Throughout history, Nigeria has encountered several economic difficulties. However, there was a time when the nation enjoyed stability and prosperity under the second term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who served from 2003 to 2007.
Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State and a Minister of FCT during Obasanjo, made this observation. On Friday, September 15, at a session of the Africa In the World convention in Stellenbosch, South Africa, El-Rufai praised Obasanjo's economic policies and accomplishments.
El-Rufai says that in terms of Nigerian economic expansion, job creation, and inflation rate, Obasanjo's second term was his most successful. He credited the successful implementation of integrated planning and the coincidental increase in oil prices for this victory.
Although Nigeria has a planning commission, El-Rufai noted that it only started to function effectively during Obasanjo's second term. Additionally, he emphasized the existence of an excess crude account (ECA), which was used to accrue surplus funds from oil exports that exceeded a particular benchmark price.
Nigeria was able to pay off all of its foreign debt because to this ECA and build up sizable reserves. El-Rufai underlined that Nigeria's fiscal stability peaked in 2007, which allowed it to weather the 2008 global financial crisis with little difficulty.
El-Rufai criticized successive administrations in comparison to Obasanjo's second term for failing to maintain the same level of economic performance and planning. He exhorted Nigeria to prioritize budgetary restraint and planning as essential components of achieving sustainable growth.
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