By Ishaya Ibrahim
Acting News Editor
Newspaper headlines read Sai Buhari (Buhari is the man) to herald his election on the crest wave of public optimism never before witnessed in Africa’s most populous country.
Muhammadu Buhari, the rugged marksman, had finally hit the target after taking four shots, to jubilations on both sides of the Niger River – in Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Osogbo, and Uyo.
He defeated an incumbent president, a first in Nigeria. He promised change. Country men and women took his word for it, based on his antecedents.
Just 10 months in the job, however, even the talakawas (poor folks) who rejoiced the most – one man walked from Lagos to Abuja and another from Yola to Abuja in celebration – are feeling let down.
They are rattled by the persistence of the same old problems – Economic hardship. Fuel shortage. Job losses. Unstable power supply. Insecurity.
On the streets of Lagos today, ‘change’ has become a jibe to remind All Progressives Congress (APC) sympathisers that they made the wrong choice.
Some are even saying that the APC meant “chain” which was misinterpreted as “change”.
In Benin, Kaduna, Owerri, and many other cities nationwide, change is dubbed a negative one.
On the planks of social and economic woes, Buhari is becoming Nigeria’s ‘Mr Unpopular’.
Some people are even saying Babu Buhari (no to Buhari), reversing the phrase Sai Buhari (Buhari is the man).
Popularity disappearing
Earlier this month, a survey by Governance Advancement Initiative for Nigeria (GAIN), said that more Nigerians, for the first time, have scored Buhari low in his handling of the economy, power, and job creation.
Malcolm Fabiyi, one of the poll’s coordinators, said that the result showed that Buhari’s approval rating dropped from 63.4 per cent in January to 32.8 per cent.
And unlike previous survey where pollsters blamed the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for Buhari’s troubles, he is now carrying his cross having spent 10 months in office.
Frustration in Jigawa
Ayodele Olorunfemi, a travel consultant in Dutse, who voted Buhari last year, said that the government blaming its woes on stealing in the Jonathan administration is no longer tenable.
“Nobody is expecting skyscrapers from this government. We know that crude oil price has fallen. But we also know that the federal government makes N8 per litre of refined petroleum imported.
“That is, instead of paying subsidy, the government is gaining. So, why are things these bad?” he queried.
Olorunfemi lamented that sachet water, which used to sell for N60 per bag in Jigawa State now costs N120; a bag of rice has moved from N10,000 to N16,000 and five litres of groundnut oil from N1,600 to N2,200.
He said that inflation, which has aggravated poverty, has stirred anger on the streets of Dutse, leading to one APC supporter being beaten to stupor for daring to defend Buhari’s government.
“If another election were conducted today, Buhari will lose woefully in Jigawa,” he warned.
Employment and Productivity Minister, Chris Ngige, had argued that only loyalists of the Peoples Democratic People (PDP) were complaining.
“That is the most stupid statement I have ever heard. Is it only PDP members that are queuing for fuel? Are they the only ones buying pure water for N120?” Olorunfemi countered.
Anger over CBN secret recruitment
An optometrist based in Abuja, Chukwuemeka Anene, said that Buhari has been demystified.
“A lot of crimes are going on right under his nose, starting with the padding of the budget. Where is the change?” he asked.
“You saw the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) secretly recruiting relatives of APC chieftains and government officials, including Buhari’s nephew. Nothing has changed.”
The secret recruitment Anene cited was reported by online news website, SaharaReporters, which listed 91 people tied to highly placed Nigerians as beneficiaries.
They include a daughter of former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku; a nephew of Buhari, a son of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu; a daughter of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Aba; a daughter of Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase; a son of Internal Affairs Minister, Abdurahman Danbazzau.
However, acting CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, told another online publication, PREMIUM TIMES, that the bank did not do anything illegal or wrong in hiring without advertising.
“In the last two years, we have had cause to recruit specialists, and what the law says is that if we are going for that kind of recruitment we should apply for waiver, so that we can do targeted recruitment,” Okoroafor said.
Perpetual fuel shortage
For the first time since 1999, Nigeria is experiencing its worst fuel shortage, with perpetual queues at filling stations in the past two months.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, admitted the government has no quick fix.
