EDITORIAL: Buhari’s 5 years leadership: Nigerians still hope for light at the end of the tunnel
Last Friday, the spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, released a statement to make the fifth year anniversary of President Buhari’s swearing in to office. In the 9000 worded statement, he reeled out achievements of his principal. In his conclusion, Adesina declared that the Buhari-led administration has done little to disappoint Nigerians as all promised has been fulfilled by the administration. How amazing it is to be the judge in ones on case.
In 2015, President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress sold a three-pronged focus to Nigerians. They said their focus would be on security, fighting corruption and reviving the economy. Since Buhari was allowed to set the examination, his handlers should at least give Nigerians, who gave Buhari the mandate, do the assessment of his performance.
IMPACT NEWS recalled that while the APC and Buhari were busy wooing Nigerians, the economy was in shambles as Nigeria was in the precipice of recession. Insecurity was the order of the day. The Boko Haram terrorists had conveniently infiltrated Abuja, the nation’s capital. Various parts of Abuja experienced acts of terrorism that claimed lives. Nigerians could not sleep with their two eyes closed, while public officials enmeshed themselves in corrupt practices. Therefore the crusade of Change preached by the opposition was a welcome idea for Nigerians who have longed for change.
However, 5 years down the road of Change, IMPACTNEWS submits that it is neither all gloom nor bloom as Nigerians have mixed bag of experiences under the administration.
On corruption, Buhari’s administration has been able to convict corrupt public officials and secure conclusive conviction, some of which are against prominent party members. Former governors, Jolly Nyame and Senator Joshua Dariye are behind bars serving terms. Of recent Senator Orji Uzor Kalu was sentenced to imprisonment for corrupt practices perpetrated when he was Governor of Abia state, only for his conviction to be upturned by an Appeal Court. There are also series of investigations ongoing into various allegations of corruption and embezzlement of public funds by previous administration. Although, the opposition has alleged that the anticorruption campaign championed by the administration is to victimise opposition.
Also there have been questionable concessions by the government to some persons within the APC having cases in court. The case of Senator Danjuma Goje comes to mind.
In the area of infrastructure, it is only fair to commend the efforts of the government as various projects initiated are at various stages of completion, including those initiated by the previous administration. There is no doubt that basic infrastructure is the bedrock of a viable and sustainable economy and Buhari’s administration can be said to have this view.
However, it is worrisome that infrastructural development motivated the government to embark on aggressive borrowing. As at the moment, the total debt of the government stands at over 70 million dollars. This is a double of what it was in 2015.Meanwhile the corresponding infrastructure across the country do not justify the huge debt burden the country is plunged into.
Also capital projects are expected to spark employment generation but the reverse seems to be the case. In 2015, the unemployment rate stood at 5.31% while as at 2019 it has jumped to 23.1% and under employment stood at16.6%. The Federal government has a lot in its plate as far as delivering on its campaign promises to Nigerians. The populace demands employment, security, good road network, power supply and other basic infrastructure that is needed to push for economic development. We therefore urged Femi Adesina and other handlers of President Buhari to halt their celebration and roll their sleeves in order to justify another investment in the APC leadership come 2023.
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