The former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has advised the current administration in Nigeria headed by President Bola Tinubu to consider engaging with the government of Zimbabwe to address the current unprecedented level of inflation in the country.
Reports suggest that Nigeria’s annual inflation rate climbed further to a near 28-year high of 29.9% in January 2024, up from 28.9% in December and above market forecasts of 29.5%.
Speaking on Monday at a youth leadership symposium as part of activities lined up for his 87th birthday, Obasanjo, a former military leader and a two-time President, said his country should learn from Zimbabwe.
As reported by the Daily Post, Obasanjo said that given Zimbabwe’s recent success in overcoming a similar challenge, it could offer valuable guidance to Africa’s largest economy and most populous country. He said:
Committing suicide is not the end of any problem, confront it and take it to God because he could do anything.
Zimbabwe had this problem recently. Shouldn’t we ask them how they did it even if our approach will be different?
Even if whatever we shall be doing will be different, we can ask questions to navigate our way out.
In July 2008, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate was nearly 250 million per cent, and this hyperinflation was linked to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe increasing the money supply.
Zimbabwe managed to tackle the hyperinflation by abandoning its currency and adopting the United States dollar.
However, in recent years, the southern African country’s rate of inflation has been going up following the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar, although the US dollar is the dominant currency.
Last week, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) reported that the country’s year-on-year inflation as measured by the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February was 47.6%, far higher than Nigeria’s.
