Another UK based financial magazine, The Economist, has attacked the economic policies of President Muhammadu Buhari and his predecessor Goodluck Jonathan.
This is just a few days after Financial Times tagged Buhari's economic and monetary policies "the height of foolishness."
The Economists,which supported Buhari in the 2015 presidential election, against Goodluck Jonathan, in an article published on Thursday, January 28, has blasted Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, over the decision not to devalue the Naira and to stop importation.
"The currency, the naira, is under pressure. The central bank insists on an exchange rate of 197-199 naira to the dollar. On the black market, dollars sell for 300 naira or more."
According to The Economist, the policies will hurt the country and it's economy in the long run.
It said Buhari was failing to learn from his mistake of 30 years ago when he was Head of State.
The article in part reads:
"Instead of letting the naira depreciate to reflect the country's loss of purchasing power, Mr Buhari's government is trying to keep it aloft. The central bank has restricted the supply of dollars and banned the import of a long list of goods, from shovels and rice to toothpicks. It hopes that this will maintain reserves and stimulate domestic production.
"When the currency is devalued, all imports become more expensive. But under Mr Buhari's system the restrictions on imports are by government fiat. Factory bosses complain they cannot import raw materials such as chemicals and fret that, if this continues, they may have to shut down. Many have turned to the black market to obtain dollars, and are doubtless smuggling in some of the goods that have been banned.
"Nigerians have heard this tune before. Indeed, Mr Buhari tried something similar the last time he was president. Then, as now, he resisted what he called the "bitter pill" of devaluation. When, as a result, foreign currency ran short, he rationed it and slashed imports by more than half. When Nigerians turned to the black market he sealed the country's borders. When unemployment surged he expelled 700,000 migrants.
"Barking orders at markets did not work then, and it will not work now. Mr Buhari is right that devaluation will lead to inflation—as it has in other commodity exporters. But Nigeria's policy of limiting imports and creating scarcity will be even more inflationary. A weaker currency would spur domestic production more than import bans can and, in the long run, hurt consumers less. The country needs foreign capital to finance its deficits but, under today's policies, it will struggle to get any. Foreign investors assume that any Nigerian asset they buy in naira now will cost less later, after the currency has devalued. So they wait."
On Jonathan, the UK magazine said Goodluck Jonathan, as an "ineffectual buffoon" who let corruption thrive under his administration and allowed "politicians and their cronies fill their pockets with impunity."
It quoted Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, as saying that 55 people stole $6.8 billion from the public purse over seven recent years.
"Income for the third quarter of 2015 was almost 30% lower than for the same period the year before, and foreign reserves have dwindled by $9 billion in 18 months.
"Ordinarily there would be buffers to cushion against such shocks, but Mr Jonathan's cronies have largely squandered them."