Buhari’s second chance at redemption

0
186


Barely two weeks into his second tenure as president and commander-in-chief and leader of Africa’s largest democracy, Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari is already getting the stick from a vocal but tiny section of the society who believes nothing good can ever come out of his administration.


Their position is hinged on a seemingly lackluster performance in its first tenure. And they are quick to point at the President’s trip to Saudi Arabia a day after his inauguration on May 29, to attend a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) as a sign of the lack of seriousness that characterized his first four years in office being carried into his second term. They may not be far from the truth.


Going to two weeks now since he dissolved his cabinet in preparation for a new one and more than a week into his new administration, nothing has been said about the character and shape of the new government; not even a hint on who and who are on the list of likely ministers. This is reminiscent of his first term when it took President Buhari several months before he could constitute his cabinet.


With the myriad of problems facing the country ranging from economic hardship to rising insecurity especially kidnapping and banditry, not a few were expecting Buhari to hit the ground running in his second term, but there are no signs of that yet, raising the spectre of another four years of poor performance.


The last four years were indeed poor, no matter the gloss government spin doctors are putting on them, even judging by the standards set by the government itself. On security, on which the government has been beating its chest as having been a success story, it has been more of one step forward and two steps backward.


No doubt the Boko Haram insurgency has been greatly decimated by our gallant armed forces; not only driving the terrorists off most, if not all of the territories they once occupied, but also forcing their remnants into hit and run tactics, hitting soft targets. But whatever successes recorded here are being eroded by marauding bandits wreaking havoc in the northwest, especially along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway and the Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and Katsina States axis. This is not forgetting the seemingly unending herders/farmers clashes in the middle belt and some of the southern states. Kidnapping has also been on the increase.


For the economy, it has been a story of mixed fortunes. Rising unemployment in the formal sector is somehow being addressed by job opportunities in agriculture and the retail sectors following series of government interventions through policies like soft loans to farmers, ban on rice importation, trader moni, etc. But the impact is far from widespread. But one area the government scored a very high rating is in the fight against corruption. The two main anti-graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) together with the Code of Conduct Bureau and to a large extent the Code of Conduct Tribunal, have combined to give a strong tooth to the anti-corruption fight. Their searchlight on the judiciary that has claimed the scalp of a number of judges including a sitting Chief Justice of Nigeria and some senior lawyers is gradually returning sanity to the Bar and the Bench as well as restoring the confidence of the public in the Nigerian judiciary.


There are other gains here and there including a favorable rating of Nigeria by the international community owing largely to the perceived incorruptibility of President Muhammadu Buhari, but concerns are also rife in the international arena particularly among the western powers over the human rights records of the administration.


But bad as things were in his first tenure, most Nigerians, safe the elites, still have their trust in President Muhammadu Buhari and believes his first administration was still better that the ones before his, especially the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. This explained why he was re-elected with over 15 million votes to beat his main challenger, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Judging by where we were before 2015 when he was elected the 7th president of Nigeria, and the journey so far, it would be difficult to fault the judgment of that silent majority that voted to re-elect him.


Now that Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been returned to power, the expectations are higher and the challenges daunting, but surmountable. There is no room for excuses or failure. He cannot afford to let Nigerians down at this crucial moment in our nation’s history when we expect him to take us out of poverty and stunted growth to the next level which his party promised in the run up to his reelection.


Junketing round the world will not take us to that next level. He needs to sit down and address those issues that affect the lives of the ordinary Nigerians like poverty, insecurity, epileptic power supply, unemployment, especially among youths, dilapidated social infrastructures, the bad roads, inadequate housing, insufficient water supply etc.


Securing the lives and properties of every person living within the territory of Nigeria should be government’s main priority. In addition to intensifying the war against insurgency/terrorism, government must put a stop to the growing banditry around the country. The herders/farmers clashes must be tackled decisively. As a Fulani man and owner of herds of cattle, the president must avoid the mistake of pandering to one side of the conflict against the other. Both sides must be convinced of his impartiality and have faith in him to resolve the crisis amicably.


To us in Kaftanpost, the issue is a matter of conflicting economic interest, but it requires political will to recognize it as such and deal with in a political/economic way. Internal security is the forte of the Nigeria Police, hence the Force should be properly equipped to discharge its responsibilities to Nigerians effectively and efficiently. To this end, the government must take a critical look at the recommendations of the committee it set to look into the Nigeria Police reform with a view to making the Force better. In particular the recommendation on States and Local Government Police must be considered dispassionately in the best interest of the country.


Kaftanpost believes the recommendation deserves government’s nod in view of the divergence and diversity of our society. A local Police is best suited to tackle the many internal security problems facing the country, after all, most of the problems are also local. President Buhari must live by and demonstrate his first term promise of being for everybody and for nobody. He needs to be even handed in his handling of the affairs of the country. The perceived nepotism, especially in appointment into public office that characterized his last administration must not be given any chance in this new dispensation.


Beyond rhetoric, the diversification of the economy beyond oil must be vigorously pursued. The attention given to agriculture in the last dispensation is commendable and must be intensified. However, to make a success of this, especially the ban on importation of rice, the issue of smuggling of foreign rice into the country must be curtailed to encourage local production and consumption.


Having seen the dangers in an unregulated/illegal mining of our solid mineral resources as exemplified by the crisis in Zamfara State, a good policy framework that would bring the benefits of these solid minerals to all Nigerians the way oil has over the decades should be put in place. Policies that would reflate the economy and enhance the purchasing power of the average Nigerian should be vigorously pursued. The various intervention programmes for traders, artisans and other low/medium income Nigerians should be properly packaged and faithfully implemented to serve the purpose they were meant to. Having settled the minimum wage problem, other Nigerians not in the formal sector also deserve to have a feel of the National cake. The war against corruption must be continued vigorously without let or hindrance and must be a respecter of nobody. All allegations must be investigated and suspects charged to court. There should be no selective prosecution and neither trial by the media.


All said and done, a government exists to serve the interest of the people, protect their rights and provide the enabling environment for them to achieve their potentials in a safe and secure environment that guarantees prosperity for the hardworking and takes care of the weak and less privileged.


If Buhari can achieve these in the next four years, he will go down in history as perhaps the best president Nigeria ever had. He squandered the opportunity to achieve this in his first term, he’s been given a second chance to redeem himself. We wish him the best of luck.

































LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here