Democracy Comes Under Scrutiny Amid Battle To Buy Basics

After 25 years, Nigeria's role as the region's police officer is in jeopardy, with its people losing faith in a squeezed economy

- Eromo Egbejule

For visitors to Lagos, the gentle plea begins with immigration officials at the airport and is echoed across the streets of Africa's most populous city: "Show me love." It is a familiar request for tips in a city of omnipresent hustle, but residents say the requests have intensified in the past year as people struggle under the crushing weight of Nigeria's underperforming economy.

Last Wednesday marked the completion of the first year in office of the president, Bola Tinubu, after the disputed election of February 2023. It was also the 25th anniversary of Nigeria's return to democracy, a promising point in a region where six out of eight coup attempts since 2020 have been successful. On the eve of the landmark date, the national mood in the capital, Abuja, was far from celebratory.

Overall economic progress since 1999 has been hard to measure due to the many periods of growth and decline, said Bongo Adi, a professor of economics and data analytics at Lagos Business School. "The economy has moved in different directions over this period," he said. The best era of economic welfare and sustained employment was in the early 2000s under the former president Olusegun Obasanjo, he added.

Last year, Nigeria lost bragging rights as Africa's largest economy when it dropped behind South Africa. The International Monetary Fund has already projected a further slip to fourth place behind Egypt and Algeria.