Buhari’s Government, An Administration Of Failed Promises In Nigeria

AGUNLOYE ADEWUNMI BASHIRU

Some of the basis of claims put forward to the citizens of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari during the electioneering campaign before the 2015 presidential election was that the last administration under President Goodluck Jonathan was polarised with lack of security, unbridled official corruption, ethnic favouritism, nepotism and economic mismanagement amongst others.

At every opportunity during the electioneering campaign, Nigerians were assured that if he was elected as the President, the country would witness positive transformation in the areas of security of lives and properties, eradication of incessant strike of university lecturers, put an end to epileptic power supply, provision of abundant and relatively affordable food, affordable housing and employment opportunities for the teeming youths in Nigeria.

With less than 16 months to the end of the tenure of this administration, the country continued to be enmeshed in unending insecurity which includes terrorist attacks and killings by the notorious Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP), Boko Haram and bandits. Also, corruption in different forms in the government institutions have increased, prices of foodstuffs have skyrocketed, the electricity supply is at lower ebbs, the unemployment rate is alarming in Nigeria, the value of Nigerian currency, the naira has dropped beyond imagination and the rate of armed robbery is alarming to mention but few.

Hundreds and thousands of lives have been lost to the activities of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and police brutalities. Incidence of killings by the terrorists and bandits are happening factually every day. People cannot travel freely from one state to another without fear. The majority of Nigerians can’t afford foods meant for common people such as rice, beans, yam, bread and other staple foods.

Before this administration came to power in 2015, the price of a bag of rice was N8,567 now the price is N27,000, a bag of beans was N23,000 but now it sells for between N40,000 to N50,000. The Nigerian Naira was N199.0151 to 1 US Dollar now it is N414.924 to 1 US Dollar at the official rate, while in the parallel market is beyond N570 to a dollar. The petrol pump price was N97 per litre and now sells for N165 per litre.

Factually, prices of all commodities, transportation fare, electricity tariff, rent for accommodation and many others continue to skyrocket out of the reach of most Nigerians.

The Standard of education continues to fall because our federal universities are underfunded and incessant industrial action by the university lecturers and workers agitating for the government to fund our universities well. Nigeria Universities were closed for nearly one year in 2020 due to a strike by the Academic Staff of Universities (ASUU). The union in February this year again proceeded on what it called a four-week “comprehensive and total” strike. If care is not taken, another long strike is looming because the government is yet to find a solution to all issues at stake.

 Corruption, nepotism and ethnic favouritism which this government promised to end before coming to power in 2015 are flouted with impunity. This Government have disclosed at a different time of procurement of ammunitions and arms for the fighting of terrorists, but military personnel keep complaining that terrorists are in possession of more sophisticated weapons. The question is where are the various sophisticated weapons and ammunition that the Nigerian military claimed to have procured with millions of dollars in the fight against insurgency?

Also, more trending in Nigeria is human rights abuse and government disobedience to the rule of law. People who are criticizing the government about the state of affairs in the country were being persecuted, arrested or harassed, the case of Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and founder of an online news agency Sahara Reporters who was arrested by the Nigerian State Security Service for calling for a protest tagged “RevolutionNow”. Since 2019 he is still confined in Abuja the Federal Capital of Nigeria, his phone and some cash were forcibly taken away from him without any court warrant by the Department of State Services (DSS). Notwithstanding the pronouncement of the judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja on the 8^th of December 2021, ordering the Department of State Services to immediately release his phone, the agency of government has not complied with the ruling of the court. 

The disregard for rule of law under this Federal Government is many. The harassment, arresting and brutalising of peaceful protesters and journalists since the inception of this government in 2015 is worrisome.

During the last administration of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, the President then as an aspirant alongside other notable politicians, human rights activists and organised labour groups in 2013 and 2014 participated in peaceful protests against the government and no protesters including journalists were harassed, arrested or brutalised by the Nigeria Police or other agents of the government. The government of that time allowed the protesters to express their opinions and feelings about the situation in the country at that time.

In 2015 Nigeria’s external debt was $7.35 billion in 2015 but in 2021 our external borrowings stood at $37.96 billion.

There is no equal distribution of our commonwealth because some sections of Nigeria are enjoying more government patronage in the area of juicy federal appointments due to the nepotic nature of this administration. Since its inauguration in 2015, the President has continued to jettison the Federal Character Commission Act as it is framed in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which promotes principles of the proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels of government. The North where the President belongs takes the majority of appointments.

A report carried out by Business Day Newspaper in 2017 tagged “81 of Buhari’s 100 appointees are Northerners”. It showed 81 of appointments are either from the northeast, northwest or north-central. Some agencies of government like Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and many others are headed by the Northerners.

The situation as it is in Nigeria in the area of insecurity, corruption, human rights abuse, cost of food, unemployment rate and others may consume Nigeria before the next general election in 2023.

In Nigeria the majority of the people are suffering, people are dying of hunger, lack of good and adequate health care. The rate of crime is alarming, the future of Nigerian youths is at stake because of the high rate of unemployment in the country, companies are closing because of the cost of production and operation. It is only the politicians and their cronies who have easy access to public funds that are more comfortable because they can steal public funds as they want.       

Now is the time, Nigerians deserve to have a good healthcare system, affordable housing, transportation, qualitative education at all levels, uninterrupted electricity supply and social support among others.

It is my belief that with another general election coming up next year, Nigerians would exercise their voting power to chart the right path for the future of this country and elect leaders who would do the right things for the nation.

Agunloye Adewunmi Bashiru a Public Affairs analyst can be reached at bagunloye@gmail.com