50 Days of PMB: Thin Line Between Strategy and Cluelessness

On April 1^st, 2015, Nigeria’s Election management body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, under the leadership of Prof. Attahiru Jega  declared former military dictator and the APC flag bearer, Muhammadu Buhari, the winner of the 2015 Presidential elections.

For the 15million Nigerians who voted Buhari, their joy knew no bounds. Buhari  who ran his entire election campaign on the change and anti-corruption mantra was enthusiastically welcomed by not a few million Nigerians who were tired of the farcicality in the political space that had become the status quo. 

They were tired of the massive corruption existent in virtually all the sectors of the economy. They were tired of the daily slaughter of human lives by Boko Haram. They were tired of the PDP and their 16 years of wasteful rule. For the millions who voted Buhari, they wanted change and change they got. 

Fast forward to 50 days of President Buhari at the helm of Nigeria’s affairs and the hashtag has changed from #BabaNowThatYouAreHere to #BabaGoSlow. Most Nigerians, even his die-hard supporters are close to being disillusioned (if not already disillusioned).  They are questioning whether Buhari is indeed the Messiah that was to come or whether they should look out for another.

This is because after spending 50 days in office, President Buhari is yet to hit the ground running. He is yet to make key appointments into his cabinet that will enable him deliver the change he promised the over 170 million Nigerians he is presiding over. His government is yet to have concrete policy directions on the myriad of issues facing Nigeria.

 In the 50 days President Buhari has been in office, what Nigerians have been getting are excuses and continuous blaming of the Jonathan administration for its failings. It would seem that the APC-led government has forgotten that it is no longer the opposition but is rather the government in power.

Moreso, the President argues that he needs time to pick the right people for the key positions in government in order not to 'disappoint the expectations of Nigerians'. A report by the Sun News paper stated that President Buhari's delay in constituting a cabinet is caused by his reluctance to build upon the 'rotten foundation' he inherited from the Jonathan administration. He therefore wants to take his time to sieve through the list of those being considered as ministers.

Herein lies the debate. Some support the Presidency’s argument that it needs time to pick out the ‘incorruptible’ set of Nigerians worthy to be in his cabinet. Others want him to get on with it already.

I support the later group and find the  argument of the former largely lacking in substance.

For a president who sought to rule the world’s most populous black nation four times before finally succeeding, it reeks of gross unpreparedness that President Buhari didn’t have at least an idea of the people who will make up his cabinet three months after winning the elections.

The truth remains that Buhari's delay in making key appointments 50 days after taking office is hurting the business of governance and also scaring off potential investors in Africa's largest economy.

In addition to that is the policy inconsistencies that have bugged the Buhari administration since it was inaugurated on May 29th, 2015.

First, was the story on President Buhari's direction to sale off 9 aircrafts from the presidential fleet in accordance with his promise to cut the cost of governance. Nigerians literarily took to the streets in celebration of the story. Then 11 hours later, the presidency refuted the story. And I dare ask, for a government that is very active on social media, why did it take it good 11 hours to refute the story?

Next came the issue of military checkpoints.

On June 22nd, 2015, the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Aliyu Ismail, as saying that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the immediate dismantling of all military checkpoints across Nigeria.

A few days later, Nigeria's National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki said the President never ordered the removal of military checkpoints. Whose report do we believe?

Moving on, an  analysis of the Buhari’s first 50 days in office shows a president who is yet to figure out how to address any of the myriads of the challenges facing the nation and this is rather troubling.

An assessment of Buhari’s first 30 days in office by Buharimeter, a public engagement tool launched by the Centre for Democracy and Development to measure the delivery of the president’s campaign promises revealed that the president only worked towards the achievement of 6.8 per cent of programmes he promised to deliver within his first 100 days. Similarly, actionable steps have been taken within the 30 days in review towards the achievement of only 4 out 172 campaign promises.

The report stated that the  President has taken taking some steps towards total annihilation of insurgency in Nigeria through the relocation of the military command centre to Borno State as well as the release of the sum of $21million to the Multi National Joint Task Force for the prosecution of the war. That is commendable. However, the Buhari administration is yet to deliver a Marshal Plan on insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and other forms of violence after 50 days in office.

Another worrisome aspect of the 50-day old Buhari administration is its silence on key issues affecting the nation. The President promised to enact the Whistle Blower Act, as well as strengthen the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corruption Practices and other related offences Commission through financial and prosecutorial independence, cost cutting in governance as well as the presentation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy. These promises have not seen any publicly known steps towards fulfilling them.

As a Nigerian who wanted an alternative to what the People's Democratic Party (PDP) offered, I must say I have been disappointed by the first 50 days of the Buhari administration. 

Granted that it is too soon to judge the administration, I must agree with Pa Ikhide that it seems 'this is the most inarticulate and rudderless era Nigeria has been cursed with in a long time’.

Time is fast ticking on the Buhari's 4-year contract with Nigerians. It therefore behooves on him to justify the trust vested in him by over 12 million Nigerians, get his act together and begin to deliver the change he promised. As for me, memories of his first 50-days in office leave a sour taste in my mouth.

XoXo

NAWTIProf

Sources: www.buharimeter.ng