Olusegun Obasanjo

===Economic policy===
[[File:Olusegun Obasanjo and Jimmy Carter-03.jpg|thumb|Obasanjo with U.S. President Jimmy Carter in the White House in 1977|325x325px|left]]
By the mid-1970s, Nigeria had an [[overheating (economics)|overheated economy]] with a 34% inflation rate.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=57|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=90}} To deal with Nigeria's economic problems, Obasanjo pursued [[austerity]] measures to reduce public expenditure.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=90}} In his 1976 budget, Obasanjo proposed to reduce [[government]] expenditure by a sixth, curtailing prestige projects while spending more on education, health, housing, and agriculture.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=57}} He also set up an anti-inflation task force, and within a year of Obasanjo taking office, inflation had fallen to 30%.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=90}} Obasanjo was generally adverse to borrowing money, but with the support of the [[World Bank]] and [[International Monetary Fund]] Nigeria took out a $1&nbsp;billion loan from a syndicate of banks. Leftist critics argued that doing so left the country subservient to Western capitalism.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=67|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=90}} In the subsequent two years of Obasanjo's government, Nigeria borrowed a further $4,983&nbsp;million.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=67}}

Nigeria was undergoing nearly 3% annual population growth during the 1970s, something which would double the country's population in just over 25 years.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=64}} Obasanjo later noted that he was unaware of this at the time, with his government having no policy on [[population control]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=64}} Nigeria's population growth contributed to rapid urbanisation and an urban housing shortage. To deal with this, Obasanjo's 1976 budget outlined plans for the construction of 200,000 new housing units by 1980, although ultimately only 28,500 were built.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=64}} In 1976, Obasanjo's government also announced rent and price controls.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=57}} To counteract the disruption of labour strikes, in 1976 Obasanjo's government introduced legislation that defined most major industries as essential services, banned strikes within them, and authorised the detention of disruptive union leaders.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=66}} In 1978 it merged 42 unions into the single [[Nigerian Labour Congress]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=66}}

Obasanjo continued with three major irrigation schemes in northern Nigeria that were first announced under Murtala: the [[Kano River Project]], the [[Bakalori Scheme]], and the [[South Chad Irrigation Project]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=58}} His government also continued the Agricultural Development Projects launched in [[Funtua]], [[Gusau]], and [[Gombe State|Gombe]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=58}} Some reforestation projects were also initiated to stall the encroachment of the [[Sahara Desert]] in the north.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=89}} To meet the country's growing demand for electricity, Obasanjo oversaw the launch of two new hydroelectric projects and a thermal plant.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=61}} The oil industry remained an important part of Nigeria's economy and under Obasanjo the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was merged with the Nigerian National Oil Corporation to form the [[Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation]] (NNPC).{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=59}} Obasanjo also supported the creation of a liquefaction plant at [[Bonny, Nigeria|Bonny]], which was 62% financed by the NNPC; the project was abandoned by his successor amid spiralling cost increases.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=60}} Obasanjo also continued the planning of the [[Ajaokuta]] integrated steel mill, an inherited project that many critics in the civil service argued was unviable.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=60|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2pp=88–89}}

In the mid-1970s, Nigeria also faced declining agricultural production,{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=57|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=89}} a process caused by successive governments finding it cheaper to import food than grow it domestically.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=89}} In May 1976, Obasanjo launched [[Operation Feed the Nation]], a project to revitalise small-scale farming and which involved students being paid to farm during the holidays.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=58|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=89}} The project also involved abolishing duties on livestock feed and farm implements, subsidizing the use of fertilisers, and easing agricultural credit.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=89}} In March 1978, Obasanjo issued the Land Use Decree which gave the state propriety rights over all land. This was designed to stop land hoarding and land speculation, and brought praise from the Nigerian left although was disliked by many land-owning families.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=65|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=89}} Obasanjo saw it as one of his government's main achievements.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=65}}