Nigeria’s banks outpace political change

Moved to London DISTURBANCES IN THE oil-producing areas of the Delta, concerns about electricity supply and the country’s failed infrastructure, combined with sweeping new measures planned by the country’s central bank: it is tempting to think that despite another year of democratic rule in Nigeria, and economic growth fuelled by buoyant oil prices, nothing has changed at all. It is as if the country is starring in its own version of the film Groundhog Day, in which events keep repeating themselves and the same things keep happening to all the main participants. This view, while seductive, would be misguided. Nothing stands still in Nigeria, even if chaos seems to be a part of daily life. However, a more disturbing development appears to be taking place: the decoupling of political and business life. The financial markets continue to expand but political change seems to have ground to a halt. For example,...