“One of the trainings I did not receive is that of a magician but I am working hard to ensure some of these issues go away…. over the next two months we should see a complete elimination of this,” he said.
Anene recalled that during the campaign, Buhari complained that the hours Nigerians spend queuing for petroleum cost the economy a lot in terms of man hours.
“So what has he done to end that? We need to see the government taking measures to fix the country. The only thing I see is that the government is pursuing thieves. Nothing more.”
Maiduguri, Benin City
In Maiduguri, Pauline Kuje, a journalist, said that residents face the dual problem of insecurity and worsening economy.
“I thought you people in Lagos don’t feel the heat in the economy? Things are very bad here. We are hungry and Boko Haram won’t allow us to enjoy peace,” she moaned.
A teacher in Benin, Monday Osawaru, said that nobody wants to hear the name Buhari in Edo State because “his popularity is waning. People are saying that the change is negative.
“Conduct a poll here, you will find that 90 per cent of Benin people don’t want to hear the name Buhari again.”
Nothing has changed, says Balarabe Musa
Radical politician and former Kaduna State Governor, Balarabe Musa, said that the APC’s promise of change, appears to be for the worse.
“Has anything changed? In the case of the previous government, it lost the initiative in the middle of its tenure.
“This government lost the initiative in the very beginning! So we should not make the mistake of hoping,” he warned.
He said that while Buhari’s anti-corruption war is the correct way to go, he is not fighting the corrupt decisively.
“The rich and powerful are the root cause of the problem. But he is not radical enough in fighting them, otherwise things would have improved by now.”
Economic saboteurs
Musa added that Buhari is repeating the mistake of the Jonathan administration.
“He is talking about saboteurs in his government, but he is not dealing with them. Saboteurs in his government will mean ministers, permanent secretaries, department heads and so on.
“By announcing that there are saboteurs in his government, he should have done something about it. But he hasn’t.”
Abdulaziz Ibrahim, a lawyer based in Kaduna, said while Buhari has lived up to his billing in fighting corruption, he has woefully failed in managing the economy.
“The economy is being sabotaged by some private individuals. I believe that the president knows some of the people involved.
“Imagine what somebody said the other day. He had the guts to say he knows how to make the dollar sell for N200. So, the president knows these saboteurs. He should deal with them,” Ibrahim insisted.
Part of the corrupt past
Leader of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Shettima Yerima, said that he is not surprised about Buhari’s popularity decline because he came into office without a programme.
To make matter worse, Yerima added, he took six months to appoint ministers, 90 percent of whom are part of the country’s corrupt past.
“They are not different from the past government. The same people who left the PDP are the APC chieftains. It is the same rotten tree,” Yerima argued.
“If anybody is telling us about change again, we must interrogate what kind of change is he bringing? Is it the change from poverty to abject poverty, darkness to total darkness?”
Job losses
Ogubundu Nwadike, publisher of Daily Issues in Owerri, said that Buhari has fared poorly in the 10 months he has held sway.
His words: “Apart from his uncoordinated war against corruption, there is no other APC/Buhari campaign promises that has been fulfilled. Unfortunately, instead of convincing the people, the APC/Buhari administration has resorted to denying their promises.
“The economy has continued diminishing in worrisome ways, leading to very deep decline in commerce and industry. Unemployment rate has worsened with multinational corporations joining local industries to lay off a lot of workers.”
Martins Onovo, presidential candidate of National Conscience Party (NCP) in the 2015 election, recalled that the APC promised three million jobs in its first year of governance.
“Item one in their manifesto. Three million jobs a year! Now look at it, we have lost almost three million jobs in the first eight months,” he said.
But Voters Awareness Initiative (VAI) President, Wale Ogunade, cautioned that the problem is post-election.
“We are all witnesses when dollar was distributed on the streets of Nigeria. The dollar was not used for any productivity endeavour. It was given to people who went to change it in the black market.
“So, it is not the fault of this government. Things have been so bad for a long time. But I will advise the government to put on its thinking cap.
“I know Buhari will not deceive us. I trust him. But if he starts to fail, we will be the first to take him to the cleaners,” he said.
Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, could not be reached for comment.
His telephone line was not accessible at press time, and he did not respond to a text message.