A MUSE moMENT: My Buhari Score Card!

“Leaders are usually judged by popularity, in most cases, but the best judge is posterity.”

Atoloye Folahan

Looking back at November 2014, when then General Buhari raised the hands of Prof/Pastor Osinbajo as his running mate, I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that the election was his to lose. Jonathan had gotten to the lowest ebb of his unpopular rung. Nigerians had had enough of the shenanigan, corruptive stealing and rudderless leadership. A lot of people were scared of Buhari because the opposition, then in power had successfully painted him as a bigot, religious fanatic and a military coupist. But it didn’t stop the slogan and ideology that “Anything but Jonathan would do.”

The ship was far from steady nevertheless! A year later, after being in government as the CiC, even Buhari would admit that APC wasn’t in her wildest dream hoping that taking over power would be as easy as a phone call away. But one of the biggest legacy that Jonathan himself realized would turn him from a monster to a martyr and a sinner to a saint was the call he made to PMB congratulating him even before the election body announced the eventual winner.

This singular symbolic sign solidified Jonathan’s legacy forever. And in a fell swoop, it erased all the sins of GEJ. Well, most of it! We can’t look at Jonathan anymore and remember that he is the man being looked for in the “Fortunato” case in Italy, or the several fingers of the likes of Dasuki, Nyako, FFK, Metuh and many more all pointing from jail or Obanikoro, Dieziani pointing from ‘the abroad’. It just seem that GEJ’s. Reminds me of the bible verse that says “When I see the blood, I will pass over you”. Ex-President Jonathan, when we remember that call, we pass over you.

That being said. The man in the heat and on the hot seat presently is our own 73 years old ex-military and now democratic hero, President Muhammadu Buhari. Looking at the trajectory of what I just illustrated; it seems like Jonathan went from being the worse leader in Nigeria’s recent history during his 5 year unplanned rule to the hero of democracy with a singular act of a phone call and then another gesture of relinquishing power. And President Buhari is now moving from the best leader that the country needed at the time to one with no clue as to how to lead this great country.

Leadership doesn’t thrive on rhetoric, it doesn’t fly on words; Leadership is felt in action, strong (not necessarily popular) decisions but ultimately Leadership is judged on perception. No matter what APC and Buhari would want us to believe as citizens and explain it away as a blame game on the past administration (and trust me, we all know what went down during the GEJ regime). However, a blame that’s mileaging into one year stops flying as an excuse for your own ineptitude. Governance, according to Fashola, is about problem solving. However, I like to state emphatically that Governance is all about troubleshooting but not by trial and error procedures but through tested and trusted platforms.

The feelers amongst Nigerians is nothing to write home about and the reality is stark clear. Fuel has increased from 89 to 145, electricity increased by 40% (although thanks to the court ruling that has reverted it back to status quo. I hope our learned friend Fashola will obey court ruling), Tomatoes, Banana, Plantain and other food stock increased by 80% (I buy those ones personally so I know), yet salary didn’t increase. The question is how do you want your people to survive?

Economic policies are so unstable, businesses (especially those making money online) can’t even determine how much they make monthly. Today CBN says you can’t withdraw more than $1, 000 tomorrow it is $500. These unstable and unclear policies makes the chartering of a profitable business portfolio next to impossible. Below are the feedback from major stake holders in several different industry:

Aviation:

A former Military Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos, Group Capt John Ojikutu, says: “When you look at FAAN, NAMA, NCAA, AIB and other agencies under the Ministry of Aviation, nothing has happened in the last one year. The process of commercializing FAAN and NAMA ought to have started while the NCAA and the AIB as regulatory agencies should have been strengthened. In terms of critical safety infrastructure, nothing has happened. The same thing applies to the private sector.”

Power/Energy/Oil & Gas:

The President, Nigerian Association of Energy Economics, Prof. Wumi Iledare, said, “Certainly, that the current minister (Ibe Kachikwu) is brilliant is an understatement. That he is energetic is not in doubt. But to think he has sole answers to Nigeria’s oil and gas sector challenges is foolhardy. Thus, I have no hesitance to give the current government a low grade with respect to the governance of the sector.

Manufacturing:

The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Jacobs, said, “The past one year has been the worst period in the history of manufacturing because of the fact that government policies made it difficult for manufacturers to plan.

