NIGERIA is among the OPEC members hardest hit by the fall in the oil price: a decline which the cartel’s hands-off approach to production has prompted. In the run-up to the presidential election (postponed earlier this month and now scheduled for March 28th) the government there has had to raise taxes and cut spending. Nigeria’s oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke (see picture), also holds the rotating presidency of OPEC, and on a visit to London this week she was trying hard to talk up the chances of a return to business as usual: production cuts and a higher oil price.

OPEC, she said, risked “driving [itself] to oblivion” if it allowed the price to fall again. She said in an interview with The Economist that she wanted an emergency meeting of the body within six weeks, or earlier if the price falls further. She also called for closer cooperation with Russia—the world’s biggest producer outside OPEC.