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As Nigeria mourns the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died at the age of 82 in London on Sunday, July 13, 2025, attention has returned to evaluating his two-term administration and the economic policies that shaped his legacy.
While Buhari’s supporters laud his anti-corruption stance and infrastructural development efforts, critics have consistently pointed to what they describe as a trail of damaging economic decisions that worsened hardship, inflated debt, and stagnated growth.
TJ News Nigeria reports that several economists, policy analysts, and international financial institutions—including the World Bank and IMF—raised red flags throughout his presidency over key fiscal and monetary policies. These decisions, analysts say, left Nigeria more vulnerable than when he assumed office in 2015.
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Below is a comprehensive list of 12 controversial economic policies that defined Buhari’s tenure and contributed to what many now call an economic fallout.
1. Three Economic Recessions (1984, 2016, 2020)
President Buhari is the only Nigerian leader to preside over three separate economic recessions—two during his civilian presidency and one during his time as military Head of State. The Nigerian economy contracted sharply in:
- 1984 under military rule
- 2016 due to his failure to nominate Ministers and global oil price crash
- 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
These recessions led to job losses, currency depreciation, and increased poverty, further weakening public trust in his economic direction.
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2. ₦12.4 Trillion on Fuel Subsidies (2015–2022)
Despite campaigning on the promise to remove fuel subsidies, the Buhari administration ended up spending over ₦12.4 trillion on subsidies between 2015 and 2022. This contradicted earlier economic reform goals and drained public finances.
According to figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the subsidy bill became Nigeria’s largest single line item, crowding out infrastructure, education, and health spending.
3. Fixed Exchange Rate Policy
Buhari’s insistence on a fixed exchange rate regime—where the naira was pegged to the dollar despite market realities—led to a crippling parallel forex market. Investors pulled out, reserves plummeted, and the gap between official and black-market rates widened drastically.
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TJ News Nigeria gathered that this policy discouraged foreign direct investment (FDI) and was heavily criticized by the World Bank, which called it “misaligned and distorting.”
4. Botched Currency Swap and Naira Redesign
In late 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under Buhari’s directive, introduced a naira redesign and currency swap policy aimed at reducing money laundering and vote-buying. However, the move resulted in severe cash shortages nationwide.
Businesses shut down, transport and food markets collapsed, and millions of Nigerians were left without access to legal tender during the transition. The Supreme Court later ruled that the implementation was unconstitutional.
5. ₦27.5 Trillion in Ways & Means Advances (as of March 2023)
Under Buhari, the federal government borrowed over ₦27.5 trillion from the Central Bank through Ways and Means Advances, in direct violation of fiscal responsibility laws.
This unchecked borrowing contributed significantly to rising inflation, currency instability, and record-high public debt. Critics described the move as “printing money to finance deficits.”
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6. 111.8% Debt-Service-to-Revenue Ratio (2022)
In 2022, Nigeria’s debt-service-to-revenue ratio hit an alarming 111.8%, meaning the country was spending more on repaying debt than it was earning in revenue.
The IMF warned that such a fiscal position was “unsustainable” and could trigger a sovereign debt crisis without urgent reform.
7. Border Closure (2019–2020)
Buhari’s government closed all land borders in 2019 to combat smuggling and protect local agriculture. While the policy had noble goals, it backfired economically.
- Food prices skyrocketed
- Cross-border trade with ECOWAS neighbors collapsed
- Inflation worsened
- Smuggling resumed through unofficial routes
Analysts at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) called it a “short-sighted approach with high costs and low returns.”
8. Twitter Ban for Seven Months (2021–2022)
In June 2021, the federal government suspended Twitter’s operations in Nigeria for seven months, following the platform’s deletion of Buhari’s tweet.
This decision harmed Nigeria’s digital economy, with small businesses, tech startups, and digital marketers suffering revenue losses. An estimate by NetBlocks put the economic cost at over ₦200 billion.
9. Rising Inflation and Food Insecurity
During Buhari’s second term, inflation rose steadily, peaking at over 22% in 2023. The combination of supply chain disruptions, border closure, insecurity, and poor agricultural investment led to higher food prices across the country.
Nigeria’s inflation was among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa during the period.
10. Policy Inconsistency and Regulatory Uncertainty
The Buhari administration was widely criticized for lack of coordination among key agencies like the Finance Ministry, CBN, and Customs.
For example:
- Multiple tax proposals were introduced and withdrawn
- Sudden policy reversals discouraged long-term business planning
- Regulatory uncertainty affected sectors like telecoms, fintech, and agriculture
These factors significantly eroded investor confidence.
11. Poor Capital Budget Implementation
Despite record-high budgets and borrowing, the actual implementation of capital projects was below 60% annually.
This means that roads, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure projects remained either unfunded or uncompleted, even as the government accumulated more debt.
12. Failure to Diversify the Economy
Though diversification was a key promise, oil continued to dominate over 80% of foreign exchange earnings during Buhari’s presidency.
Manufacturing remained underdeveloped, and agriculture growth was stifled by insecurity, floods, and weak mechanisation.
The World Bank noted in its 2022 Country Report that “Nigeria remains undiversified and vulnerable to external shocks,” even after years of reform talk.
Summary: Buhari’s 12 Bad Economic Policies
| No. | Policy | Key Fallout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 Recessions | Shrinking GDP, job losses |
| 2 | Fuel Subsidies (₦12.4T) | Fiscal waste, corruption |
| 3 | Fixed Exchange Rate | Forex shortages, inflation |
| 4 | Naira Redesign | Cash crisis, hardship |
| 5 | Ways & Means (₦27.5T) | Inflation, illegal borrowing |
| 6 | Debt-Service Ratio (111.8%) | Fiscal collapse risk |
| 7 | Border Closure | Food inflation, trade loss |
| 8 | Twitter Ban | Tech/e-commerce losses |
| 9 | High Inflation | Cost-of-living crisis |
| 10 | Policy Inconsistency | Investor apathy |
| 11 | Low Capital Utilization | Uncompleted projects |
| 12 | Lack of Diversification | Oil dependency persists |
What you should know
While former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure saw some infrastructural gains, the economic legacy he left behind remains fraught with failures. His administration’s rigid policies, borrowing habits, and regulatory missteps are widely viewed as having weakened Nigeria’s fiscal and monetary stability.
As Nigeria transitions to a new era under President Bola Tinubu, experts say the road to recovery must begin with fiscal discipline, exchange rate reform, and structural diversification.
For more detailed reports and economic analysis, stay with TJ News Nigeria.
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