President Muhammadu Buhari administration will come to an end on May 29, 2023. Bola Ahmed Tinubu will take the reins of office as president. The presidential and national assembly elections conducted on 25 February, by INEC, returned him as the president- elect.
It is therefore another opportunity to reflect and assess the Buhari’s years in power. Buhari’s political odyssey began in 2007 when he contested the position of president under the platform of APP. His first shot at the presidency was unsuccessful as late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua emerged president under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). There was another futile attempt in 2011. However, as fate will have it in 2015, progressive politicians came together and floated a new and strong opposition party, the APC, with which Buhari rode to power.
Buhari’s campaign promises were premised on fighting insecurity, corruption and above all, formulating good policies that will stabilize the country’s bad economy. The posers now begging for answers are: Have these promises been fulfilled? Has the country’s security improved in the last eight years? What about the war against corruption and our battered economy? To the credit of the administration, the war against Boko Haram insurgents recorded tremendous and appreciative success. The murderous group has been tamed by our gallant soldiers with the remnants resorting to attacking only soft targets. While Boko Haram has been degraded in the north-eastern states, the emergence of bandits in North-west, killer herdsmen in north-central and IPOB in Southeast have exacerbated tension in the country. The non-state actors and other terrorists have continued to unleash terror on hapless Nigerians. The attendant consequences of their incessant attacks are humanitarian crisis and looming food crises. Farming communities have fled their ancestral homes due to frequent and coordinated attacks of these criminals.
President Buhari is a no-nonsense president who abhors corruption. His greatest asset is “integrity”. He is an incorruptible leader. This quality has endeared him to many Nigerians. Regrettably, corruption has blossomed under his nose. Some members of his cabinet are fingered in multi-billion corruption saga. The corruption charges against the former minister of power, Sale Mamman, is one among many. While the anti-corruption agency, EFCC and its sister agency ICPC, have been allowed to operate without let or hindrance, the pardon granted to former Plateau and Taraba State governors, Dariye and Nyame shocked Nigerians and mocked the administration’s war against corruption. These ex- governors and other corrupt politicians whose sources of wealth are questionable should be cooling their feet in jail.
Despite this, the administration initiated and implemented various policies through CBN and other social investment programs, oversighted by the federal ministry of humanitarian affairs. Poverty has reached its frightening peak. The multi-dimensional poverty index report placed 133 million Nigerians below poverty line. Unemployment has jumped up exponentially. Inflation has eaten up the purchasing power of Nigerians. Added to the burden of our fragile economy is 77trillions foreign and domestic debt incurred by the government.
No wonder, President Buhari recently asked Nigerians for forgiveness. The eight years he spent in power were wasted as he failed to transform the country. The incoming administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu should brace up for the challenges ahead. Interestingly, his antecedent as tax guru who governed and transformed Lagos State to a mega city speaks volume about his capability. If the giant strides recorded in Lagos could be replicated in the country, Nigeria will achieve greatness within a shortest period of time. This is possible, if he can hire and assemble competent and capable cabinet who will help him to move the country forward. The challenges of insecurity can be tackled through massive recruitment of security personnel as he once stated. There is no gainsaying the fact, job creations and poverty reduction are elixir for building a resilient and prosperous nation. The president-elect needs to embrace this formula wholeheartedly.
Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua, Kaduna State
