Afeez AzeezIt’s some months to the general election and the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. Going by the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), primaries of political parties must have been concluded by June. Apparently, governance has ended, and politics has taken over.
However, it will be stating the obvious to say Buhari-led administration disappointed a lot of Nigerians in many key sectors. Apart from the support at the poll, this administration equally enjoyed the support of the masses with respect to some hard decisions. Nigerians endured tough decisions which they would have vehemently resisted if attempted by the previous administration with the hope of getting better results after the bitter pills.
The trust was overwhelming, and the disappointment was colossal. The performance is obviously weak in some sectors. Even a staunch supporter of Buhari will switch the argument when asked to discuss the administration’s achievements in those sectors. Here are the top 5 sectors where we feel the Buhari administration has failed Nigerians:
1. Anti-Graft war
President Buhari campaigned for office in 2015 by discrediting Jonathan’s administration as corruption-infested; therefore, Nigerians expected the Buhari administration not to give room for corrupt practices. Years down the line, no serious battle against corruption was seen. The glaring rot in agencies like the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which has received no tangible reaction from the presidency, shows the General who promised Nigerians he would fight corruption has lost his zeal.
The Corruption Perception Index 2021 where Nigeria dropped from the previous 149 to 154 out of 180 countries, depicts corruption is alive in our country. Moreover, the recently granted pardon to two ex-governors, Dariye and Nyame, for stealing public funds sounds the death knell on Buhari’s anti-corruption posture.
2. Security
Many Nigerians believed that the military background of President Buhari would help in bringing more dynamism to the security architecture of the country. Despite the massive investment in this sector, no part of the country is still safe.
Bokoharam is unleashing mayhem in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and Central, farmers-herders clashes, kidnapping, and other security threats, are bedevilling the Southern part of the country. The failure in this sector is watering down the giant strides of this administration in infrastructural development.
3. Economy
The slogan “Buhari will handle security while Osibanjo will handle economy” turns out to be a mere advertisement language. Nigerians are groaning under the high inflation rate on goods and services in the country. The astronomical increase in tariffs, taxes and charges drains the earnings of average Nigerians. Comparing ₦197, the average exchange rate of the US Dollar to Naira in 2015 to the present rate of ₦415, points to the fact that our economy is in jeopardy.
4. Oil and Gas
To see an administration that doesn’t believe in fuel subsidies and promised Nigerians refineries spending billions on old refineries in a state of moribund is highly disappointing. Nigerians expected that this government would help put an end to the madness of exporting crude oil to import refined petroleum products. The president, who doubled as the minister of petroleum resources, has done pragmatically little or nothing to improve this sector.
5. Education
The allocation of 5.4% of the total 2022 budget to education against the 15-20% of the annual budget recommended by UNESCO for developing nations shows our placement of education at the back seat as a nation. The incessant and prolonged Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU strikes also discredit this administration on the educational scale.
As the parties’ primaries draw closer, we hope the political parties will present Nigerians with better candidates to pick from at the general poll in 2023.
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