Buhari presidency, 365 days after

In his inaugural address shortly after he took the oath of office on May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari made a profound statement. “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody,” he proclaimed, and vowed to serve as “president to all Nigerians.”
It was a soul-lifting speech, more so when he thanked, not only those who worked tirelessly to ensure his victory, but also “our other countrymen and women who did not vote for us but contributed to make our democratic culture truly competitive, strong and definitive.”
Buhari assumed office at a critical time when the country was at the socio-economic and political crossroads and his change slogan resonated well with the populace.
Just as he did during the campaign, he hinged the change philosophy of his All Progressives Congress (APC) on the ability to face the daunting challenges of insecurity, corruption, and the wobbling economy.
“At home we face enormous challenges,” he moaned.
“Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concerns,” he stressed and vowed that his government would overcome them.
“We are going to tackle them head on. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems.”
One year into his four-year tenure, however, Buhari’s scorecard is not as sterling as the expectations he evoked in the populace.
On security, even his harshest critics agree that the government has degraded Boko Haram such that the jihadists no longer occupy any inch of Nigeria, unlike before when they occupied 14 local governments.
The Army has regained swathes of territory Boko Haram had occupied as part of their so-called caliphate. Thousands of women and girls kidnapped by the group have also been rescued, including one of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted in April 2014.
Peace is gradually returning to the North East that has been a theatre of war for so long.
Yet, while there is progress in the North East, the menace of the so-called herdsmen has become a real problem for most Nigerians.
And the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta, the country’s oil-producing region, where recent attacks on oil facilities have reduced production and helped push up the global price of crude oil, is also a cause for concern.
On the anti-graft war, Buhari has scored the bull’s eye. With so many hitherto untouchable citizens standing trial today and with billions of stolen dollars already recovered, impunity is clearly on the retreat.
The president has shown the greatest will so far to wage war against the scourge of corruption.
Some Nigerians believe the fight is only against the opposition and not far reaching, but it is never going to be an easy job because the structure of corruption and mismanagement which previous governments left behind must first be dismantled before a new foundation of progress can be laid.
That is exactly what Buhari is doing and it is not a job that will be completed in one year.
Perhaps, it is in the economy that he has the biggest challenges. He has not shown any inclination that he has the capacity to halt the drift in the economic fortunes of the country.
The economy contracted to about 0.36 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, the first time in over a decade. Experts say it may shrink again in the second quarter which ends in June, which will effectively usher in recession.
The exchange rate has gone haywire with the dollar exchanging for N350, inflation has climbed out of the single-digit hole where it has been for years and is hitting an all-time high of 14 per cent, pump price of fuel has been hiked from N86.50 to an unprecedented N145 and poverty, hunger and hopelessness walk on all fours in the country.
We believe that Buhari does not seem to appreciate the enormity of the economic crisis facing the country. It is curious that a government that ought to hit the ground running wasted several months before appointing ministers.
Even at that, there is neither an economic team in place to drive the process of revamping the economy nor a well-defined economic roadmap that will tell Nigerians where the government is headed.
Buhari rode to power on the elegant wings of goodwill. That goodwill still subsists. But it is not going to be forever.
One year is long enough for a honeymoon. Sooner than later, Nigerians will decide that their president no longer enjoys the goodwill on a platter of nothing but must, indeed, earn it.
He may well use the remaining three years of his presidency to truly fulfil his vow at inauguration that Nigerians will not regret entrusting national responsibility to him.