 “The issue of foreign exchange affected manufacturers to the extent that many of our members had to close shop while others operated at very low capacity because they did not have enough forex to buy their raw materials.”

Construction/Housing:

A professor of housing and urban regeneration and the Dean, Faculty of Environmental Sciences,  University of Lagos, Gbenga Nubi, said, “Like most sectors, we haven’t done anything in housing.  Although there are programmes to build houses in the six geo-political zones of the country, the truth is that these programmes cannot really drive the country. The unfortunate thing also is that when housing comes after power and works as a portfolio, then we know that as a country, we are in trouble.”

Money Market/Finance:

The Chief Executive Officer, Renaissance Capital, a London-based investment bank and research firm, Mr. Temi Popoola said, “In our view, the initial response to the global events, which impacted Nigeria could have been done differently. It has taken much time. The decisions on electricity tariff, currency regime and subsidy could have been taken earlier. I think we are now on the path of recovery.”

Health:

Associate professor of medicine at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Akoka, Prof. Oladapo  Ashiru said, “The health sector has not fared well at all. There is nothing going on so far apart from the few appointments they had made. Nothing really has been done. No policy has come out to say that the administration is focusing on primary, secondary or tertiary health care. They have continued with the status quo.”

Education:

For the former National Universities Commission Executive Secretary, Prof. Peter Okebukola, he reiterates that, “I am aware of extensive plans to attend to such issues as improved facilities for teaching and learning and increase in enrolment and retention at the basic education level. I am also aware of the plan to establish new federal universities of science and technology. This is a good move to bolster Nigeria’s high-level human capacity in science and technology and spin us nicely into the fourth industrial revolution.”

“We must not also lose sight of the administration’s school feeding programme, which will impact enrolment, participation and achievement of basic education pupils. I am sure that the implementation of the 2016 budget will translate to giant gains for the education sector.”

However, President, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Mr. Usman Dutse thinks, “As far as education is considered particularly in the polytechnic sector, it has been tough times for institutions due to serious underfunding by the government. The schools are without governing councils, just as many rectors are on acting capacity. Again, workers have not been getting their salaries in full since January 2016. Sincerely, as it is now, nothing significant has been achieved in the last one year.”

Sports:

Former Chief Justice and Attorney-General of Rivers State, Adokiye Amiesimaka says, “In terms of chance, we haven’t won anything because we didn’t prepare to win and we don’t have a policy direction right now as far as I’m concerned. When we are going for competition, we wait until two weeks before the event before we start talking about money and camping. It’s the same old story. In football, the minister deliberately instigated the chaos in the Nigeria Football Federation by setting up a committee to resolve the so-called crisis between Amaju Pinnick and Chris Giwa. It’s disappointing from a minister. He should have instead concentrated on properly incorporating the NFF.”

The only sectors rated fairly or good are:

Security:

Simeon Udie, a security expert, said, “Yes, the situation on Boko Haram has improved; the soldiers are winning the war. But there is the issue of the Niger Delta. We expect a reasonable amount of security attention in that area.”

The President, Nigeria Anti-terrorist Group, Caxton Onabanjo says, “This administration has not dealt decisively with the issues enough. Although the security agencies are trying their best, there are still more to be done. There are some people feeding fat on crimes; they ought to be tracked down and prosecuted; even the Fulani herdsmen crisis.”

Railway:

The Chief Executive Officer of the Connect Rail Service, Mr. Edeme Kelikume, says, “The focus of the Buhari-led government has been to develop the standard gauge and high speed trains for the passengers, which is commendable. When it is delivered, it will revolutionise the haulage system.”

Agriculture:

The Country Manager for Nigeria, Harvest Plus, Mr. Paul Ilona, said, “I score the new Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, high because I have seen the template for the agricultural sector. Since the budget has just recently been signed into law, there is not much he could have done before now in the absence of a budget. I think by the time the money gets pumped in, there is no doubt that we shall begin to reap the result of the well planned agricultural projects.”

From the foregoing, you can see that Nigerians are not smiling. A lot of people are going through massive psychological trauma, pensive moments and an agitated moods. Only quick resolution and direct policies from the government that will impact directly on the economy and as a resultant effect translate to earnings in the people’s pocket that can arrest this nosedive. As sweet as victory is, what comes after sometimes is even what determines how long the sweet victory can last.

In this case, its gradually turning to sour vanquish.

(Only the scorecard is culled and re written from Punch Online)