Africa’s Would-Be Giant Careens Toward Crisis
The Nigerian naira has tumbled more than 70% since last May, severely damaging the West African nation’s economy. Above, a street currency dealer counts out $10 notes for exchange at a market in Lagos, Nigeria.
Photographer: Benson Ibeabuchi/BloombergComplacency in the face of a mediocre record of development is arguably not the right approach to government. But then, undertaking reforms too quickly brings its own risks, like those now unfolding in what could—and some would say should—be Africa’s next economic giant.
With a market of more than 200 million people, fertile land and abundant oil reserves that offer not just energy independence but enormous capital-accumulation potential, Nigeria is Africa’s pre-eminent economic power-in-waiting. But recent months have seen increasing signs of destabilization.