ASSESSMENTS

Nigeria's President Is Back -- Maybe

Sep 1, 2017 | 09:00 GMT

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arrived back in Abuja on Aug. 19 after a three-month medical leave.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's health and ability to fulfill his duties remain open questions after his return from a three-month medical leave.

(SUNDAY AGHAEZE @2017/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

President Muhammadu Buhari's return to Nigeria after a three-month medical leave will do little to assuage the concerns of his ruling coalition.
Despite the efforts of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who served as acting president in Buhari's absence, Nigeria's sustained financial weaknesses will translate into little more than small concessions to the Niger Delta.
Members of Buhari's ruling party increasingly will face the choice of staying where they are or defecting to the rival People's Democratic Party as the 2019 presidential election approaches and worries over the president's ability to defend his office deepen.

President Muhammadu Buhari is back in Nigeria. After more than 100 days in the United Kingdom, where he had been seeking medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment, Buhari returned home Aug. 19. For the duration of his latest absence -- which followed a two-month medical stay in London from January to March -- Buhari was more or less incommunicado, prompting calls that he resign or at least be more transparent about his health. The president and his team tried to push past the criticism by emphasizing the need for national unity in Buhari's first public address back in the country Aug. 21. But his speech failed to allay Nigerians' concerns. By skirting the issue of his mysterious illness, Buhari reaffirmed that he intends to keep his condition a secret and left the impression that his health is still a problem. Reports indicate, moreover, that after the president met with various...

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