Nigerians React After The Economist Tagged GEJ As "An Ineffectual Buffoon"

The Economist, an English-language weekly
newspaper owned by the Economist Group, has
described Nigeria’s former president Goodluck
Jonathan as “an ineffectual buffoon”.
In an article titled “Nigeria’s economy Crude
tactics”, the newspaper said:
Buhari’s government has cracked down on
corruption, which had flourished under the
previous president, Goodluck Jonathan, an
ineffectual buffoon who let politicians and their
cronies fill their pockets with impunity.”
Below is the full article. Meanwhile, Nigerians
have taken to Twitter to show their disapproval
of that statement.
“MORE than 30 years ago, a young general swept
to power in the fifth of Nigeria’s military coups
since independence in 1960.
The country he inherited was a mess: bled dry
by pilfering politicians within and hammered by
falling oil prices without. Last year that general,
Muhammadu Buhari, became president again—
this time in a democratic vote. The problems he
has inherited are almost identical. So are many
of his responses.
In the eight months since Mr Buhari arrived at
Aso Rock, the presidential digs, the homicidal
jihadists of Boko Haram have been pushed back
into the bush along Nigeria’s borders. The
government has cracked down on corruption,
which had flourished under the previous
president, Goodluck Jonathan, an ineffectual
buffoon who let politicians and their cronies fill
their pockets with impunity.
Lai Mohammed, a minister, reckons that just 55
people stole $6.8 billion from the public purse
over seven recent years.
Mr Buhari, who—unusually among Nigeria’s
political grandees—is said to have just $150,000
and a couple of hundred cattle to his name,
abhors such excess.
As military ruler he jailed, fired or forced into
retirement thousands of bureaucrats whose
fingers had been in the till. This time, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) has arrested dozens of bigwigs, including
a former national security chief accused of
diverting $2.2 billion.
The EFCC has a poor record of securing
convictions; but a single treasury account has
been introduced to try to stop civil servants
siphoning off cash. And agencies which may not
be remitting their fair share to the state are
having their books trawled by Kemi Adeosun, the
finance minister.
Such measures are doubly important because
the economy is swooning along with the oil
price. The sticky stuff directly accounts for only
10% of GDP, but for 70% of government revenue
and almost all of Nigeria’s foreign earnings.