By Emeka Alex Duru
At his inauguration on May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari had remarked; “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”. He sealed his speech with an exciting pledge that he belonged to all and to none in particular. That particular commitment threw Nigerians at home and abroad into wild jubilation.
Coming from the backdrop of a grueling 12 year struggle to actualize his ambition, Nigerians had reasons to trust the president. More so, he had come into office on the crest of integrity that had trailed his days as military head of state between 1984 and 1985. Again, with his campaign promises anchored on fight against corruption, insecurity and revitalization of the economy, he easily struck on the hearts of many citizens. But five years down the line, Nigerians are divided on how far the president and his administration have performed.
While officials insist that the government is delivering on its briefs, critics are not amused at the pace of governance. Aside the economic sector where the government is generally considered to be in the darks on the right strategy and approach to getting things working, other key principles of its change mantra have come under focus.
Anti-corruption crusade
This is a particular programme of the government that has won it applauds abroad and at home, as well as controversies. With the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), reining in politicians suspected to have engaged in underhand activities in the last dispensation, opinions have been high on the agenda of the administration in curbing corruption.
There are insinuations in some quarters that the fight has been waged essentially against people in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or those that defected from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). There are also allegations of the fight being waged in ways that ran against rule of law. Some of the looted funds said to have been discovered by EFCC, are also being contested by Nigerians on grounds that the Commission has not linked them to any persons or groups. Many thus, dismiss such claims of discoveries as mere publicity stunts by commission.
Challenge of insecurity
Before the inauguration of Buhari administration, the nation had been at the receiving end of Boko Haram insurgency. While it embarked on its murderous onslaughts, the group severally launched massive assaults on the country’s corporate existence.
But with the coming of Buhari and the determination of the administration to engage the terrorists squarely, some gains have been recorded. However, while the government battles the sect, the country is confronted with the scourge of Fulani herdsmen that is making life miserable for Nigerians in the southern and middle belt zones. In its rampage, the herders have unleashed terror in communities in Benue State, Ondo and Enugu among others.
Nigerians speak out
Erstwhile employee of a second generation bank who was affected in a recent job cuts in the institution told our reporter that he regretted voting for Buhari and APC in the 2015 and 2019 general elections. “They promised us better living condition. They sounded as if they had any agenda and we fell for their pranks. But it has become clear that they do not even have any plan on how to govern the country. Now, I am out of work and they are telling me that things are looking better. I regret voting for Buhari and his team”, he lamented.
Foremost constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Professor Ben Nwabueze, had, earlier in the life of the administration, observed that the President lacked the intellectual and patriotic credentials needed for the office.
In an assessment of the administration, Nwabueze had remarked, “All I can say is that what we are passing through is the worst, politically, economically and otherwise that this country has ever had. But we are hoping that things will change for the better”. It is not certain if the Professor has changed his mind on the administration with the turn of events.
For the opposition PDP, the president’s last five years have not lifted Nigerians in any way.
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, however believes that all is not lost, stressing that the administration is on course in delivering democracy dividends to the people. In his assessment of the President, he said; “While we are not yet where we would like to be, we are also definitely not where we used to be; we have seen significant progress in many sectors across the three priorities of the president: security, economy and the fight against corruption”.
His colleague, Femi Adesina, spoke in similar vein. In a release to mark the fifth anniversary of the president, he wrote, “Between May 29, 2015, when it was inaugurated for the first term, and now, the Buhari administration has made salutary impact in almost all the facets of Nigerian life. The government swept into office on the wings of Change, and that change has been wrought in nearly all phases of national life. Where the lofty goals are yet to be attained, it is work in progress, and eyes are firmly fixed on the ball. No distraction”.
According to him, the three umbrella areas on which government based its interventionist agenda are: security, reviving the economy (with particular emphasis on job creation, especially for youths), and fighting corruption, arguing that the government has made great differences in these fields. “In these three areas, where we are today cannot be compared with where we used to be”, Adesina argued. He listed support for micro, small and medium enterprises, ease of doing business, prison reforms, infrastructure uplift among the areas the administration has impacted on Nigerians.
Even with these attainments, experts argue that the administration still has much to do to put the country on the right path. With Nigeria’s poverty index so high to the point of the country being rated the Poverty Capital of the World and 82.9 million out of the 200 million population living below poverty line, they are not convinced of the rosy pictures being painted by the foot soldiers of the President. The state of insecurity in the country is still humbling and unemployment figure bludgeoning on daily basis. For such critics, Nigeria is at the lowest point under the Buhari administration.