AS the Muhammadu Buhari presidency clocks 100 days
in office, it is interesting to note that the actions of the
government which is yet to appoint Ministers and other
top officials of government is no longer the focus of
negative criticism by Nigerians who think and expect that
things should be done differently from the way President
Buhari have chosen.
The subtle criticism that were building has petered and
given way to admiration and awe at how the slow and
steady approach of the President is yielding results and
heralding Change. The point to note is that it is too early
to start to take stock of a government that has a four
year mandate when it has barely been in the saddle for
only a mere hundred days. The journey of four years
however can be evaluated in terms of its future progress
and ending by what has happened in the first one hundred
days.
Looking at the one hundred days of Muhammadu Buhari,
it can be said that he has started well and is doing well,
laying a solid foundation for the future of his government
and the country at large.
The pressing national issues on which President Buhari
contested and won the 2015 presidential elections were
national security, anti-corruption, economy and
unemployment, power and infrastructure and education.
In the area of national security, the President has
displayed tireless energy in this area with the result that
the greatest scourge of national security, notably the
Boko Haram insurgency in the country is in recession
as the Nigerian Armed Forces with the support of the
armies of neighbouring countries have gone on the
offensive against these killers. In the first few weeks
after his inauguration, President Buhari travelled to
Cameroun, Niger, Chad and Benin Republics to dialogue
with the leaders of those countries on how to contain and
defeat the insurgency. The result is that the Nigerian
leader succeeded in building a broad sub-regional
coalition that has pledged to cooperate to defeat the
terrorists. Today, as that coalition has commenced its
work, the Boko Haram is being buffeted on all fronts.
And for good measure and to underline the fact that he
brooks no nonsense, PMB has told the Nigerian Armed
Forces that they have three months to end the menace of
the terrorists. This means that all things being equal, by
the end of 2015, the more or less decade old Boko Haram
insurgency would be a thing of the past.
It should also be noted that the international coalition
against Boko Haram includes such countries like the
US, UK, France and ECOWAS member states who
have all pledged to help uproot the insurgency. Other
manifestations of insecurity that threaten the nation like
armed robbery, kidnapping and cult- related violence
would also receive attention. In this area, the President
has ordered that the Nigeria Police authorities recruit
an additional 10,000 policemen to beef up its ranks in the
task of national policing.
The second priority area is anti-corruption. The effort
of PMB here is salutary and already having impact
before any shots are fired. Since Buhari took over, the
various anti-corruption agencies notably the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have woken
up to their responsibilities of arresting, summoning and
questioning persons who have engaged in corrupt or
questionable acts. It is no longer business as usual.
Under Buhari’s watch it is becoming clear that all acts
of fraud and stealing of public funds would be investigated
and the culprits brought to book and the monies or
properties retrieved. President Buhari recently promised
that in a few weeks, public investigation and trial of
those who stole from the national treasury or
appropriated funds belonging to the Federal Government
would commence.
Also PMB’s anti-corruption campaign is having the
crucially- important effect of changing attitudes and
perception about corruption in our society. It is becoming
clear to many people especially young Nigerians that
corruption or defrauding of the nation for individual
benefit is a crime for which the perpetrator deserves
punishment.
To revamp the economy and create employment requires
that government invest in industry and infrastructural
development and this would require funding. Therefore if
a fraction of the huge sum stolen under the watch of the
previous government is recovered, the present
administration would have at its disposal much-needed
funds for investment purposes.
President Buhari would surely improve on power
generation and supply in the country. Adequate power
both for domestic and industrial use is a must for any
modern economy and society and he has publicly
expressed anger and regret at the fact that Nigerians do
not enjoy adequate power.
To improve the sector, he has commissioned studies by
experts into the problem and ordered that a probe be
instituted into why efforts by previous administrations to
generate and supply adequate power failed and what
became of the huge sums of money spent.
Under his leadership in the past one hundred days, the
situation of near darkness that faced Nigerians have
given way to rays of light, a sign that things would be
better when the full complement of his plans come on
stream.
Education is another area where President Buhari
would have to do much work. As in other sectors, his
integrity, honesty and leadership and his abhorrence of
corruption are qualities that would compel education
managers in the country to sit up and do their job.
Corruption which has permeated all aspects of life in the
nation is also at the root of the rot in the education
sector. If diversion of resources meant for education is
stopped, and mangers in the sector do their job the way it
should be done, the present worrisome devaluation of
education at all levels would be gradually reversed.
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