By Yakub Aliyu
It is evident incontrovertibly, that former President Jonathan grossly mismanaged the fourth oil boom Nigeria experienced during his tenure.
With oil prices averaging $100 per barrel from 2011-2015, Jonathan could only leave behind just about $29 billion of external reserves. Reserves were recklessly depleted from $46 billion in 2011, to $44.5 billion in 2013 and sharply went down $29.5 billion by May 2015 when he left office.
One shudders to imagine how Jonathan could have managed the Nigeria economy with prices hovering at around $40 per barrel given the fiscal profligacy and brazen looting that characterized the administration, if he had come back in 2015.
One would not be far off the mark to argue that the current Venezuelan experience with economic collapse might just be a child play.
In the last two years, despite the fact that oil prices have remained low over the period, averaging $40 per barrel, the PMB administration has been consistently accreting to reserves, indeed, building reserves, amounting to $31 billion as at end July 2017.
Now, recall that while the Jonathan era enjoyed stable crude oil production and output levels put at 2.4 million barrels per day, President Muhammadu Buhari was for the most part of the last two years beset with production/export disruption by the Niger Delta Avengers. Only recently, oil exports have begun to stabilize.
Yet, external reserves remained steadily on an upward trajectory providing the needed support for macroeconomic stabilization and engendering global and local confidence in the Nigerian economy.
Of course, all these have been the results of fiscal discipline, domestic diversification and above all integrity (strengthened transparency and accountability of crude oil proceeds) that had been brought to bear on the management of the economy.
With this salutary development, policy makers are now opportune to focus on growing the economy and raising living standards. For the Nigerian economy, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
It is evident incontrovertibly, that former President Jonathan grossly mismanaged the fourth oil boom Nigeria experienced during his tenure.
With oil prices averaging $100 per barrel from 2011-2015, Jonathan could only leave behind just about $29 billion of external reserves. Reserves were recklessly depleted from $46 billion in 2011, to $44.5 billion in 2013 and sharply went down $29.5 billion by May 2015 when he left office.
One shudders to imagine how Jonathan could have managed the Nigeria economy with prices hovering at around $40 per barrel given the fiscal profligacy and brazen looting that characterized the administration, if he had come back in 2015.
One would not be far off the mark to argue that the current Venezuelan experience with economic collapse might just be a child play.
In the last two years, despite the fact that oil prices have remained low over the period, averaging $40 per barrel, the PMB administration has been consistently accreting to reserves, indeed, building reserves, amounting to $31 billion as at end July 2017.
Now, recall that while the Jonathan era enjoyed stable crude oil production and output levels put at 2.4 million barrels per day, President Muhammadu Buhari was for the most part of the last two years beset with production/export disruption by the Niger Delta Avengers. Only recently, oil exports have begun to stabilize.
Yet, external reserves remained steadily on an upward trajectory providing the needed support for macroeconomic stabilization and engendering global and local confidence in the Nigerian economy.
Of course, all these have been the results of fiscal discipline, domestic diversification and above all integrity (strengthened transparency and accountability of crude oil proceeds) that had been brought to bear on the management of the economy.
With this salutary development, policy makers are now opportune to focus on growing the economy and raising living standards. For the Nigerian economy, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
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