IN THE ANALYSIS

Africa Watch – Is China retreating?

Chinese sovereign lending to Africa fell below $1 billion last year—the lowest level in nearly two decades, data showed on Tuesday, 19 September. The drop in lending is reflected in data from Boston University’s Global China Initiative. Africa has been a focus of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013 to recreate the ancient Silk Road and extend China’s geopolitical and economic influence through a global infrastructure development push. Boston University’s Chinese Loans to Africa Database estimates that Chinese lenders provided $170 billion to Africa from 2000 to 2022. But lending has declined sharply since a 2016 peak. China's internal politics have led to a reassessment of the Belt and Road Initiative investments, with higher benchmarks set for loan approval. African countries have struggled to meet these new requirements. Many African governments have been unable to muster the discipline required to develop and pursue projects that are viable. Instead, political considerations and grandiose pretensions remain a prime driver of project developments. As the global geopolitical climate continues to churn under the weight of significant realignments, Africa is again failing to position itself to be a net positive gainer. Furthermore, many analysts fail to see the ...
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ANALYSIS

Analysis – A look at Nigeria’s security situation

Last year, Nigeria’s security situation raised a lot of concern ...
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The week ahead – A new year needs new thinking

The FG will soon start an exhaustive review of the ...
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The year ahead – What can Nigeria expect in 2017?

2016 proved to be a difficult year for Nigeria which ...
/ Analysis, Reports, Research

The week ahead – Old budget, new budget, same tale

President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2017 budget proposal of ₦7.298 ...
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Review: Assessing our predictions for 2016, and how they fared

2016 has been an eventful year across the world and ...
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The week ahead – Nigeria backs away from the free market

Petrol subsidies are effectively back on the NNPC’s cards following the ...
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The week ahead – Our regulators need to take a chill pill

The Senate says it will prosecute officials responsible for the ...
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The week ahead – Technical, victories or recessions, we need to face the reality

The Nigerian Army has officially declared one officer and 45 ...
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The week ahead – There are no signposts where we are now

The NBS on Monday released new data showing that the ...
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The week ahead – The naira goes into geostationary orbit

The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a new circular ...
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What does President Trump mean for Nigeria?

2016 will go down as the year of the roll ...
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A year in, how has Buhari’s cabinet fared?

The Buhari administration swept into office on the mantra of ...
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The week ahead – We need a plan, with details please

Nigeria’s Senate on Tuesday rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to ...
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The week ahead – New oil finds should not derail our focus

Yesterday, Exxon Mobil announced significant offshore discovery of oil in ...
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The week ahead – Bold and responsible steps have to be taken

The CPI maintained its upward streak at the weekend, rising ...
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The week ahead – There’s work to be done, we should not create more

Worrying divides in Nigerian Islam A number of people have been ...
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The week ahead – To fix this economy we need to get real

The Senate has rejected a bill seeking to compel the ...
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The week ahead – Discordant tunes don’t make for a good symphony

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo ...
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Analysis – How does OPEC’s big announcement affect Nigeria?

Yesterday in Algeria, OPEC oil ministers arose from a meeting ...
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The week ahead – Patience is key to overcoming the recession

The CBN-MPC has retained the Monetary Policy Rate at the ...
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The week ahead – Finally, some motion on the economy

The federal government, as part of efforts towards reflating the ...
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The week ahead – Old problems and wishful thinking are making a forceful comeback

The military doubles down in the Delta Niger Delta Affairs ...
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The week ahead – We all have to man the oven as the national cake shrinks

Nigeria’s economic slump deepened in Q2 as a declining oil ...
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The week ahead – More states will try to break free

The Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, has signed the ...
/ Analysis