President Buhari has been inaugurated for a second term in office, having won his re-election in the last general election.
In his first term in office, President Buhari was criticized for the slow running of governance. It took him six months to form his cabinets. Although, Buhari’s administration inherited a broken economy as a result of alleged massive corruption that characterized the Jonathan’s government and the crash of crude oil price, it has failed to stabilize the battered economy to the expectations of Nigerians in the last four years. Under its watch, as reported by Brooking Institution, over 87 million Nigerians languish in poverty.
While the government has been busy blowing its trumpet over what it says is a successful implementation of social intervention programmes such as N-power, school feeding, Anchor Borrowers programme and conditional cash transfer, these programmes have failed to impact positively on the lives of Nigerians. No wonder the wife of Mr. President, Aisha Buhari, was reported to have said that the social intervention programmes have failed the people of Northern Nigeria.
However, it would have been more appropriate had the first lady had said that the policies failed to achieve the desired impact for the target population across the country.
Buhari spent most of his first term in office battling the menace of Boko Haram it inherited from the last administration. There is no gainsaying the facts that, the government recorded considerable success in the war against Boko Haram. It has been able to tame or downgrade the activities of the murderous group. It is sad to note, however, that the insecurity that bedevils the country goes beyond the Boko Haram insurgency. In the last four years of the Buhari administration, killer herdsmen have taken over the North-central states while kidnapping and banditry have become the order of the day in Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina states.
The ungodly activities of these killer groups have resulted in the death of thousands of poor farmers and Nigerians. These criminals, who are disguised as bandits, have gradually transformed into terrorists who maim, kill and abduct innocent Nigerians at will.
Buhari should use his second term to change the narrative from ‘going slow’ to ‘going fast’. Unlike in the last dispensation where Buhari spent good six months without cabinets, it is hoped that this time, Mr. President would quickly form his ministers with people who are competent enough to run the affairs of their respective ministries.
The much talked about social intervention programmes should be reviewed in a way that they can help to stem the rise in absolute poverty in the country. It seems the billions of Naira channeled to these programs usually end in the hands of some corrupt government officials. Corruption is a major problem in the implementation of the intervention programmes.
In the area of insecurity, there is the need for massive security shake up. Some officers have overstayed and outlived their usefulness. Some are suspected to be aiding or abetting the insecurity situation across the country. Buhari’s second term in office, should, as a matter of urgency, weed out those security chiefs who have not been able to add value in the war against against insecurity in the country. Defence budget should also be properly monitored to ensure that funds meant for the procurement of arms and ammunition are judiciously used.
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By: IBRAHIM MUSTAPHA PAMBEGUA, KADUNA STATE. 08169056963
