So it’s officially been 54 days since President Buhari
became the 15th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or the
13th if you discount him and President Olusegun Obasanjo’s returning
terms and Nigerians being as impatient and opinionated as we are, have
continually complained about the slow pace of his governing style.
I have done a brief write up (ok it’s long) on the Pros and
Cons of his Leadership style so far, you can read below.
His Achievements so far:
The Fight against
Terrorism and Insurgency:
Appointment of new
service chiefs.
The President appointed Major-General Abayomi Gabriel
Olonishakin as Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General T.Y. Buratai as Chief of
Army Staff; Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as Chief of Naval Staff; and Air
Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar as Chief of Air Staff.Air Vice Marshal Monday
Riku Morgan as Chief of Defence Intelligence and Retired Major-General Babagana
Monguno as National Security Adviser.
The general consensus is that this has been a good look as
the antecedents of the newly appointed service chiefs in the Military has been
very positive,
The President’s diplomatic efforts in Chad and Niger have
resulted in the deployment of a multinational joint task force with
headquarters in N’Djamena, Chad, on July 30th to pep up the fight against Boko
Haram.
The Fight against Corruption:
Need I say more, with the current investigation of the NNPC,
closure of all Illegal Revenue Accounts, Investigations by the EFCC of alleged
corrupt ex public officials including former Governors and former NSA Boss
Dasuki Sambo (though there have been rumors from the grapevine that Dasuki’s
arrest is vendetta for the arrest of the President by Dasuki 30years ago but I digress),
and unconfirmed rumors that even the ex-president and his wife are also on the
watch list. fighting corruption is where the General thrives , more corrupt ex public officials are
expected to be investigated .
International
commendation.
Well this is not entirely his alone to enjoy, Nigeria’s
stock has overwhelmingly increased since after the 2015 elections, Thanks to a
keenly contested elections ( notice I did not use the adjective free and fair),
and Ex-President Good luck’s Jonathan uncharacteristic Phone call to the
President conceding defeat even before the official results were announced,
Nigeria is back at the top of the committee of nations, and world leaders
everywhere are tripping over themselves to find a place for Nigeria, this Is
not bad considering that Corruption and actions of the Boko Haram sect had
damaged our reputation immensely before the 2015 elections.
Power Supply.
Power supply appears to have improved since PMB’s
government, well I am not sure what he could have possibly done In such a short
while to achieve this, so it’s safe to assume "the powers that be" simply decided
to leave the power switch on instead of shutting us off during the election
(did someone mention sabotage?) either way I am just glad we now have power, it’s
not stable yet but it’s definitely an improvement.
The Cons:
Slow pace of the
government.
Nigerian citizens have accused the present government of
dragging its feet on a variety of matters, after chanting the change mantra
during the elections, Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of this change.
Supply of Petrol is still not stable, with long queues
cropping up now and again in petrol stations and the issue of subsidy payments to oil marketers is still
up in the air, this situation does not appear to have an expiry date any time soon.
The delay in appointment of Federal Ministers, The President
hinted during his recent trip to Washington that he would appoint his cabinet
sometime in September.Nigerians are wondering how the government can effectively run properly within this period but for now we are still on aren't we?
The inflation rate keeps rising and the depreciation of the
Naira to the USD has not improved.
Increase in tariffs on importation of goods at the ports, this has resulted in adding to the hike in the costs of goods,food stuffs and sundry in the markets.
Unemployment is still on the increase leading to a spike in
armed robbery, petty theft and kidnappings.
And the list goes on and on.
The President has said he wishes he were younger so he could
better address the maniacal problems of the Nigerian Polity, I say Mr President
get on a treadmill, get a heart
transplant do what you have to do but try to fix these problems at least let there
be some element of improvement before your tenure expires, "the Old age" caveat won’t work at all o.
Terrorism and
Insecurity
The President might have relocated the military HQ to Maiduguri
but all it appears to have done is piss the BH terrorists off, there have been
daily suicide bomb attacks in the affected areas leading to massive loss of lives
since that decision was announced. There has been no official broadcast to
address these killings all we keep hearing is that it will soon be over and Boko Haram is being defeated, currently he has publicly declared that he is ready to negotiate with the terrorist group. When will it stop? Is all I would
like to know, make it stop already?
Northern Domination:
The President who comes from the Northern part of the
country and an ex-military dictator has had his fair share of being called a
tribalist and a religious fanatic (hey I am just calling it how I see it), with
the Northern elite historically known for their dictatorial tendencies and their
aversion to not let go of power once they latch on, it has been interestingly pointed out that the majority
of the newly appointed public servants are from the north, so deep rooted is
the so called Northern Elite’s attitude to dominate that allegedly the
President and his Northern caucus have allegedly worked against APC chieftain
and foremost Politician Bola Tinubu . Ignoring his wishes and recommendations in
placing strategic officials in various positions.
The Vice President is not left out, allegedly the President
and his caucus keep him out of sensitive meetings because they do not trust his
blind loyalty to Bola Tinubu. insert raised eyebrow here....
Personally I don’t believe this allegations to be
accurate, I actually think there has been a slight change of perception of the
president from when he was a military dictator to this current period as a
civilian president, but the truth is the President is sectarian by nature, the
people who he knows, interacts with and trusts are majorly from that region of the
country, I am sure he must have other friends but I don’t think it’s unsafe to
say that a large number of his close aides may come from his region.
Let’s not forget that his former political party CPC did not
have a massive following outside the northern region so it’s not surprising
that those are the people he will gravitate to initially ,but I believe this
will change, as he continues to open up his cabinet and vet meritorious individuals,
we will eventually see a more inclusive cabinet, probably why he needs a lot of
time before he announces his cabinet he needs to properly vet the incoming
Ministers.
Vendetta
Investigations:
The Former ruling party the PDP is crying out that PMB is targeting
its members in his corruption probe. They are alleging that PDP members are
being treated like prisoners of war and if the President was truly serious in
investigating corrupt officials then the investigations should also include
former government official’s pre Jonathan’s era.
All I will say is if your hands are clean then you wouldn’t
be shouting right, I mean it’s not like all the charges against the arrested so
far are being fabricated, shrugs
The Gay Agenda:
Nigerians are raising their eyebrows with the sudden love
for all things Nigerian by some western leaders, some have alleged that these
western leaders entered into an agreement with the President to support him
only if he legalizes same sex marriage.
Yeah I don’t think that’s happening, definitely not in this
country and not with this President
The Incorruptible President:
The President is one of the few Nigerians to have ever held
public office that still has his reputation intact, in fact part of his
attraction during the elections was that he is incorruptible, averse to frivolous
spending and humble to a fault.
Whilst this is a fantastic Brand to live by but now that PMB
is president, every single thing he does will be under a microscope, he has
come under fire for things as petty as the cost of his wife’s wrist watch to
the costs of his large entourage.
Nigerians are opinionated that’s just the
cross a leader of the most populous black nation has to carry.
In conclusion It will be interesting to see how the President manages to
navigate through the waters of constant scrutiny from the opposition party,
citizens and the world at large, will he still be the Incorruptible Muhammed Buhari when
his tenure expires …..only time will tell.
For me I say it’s too early to start circling him like
sharks, give the President time to work and don’t expect him to be a miracle
worker…and I am sure he knows by now we will all be watching.
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