Saturday marked the 100th day since President Muhammadu Buhari took over the mantle of leadership in the country. For a journey of four years, the taking of stock in just 100 days may seem too hasty. But it is the right time to renew faith between the government and the governed; to redefine the focus of government and make it sharper; to nudge it on where it is considered to be going in the right direction and to call for caution where the perception is that it is heading for the precipice. It provides an insight into where the country is headed and how it can get there.
It was always going to be a challenging journey for Buhari, given the deep-seated rot left behind by previous administrations. What with corruption, the perennial scourge of the country, reaching an all-time high; insecurity, as exemplified by Boko Haram terrorism threatening the country with dismemberment; the economy in a complete shambles following unmitigated and crass mismanagement, an unprecedented plundering of public treasury and the tumbling in crude oil prices, crowned with the general mood of the nation, which has been that of gloom and hopelessness.
Buhari’s emergence has not really turned the country into an instant Eldorado but there are good signs of things being done differently, a situation that has brought about a change in perception, especially from the international community. The country is now viewed with respect, instead of disdain. This is most noticeable in the fight against terror, where the global community that had earlier scorned the country, is beginning to court her friendship. Promises of lending a helping hand are pouring in from Israel, the United States of America, France and Britain, among others. Not only has the US played host to the President but it has also donated $5m to the campaign against Boko Haram, with further promises of access to weapons that should help in putting Boko Haram to rout.
These are certainly unquantifiable dividends that are a direct consequence of Buhari’s sincerity of purpose. One of the first actions he took upon taking the helm was to pay visits to the country’s immediate neighbours. These visits did not only reawaken the interest of Cameroon, Chad, Benin and Niger Republic, some of which have also suffered from Boko Haram’s sanguinary escapades, but have actually engendered a new level of commitment evident in recent battles against the terrorists. Having failed in their bid to hold down territories and declare a caliphate, the embattled terrorists have now resorted to suicide bombing.
In line with his avowed promise to end the Boko Haram threat, Buhari did not waste time in ordering the release of $21m, part payment of the $100m promised to the Multinational Joint Task Force by former President Goodluck Jonathan, which was never fulfilled. The money is expected to go a long way in equipping the forces to be able to withstand the assault of the heavily-armed and well-motivated terrorists.
His decision to relocate the headquarters of the military command and control centre to Maiduguri, the hotbed of the insurgency, has further reinforced government’s commitment to the cause. Apart from replacing the hitherto ineffective military chiefs, Buhari has also set a target of three months to end the insurgency. These are the obvious things that were lacking before that emboldened the terrorists and turned a rag-tag group into a veritable fighting force.
On the economic front, the President’s order that government ministries, departments and agencies should operate a Treasury Single Account, domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria, has made it easier to track government revenues and eliminate corruption and opacity in the accounting system. This plugging of loopholes for stealing government revenues has resulted in increased remittances to the Federation Account and the allocations to state governments.
Buhari’s searchlight on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has exposed the stench of corruption that had been denying the country the benefits of her oil wealth. With the appointment of a new Group Managing Director, Ibe Kachikwu, there has been a gradual restructuring of the NNPC to streamline the oil business in the country. What has been obvious since his appointment is the fact that, even with fallen oil prices, Nigeria can still successfully weather the storm if public treasury thieves are restrained. Buhari, even without a cabinet, has made strides in other areas as well. After its criminal abandonment for four years, Buhari has taken action on the United Nations Environmental Programme on the remediation of Ogoniland, degraded by decades of oil pollution.
But we cannot be complacent about Nigeria’s future. Nigerians are disappointed that the President appears to be in no hurry to put his cabinet together, despite the urgency of fixing the broken down economy. Many would-be investors are undecided about what to do with their money since there is no policy direction forthcoming from the government.
In the area of corruption, there is no doubt that Buhari’s body language is already creating panic in the polity. Many corrupt people are jittery and the hitherto dormant Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission have suddenly woken up from their slumber, chasing everybody at the same time, yet catching nobody in particular.
Yet, what the country needs are strong institutions and not strongmen. Rather than the seeming media trial witnessed so far, Buhari has to strengthen the anti-graft agencies, deliberately underfunded in the past, to be more effective. Other constitutional bodies, especially the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal, should be overhauled for effectiveness. Nigerians want to hear less of how much has been stolen; they want to see people being put to trial and convicted in a court of law after their alleged corrupt acts had been properly investigated. There must be a departure from the tradition which has seen no big fish clamped into jail in the past decade despite the enormity of corruption in the country and the empty clattering surrounding it. Buhari’s government will surely lose so much credibility if crooked politicians, shady business people and corrupt public servants are allowed to escape justice.
As the country moves on after the first 100 days, there must be concrete signs that Nigeria is in safe hands. Buhari’s personal integrity is important, but it is not enough. It is critical for the Buhari administration to strengthen institutions that promote accountable and transparent governance, to support enduring rule of law, good governance, and enduring peace. Governance should have a national outlook based on merit, equity and balanced representation. Based on his inaugural pledge of “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody,” Buhari must sufficiently guard against being “captured” by any religious, ethnic or political group.
The government has to come out with a clear blueprint on how to reinvigorate the economy for job creation and poverty reduction. The oil sector has to be properly streamlined, while the fight against corruption and waste should begin properly. There should also be proper focus in the power sector without which the economy would only be moving in fits and starts. Buhari’s government must get a handle on insecurity and end the insurgency, without which very little can be achieved.
