By Emeka Alex Duru
Reactions ranging from outright disdain, loss of faith on the federation and cautious optimism, continue to trail the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, as it clocks six years in office, today. Foot soldiers of the President claim that he has done so well in the last six years, taking the country from the valley of dismay to the path of prosperity.
In a piece to celebrate the day, Special Adviser to the President on Media, Femi Adesina, acknowledged that within the period, “Nigeria has seen a lot of good. Lots and lots of it. The country has equally seen the bad. Lots and lots of it. Seen the ugly too. Lots and lots of it”. He went on to reel out achievements of the administration in areas of good governance and infrastructure uplift, claiming that on the basis of the attainments, the blind could see the wonders of the government, while the deaf would hear the echoes of its accomplishments.
Critics however disagree, arguing that the administration has done incalculable damage to the corporate existence of the country. They recall that on his inauguration on May 29, 2015, the President had pledged to belong to all and to none in particular but has pandered more to his Fulani kinsmen in policies and actions. Nigeria’s economy has taken turns for the worse under the administration, with the national currency falling close to N500 to a dollar and unemployment hitting 33 percent in the last quarter of 2020. Insecurity has also gone out of hand, with over 63 Nigerians massacred in Benue, Rivers, Delta and Kaduna by bandits in the last 48 hours. In the South East, unknown gunmen have been on the prowl, making life hard for the people. At various parts of the country, ethnic warriors have taken charge, waxing songs of secession and dismemberment of the country.
In all the instances, the President appears unperturbed while his government seems overwhelmed by the enormity of challenges before it. Uwadileke Chikere, a lawyer, describes it as the height of insensitivity for the presidential spokesman to claim that the administration has performed well, adding that if anything, the Buhari government is the lowest Nigeria has descended to in its 60 years of nationhood. “Any person claiming that this administration has done well, is insulting Nigerians. This is the worst administration we have seen as a country. It has taken us to a ridiculous level we may not be able to climb out from in the next 20 years”, he lamented.
Ajayi Olabode, Lagos resident, told our reporter that he regretted voting for the President and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in 2015 and 2019, describing the six years of Buhari as “years of the locusts” in Nigeria’s history. According to Ajayi, he shudders, realizing that Nigerians would still have to live with the uncertainties of the government in the next two years.
Other respondents were agreed that the government needs to change tactics and strategies, if it really aims at bettering the lot of Nigerians. In their summation, the last six years, have not been good enough for most Nigerians.