Nigeria’s Government, at Work at Last

尼日利亚政府总算点卯了

After six months, Nigeria’s president no longer leads alone

过了六个月，尼日利亚总统才总算结束了孤立无援的窘境

The law was laid down for Nigeria’s ministers when they were sworn into office last week. No corruption, their austere president, Muhammadu Buhari, told them. Obey the law and work together, because expectations are high. Behave in keeping with the times. Refrain from gaudy displays of wealth (“Not that some of us have much to display,” one appointee laments). It has taken almost six months for the former dictator, now elected, to install his cabinet, but for those who made the cut his message is simple: winning high office is no longer a license to rob the public purse. Unlike many of their predecessors, the new ministers must prioritize reform.

当尼日利亚新一届政府部长们于上周宣誓就职的时候，一项针对他们的清规戒律也开始生效。禁止贪污，以严厉著称的总统穆罕默德·布哈里如此告诫他们。民众对这届政府抱有很高的期望，因此他们必须遵纪守法、众志成城。行为举止要与时俱进。抑制铺张显摆之风（“并不是说我们有很多财产可以显摆”一位被任命的部长面露难色地说道）。这位前独裁者重新当选后已经花了接近六个月的时间才完成内阁的组建。但是对那些成功进入内阁的人来说，布哈里想传递的讯息很简单：身居要职不再是高官肆意鱼肉百姓的免死金牌。与他们的诸位前任不同的是，新一届的部长们必须把改革放在首位。

Many observers are optimistic that they can do so. Mr Buhari’s cabinet is smaller than that of the previous president, Goodluck Jonathan, with 25 principal ministers and 12 junior ones. Several of his senior appointees have good track records. Babatunde Fashola, the respected former governor of Lagos state, has been handed a monumental portfolio combining power, public works and housing. Another ex-governor, Kayode Fayemi, is charged with developing mining operations as Nigeria rushes to broaden its economy away from oil. Fans of a third seasoned politician, Rotimi Amaechi, who won the transport post, say he has delivered roads despite accusations of corruption, which he denies.

许多观察家对此持乐观态度。布哈里总统的内阁由25位首席部长和12位初级部长组成，比他的前任古德拉克·乔纳森总统的内阁要小一些。而且有数位首席部长拥有良好的履历记录。备受尊敬的前拉各斯州州长巴巴图内德·法肖拉（Babatunde Fashola）被任命为电力、工程和住房部长，这可是一个肥差。另一位前州长，卡耶德·法耶米（Kayode Fayemi）奉命发展采矿业，因为现下的尼日利亚亟需拓宽经济发展的路子，使其不过度依赖于石油产业。作为政治资历排第三的老练政治家，罗蒂米·阿玛奇赢得了交通部长的宝座，他的支持者认为尽管面临贪污的指控（他本人矢口否认），但他还是确保了多条公路的顺利完工。

Yet the president has failed to please all as he juggles the demands of his party and people. His decision to keep the oil post for himself, while appointing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s new head as his deputy, was designed to keep the valuable resource in hands he can trust. But it raises concerns over the centralization of power. Ethnic groups of the southeast who mostly voted for Mr Jonathan in this year’s election are feeling neglected. Critics also fret over an absence of desperately needed financial expertise.

但是，当布哈里总统将自己的政党和选民的需求玩弄于鼓掌之中的时候，他势必难以取悦所有人。他决定由自己兼任石油部长，并任命尼日利亚国家石油公司的新任总裁为他的副手，其目的是为了把有价值的资源掌握在他的亲信手中。这种任人唯亲的做法引起了人们对中央集权的担忧。东南部的大部分部族在今年的选举中站在了乔纳森一边，他们感到自己的利益被忽视。评论家们也为布哈里未能任命一位亟需的懂业务的财政部长而感到深深的忧虑。

Africa’s biggest economy, which relies on oil for 70% of its revenue, is sputtering as prices fall. Economic policy has been adrift since Mr Buhari came to power, and investors complain about the central bank’s use of trade controls and import restrictions. However, the new finance minister, an accountant who cleaned up the books of one of Nigeria’s smaller states, is poorly qualified for the job. Her counterpart in the investment ministry is a respected businessman, but he may lack the clout to stand up to a president with statist leanings. “It’s a government with local professionals and without superstars,” says Shehu Sani, a senator of the ruling party.

尼日利亚是非洲最大的经济体，但它的财政收入有七成来自石油产业，随着油价的下行，该国的经济也后继乏力。上台以来，布哈里至今尚未敲定他的经济政策，投资者们则对央行采取的贸易控制和进口限制政策怨声载道。但是，新任财政部长（曾在尼日利亚某个较小的州政府从事财政工作）的资历远远不能胜任这份工作。她在投资部的同僚倒是一位受人尊敬的商人，但是他的影响力也许还不足以对抗这位秉承中央集权论的总统。“这届政府有的只是一些地方上的专业人士，没有什么有影响力的政坛超级巨星。”执政党的参议院施胡·萨尼说道。

Still, Nigerians find much to be happy about. Boko Haram, an insurgent Islamist group, has been weakened during Mr Buhari’s half-year at the helm (though bombs this week killed 43 people), and power supplies are somewhat more reliable. A bigger budget has been outlined for 2016, though it is unclear how it will be financed, and recurrent spending will be pared back. More heartening is the president’s crusade against corruption.

不过，尼日利亚人民还有许多值得高兴的事情。布哈里执掌国家权力半年来，他已经成功地削弱了博科圣地（一个伊斯兰叛乱组织）（尽管该组织本周又炸死了43个人），而且国内的电力供应稍微可靠了点。布哈里已经为2016年勾勒了一个更大的预算（尽管目前还不清楚钱从哪来），而且周期性的开支将得到削减。总统的反贪污运动更加鼓舞人心。

Staff have been fired from the state oil company and customs department. Officials are tackling smuggling along leaky borders. To reduce fraud, an opaque network of government bank accounts has been replaced by a centralized system. Several politicians, including the president of
the Senate, a former oil minister and an ex-national security adviser, are under investigation. Meanwhile, biometric registration at banks should expose more money laundered by civil servants and their stooges. High-rollers are on their best behavior. Lamudi, a property company, reports a slowdown in expensive sales, partly explained by the fact that the rich would rather not be seen splurging.

一些有问题的雇员已经被国家石油公司和海关部门扫地出门。公务员们沿着漏洞百出的边境线上打击走私。为了减少欺诈案件，原来不透明的政府银行账户网络已经被一套集中式的系统所取代。多位政客正在接受调查，包括参议院主席、一位前石油部长、以及一位前国家安全顾问。同时，通过在银行系统推行生物统计登记，使公务员及其傀儡的洗钱行为无处藏匿。挥金如土的豪绅们不得不夹着尾巴过日子。Lamudi（一家产权公司）报告称其奢侈消费增长出现放缓的态势，一定程度上是因为富人们宁可不被人看到他们大肆挥霍。

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