"We Need U.S. Understanding"

A few days before the Dikko kidnapping, TIME Nairobi Bureau Chief James Wilde made his way past heavy security at State House, in the heart of a fortress of whitewashed stones and manicured lawns in Lagos, to interview Major General Mohammed Buhari. Above the three rows of ribbons on his crisply starched shirt, the lean Nigerian leader was wearing a button with the slogan "War Against Indiscipline." His shoes were as shiny as mirrors, and behind his gold-rimmed glasses, gentle smile and soft voice, he exuded a quiet air of power. Excerpts from the discussion:

On Democracy. For four years the military watched the presidential system being mismanaged. The economy was badly run down. There was a large external and internal debt that could not be serviced. Corruption was rife at all levels of the government. Law-and-order was breaking down. We believed that if this situation continued there would be anarchy, so we had to intervene to save the country. Unfortunately, I believe, the operators failed the system, rather than the system failing the operators. If the elections had been run fairly, there would have been no cause for the military to intervene. I think that at an opportune time Nigerians will have the chance to choose what type of government they want to see in the country. But we are not thinking of handing over power now. We are more preoccupied with enormous social and economic problems.

On the Economy. The fundamental issue is that Nigeria is a single-export economy. Oil accounts for more than 90% of our foreign exchange earnings. We earn dollars because of the OPEC pricing system, but we are suffering now because we produce less and sell the oil at lower prices. We must import only goods that are basic and essential to our economy. A lot of emphasis has been put on agriculture. Because of the shortage of food in the country, people are going back to the land. We have taken stock of our debts and redone the budget. We tried to cut expenditures and set up a committee to review which projects we can handle and which ones we should totally abandon. We will not allow state governments to take on any more loans, and the federal government has curtailed all other foreign loans. Even the foreign bankers have started to see results.

On Talks with the IMF. We need the loan very badly, otherwise we would not have asked for it. We have taken a number of measures to convince the IMF that we are really serious about checking expenditure and encouraging farming, as they suggested. There are three vital areas that we have not been able to agree on with the IMF: currency devaluation, trade liberalization and the lifting of petroleum subsidies. They do not seem to think that we are trying hard enough to meet their demands. We feel that if we implemented these three measures they would cause social upheaval in the country. But we will continue to negotiate.

On the Opposition. There are those outside the country who have occasionally threatened this administration. They are people of substance. But we are definitely not going to panic. We are not afraid of the challenge made by people outside the country.

On Nigeria's Image Abroad. We suffer from a lack of understanding by America and other countries about the real situation here. The last government had good public relations and sold the system to the Western press. Electoral malpractice was virtually swept under the carpet, but underneath the surface the country was boiling. I believe there is no harm in criticism, if it is true. We have the most vocal press in the world in Nigeria. If we can put up with that, we can put up with others too. But a lot is being taken for granted. We need U.S. understanding because the U.S. is the single most important customer for us. For that reason alone, our relationship with America is very important.