The period from July 1, 1998 to June 30,2007 (World Bank fiscal years 99-07) saw a substantialimprovement in Nigeria's economic performance andoutlook relative to the previous two decades, during which,notwithstanding the expanding production of oil and gas,Nigeria's social indicators deteriorated steadily andthe country acquired among the worst reputations forcorruption and poor governance. During its second term, theObasanjo administration built on some actions takenpreviously to stabilize the economy, created an oil surplusaccount to prevent the fiscal instability of the earlierperiod, took significant steps to improve public financialmanagement, put in place important new initiatives oncorruption and transparency, and continued the privatizationprogram. During this period, the Bank provided importantassistance to the government of Nigeria. In spite of therelatively small weight of the Bank's financialcontribution given Nigeria's earnings from oil, theBank carried a great deal of weight as a source of objectiveadvice and as a means of influencing perceptions of Nigeriain the international community. During the period tomid-2003, however, the Bank had some difficulty indetermining the role it should play. A large number oflending operations were started, often without the base oflocal knowledge needed for success. At the same time, theBank was slow to invest in analytic work. With the reformteam providing clear Nigerian leadership in the second termof President Obasanjo, the Bank adapted its program in manyareas to provide effective support. The Bank is well placedto continue to make an important contribution toNigeria's economic and social progress. For this tooccur, it is important that the Nigerian government take allnecessary steps to ensure policy continuity as well as toextend and deepen the reforms initiated over the evaluationperiod-this is of critical importance for the country'slong-term economic success.
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