LAGOS, Federal Republic of Nigeria. “President Buhari’s First 100 Days In Office” By Martin Onovo.
It has been over five months since the presidential ‘elections’ in Nigeria and about one hundred days since Muhammadu Buhari was sworn into office. It may be appropriate to evaluate the performance of Buhari’s government so far, since, ‘A stitch in time saves nine’,
Section 15 of the Constitution Nigeria is very clear about the purpose of government; ‘the security and welfare of the people’. In line with the Constitution, performance assessments of governments in Nigeria should be made on ‘the security and welfare of Nigerians’ to confirm whether the government is achieving its purpose.
For national development, we must use our foresight to anticipate serious problems, which could result from irregularities, and try to correct them early to mitigate the damage they could cause to the country.
More importantly, the government must be commended for the clarity and firmness it showed in line with our rejection of the same-sex abomination being promoted by western powers against our religious and cultural standards. We must remember that the preceding government led by Dr Jonathan had also rejected the same abomination and made a law against it.
SECURITY
The Boko Haram insurgency that Buhari promised to defeat in two months has not even abated up till now, three months after he was sworn into office. President Buhari has brought no new ideas to the war, and the irregular appointment of new security chiefs may actually sabotage the war efforts in three major ways:
1. De-motivating our officers as clearly better qualified and more experienced seniors were bypassed in favour of less qualified and less experienced juniors.
2. Undermining national cohesion in the military as the appointments were apparently skewed in favour of President Buhari’s fellow northerners.
3. The false claims that the appointments were on merit also encourages deceit and corruption in the national security system.
The shameful acceptance of the option of negotiations with Boko Haram is very dangerous to national security and our international image as the regional power of West Africa. Negotiating with a rag-tag band of terrorist cowards may be tantamount to ‘Surrender’. We must not negotiate with Boko Haram! We must defeat Boko Haram!! President Buhari promised to defeat Boko haram and not to negotiate with them. It is a matter of integrity that he keeps his promise to Nigerians. Other serious crimes particularly kidnapping, cultism and armed robbery seem not to have abated yet. The plan to recruit ten thousand new policemen is a good move to boost security if implemented properly without abuse and nepotism.
WELFARE
a) Corruption Control: Many analysts have concluded that the greatest threat to the welfare of Nigerians is corruption which has dissipated funds appropriated for Education, Power, Petroleum, Roads, Hospitals, etc. Corruption also de-motivates the productive workforce. We must control corruption.The effort of the government to ‘fight’ corruption is apparently slow and ineffective. Many analysts have insisted that it is very selective and targeted against political opponents. Obviously, the war against corruption has no strategy yet, as the Prof. I. Sagay Presidential Committee was only recently appointed to advise the government on how to conduct the war.
b) Health, Education, Power, Petroleum, Works And Housing: These sectors, which are key to national development, do not have a clear road map for their improvement as the government has not announced a continuation of the policies of the previous government or a change in the policies. This has stagnated governance especially because, cabinet ministers have not been appointed. The government must most urgently develop its policies for the critical sectors of our economy so that it can proceed with implementation. These policy directions should have been developed prior to the campaigns. The current directionless situation is a serious constrain to national development.
c) Economy: The economy is in serious strain. The economic blue print that should have been available prior to campaigns is still not available yet. Poverty is growing, inflation is rising, unemployment is not abating, the stock market is losing value, etc. The economic blueprint will have the plans the government will implement to grow the economy. The current symptomatic response to economic indices is ineffective as it complicates the economic framework and could create three more problems as it arrests one. A clear economic blue print will be the first milestone to be achieved on the economy and this should have been achieved in the first thirty days.
d) Political Development: The democratic mandate of the government is tainted, the vision of the government is unclear, the integrity of the political leadership is questionable and their competence is in doubt. Such cannot promote national confidence and hope. We must take actions to correct the serious deviations we have seen in governance. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy. The Constitution of the Federal Republic is the supreme secular law. We insist on the ‘Rule of law’. The government must comply with all applicable laws. Section 14 of the Constitution (Federal Character) is not optional.
Section 10 of the AMCON Act requires confirmation of the Senate for members of the AMCON board appointed by the President. When were the AMCON appointees of President Buhari confirmed by the Senate? Nobody is above the law. Buhari is not above the law.
Conclusion
We must support the government to succeed. We cannot continue to take wrong steps and expect right results. We must promote Integrity, Justice, Peace, Unity and Synergy to ensure that we take the right steps for national development. It is not too late to improve governance in Nigeria.
Martin Onovo
National Conscience Party [NCP].
