Nigeria's President Fights for His Political Survival

Goodluck Jonathan won Nigeria’s presidency in 2011 with a pledge to transform the economy of Africa’s biggest oil producer by attracting foreign investment and fighting corruption. The election of the mild-mannered zoologist and economic reformer, after years of ethnic and political unrest, created much optimism among economists. In June, Morgan Stanley’s Africa-based team of economists published a report forecasting that Nigeria would overtake South Africa, the region’s biggest economy, by 2025. And in December, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she was “extremely impressed” with “the energy and pace” of Jonathan’s efforts to diversify the economy.

As 2012 unfolds, Jonathan, 54, is fighting for his political survival. A weeklong general strike in January mobilized millions against his decision to remove fuel subsidies that cost the government about $8 billion last year and ultimately forced the President to step back. The move would have more than doubled prices at the pump and sparked outrage among Nigeria’s 164 million citizens, 64 percent of whom live on less than $1.25 a day, according to the UN. Then came a series of attacks by Islamist militants that killed as many as 256 people in the northern city of Kano.