Trump attempted to defuse the tension. “I haven’t spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy,” he said. Trump also suggested Musk’s frustration stemmed from disagreements over recent changes to electric vehicle mandates.

Musk’s opposition to the bill is not new. Earlier in June, he urged Americans to contact their representatives, calling the legislation a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.”

Despite the bill’s advancement in the Senate, it faces continued resistance. Senate Democrats have slowed proceedings by demanding the entire bill be read aloud in protest.

“If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer