Today, September 5, 2015 is an
unusually momentous day in Nigeria. Its
build-up lasted for several weeks, while
its anticipation stretches back as far as
May. It’s neither a national holiday (it’s
a Saturday) nor a day of religious
importance. Rather, it’s a day when
several state governors in the country
mark their 100thday in office. More
importantly though, it’s also the day that
the President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, clocks 100
days in office.
All over the world, the anniversary of the
first 100 days of any administration is
treated with much importance. It’s a day
of stocktaking; a day that affords the
leaders and the led an opportunity to
measure the performance of their
government.
“The First 100 Days in Office” was coined
by former US president Franklin D.
Roosevelt in a July 24, 1933 radio
address to his countrymen and it has
since gained global currency. Over here in
Nigeria, it’s been consistently marked
since the country’s return to civilian
leadership in 1999. The administrations of
presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru
Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan were all assessed during this
milestone. Today, it’s time for President
Buhari’s administration to be assessed.
The verdict, it seems, had already been
passed several days before the actual
100thday in office. Throughout last week,
hashtags by disappointed Nigerians, such
as #100WastedDays and
#100FailedPromises, trended on
microblogging site Twitter and they are
likely to reappear today. Predictably,
diehard supporters of President Buhari
will not take it lying down, they are
expected to counterattack with their own
panegyric hashtags.
READ ALSO: Buhari’s First
Semester Report Card – Etcetera
I’m neither a diehard supporter of the
president nor a sworn enemy; I like to be
objective. My dispassionate personal
assessment of PMB’s first 100 days in
office shows that he has not performed
as badly as we’ve been made to believe.
Bearing in mind the country we are in,
he’s not expected to perform wonders
within 100 days. Not even a Harry Potter,
a Merlin or a Gandalf can turn around in
100 days a country that has been
enmeshed in a deep mess since the
1960s.
However, in spite of these difficulties,
President Muhammadu Buhari has been
able to record some successes in his first
hundred days in office. Below are 8 of the
key achievements of President
Muhammadu Buhari in his maiden 100
days in office:
– Renewed Vigour in the War against
Boko Haram
One of the key achievements of the
Muhammadu Buhari administration thus
far is the overhaul of the dysfunctional
topmost hierarchy of the Nigerian
military. Since May 29, new service chiefs
have been brought in, the military
command centre has been moved to the
heart of the war in Maiduguri and the
troops’ morale and confidence are on an
upswing. Furthermore, the United States
government has finally agreed to commit
their resources to the fight against the
insurgents after previously backing out of
negotiations with the previous Nigerian
government, citing alleged human rights
abuses by the Nigerian military. The
Israeli government has also indicated
their interest in helping Nigeria win the
war,if the words of Speaker Yakubu
Dogara are anything to go by.
– Waging a “Non-Negotiable” War
against Corruption
On August 30, President Muhammadu
Buhari, through his Senior Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba
Shehu, described the war his
administration is currently waging on
corruption in the country as “non-
negotiable.” In his words: “It is sine qua
non to the overall reconstruction of the
economy and social system which have
suffered destruction and severe
denigration under the last
administration.” Be that as it may, the
present government must learn to go
about its probe of the immediate-past
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration
with more hush and decorum, so that it
looks less like a persecution and more
like an actual prosecution.
READ ALSO: A New Sheriff In
Town By Femi Adesina –
Buhari’s 100 Days In Office
– Appreciable Improvement in Power
Supply in Various Parts of the Country
Though some parts of the country are yet
to witness it, there’s been a marked
upswing in power supply in many parts of
the federation since May 29. According to
the Transmission Company of Nigeria
(TCN), power generation in the country
reached an all-time high of 4,810.7MW
on August 25, 2015. This represents a
major departure from what was
obtainable in the past, when it usually
hovered around 2,000MW and sometimes
dipped below that. However, it should be
noted that the power supply is still far
from stable and hardly is 4.8 thousand
megawatts enough for a country of over
175 million people.
– Cleanup of the Messy NNPC
As the “juiciest” fragment of the national
economy, the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) has, for decades,
been the nexus of unchecked, gargantuan
corruption. Administration after
administration either abated the wild
corruption going on in this organization or
simply failed to properly keep it in check.
This, it seems, will no longer be the case
as concerted efforts are now being made
to declutter the cesspit.
– Mending of Nigeria’s Fractured
Relationship with the World Powers
Nigeria’s relationship with the global
powers, especially the West, sank to its
post-1990s nadir prior to the
inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as
the country’s president. The assent of ex-
president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to the
anti-gay marriage bill that was passed by
the National Assembly, the confusion
surrounding the abduction of the Chibok
Schoolgirls and the government’s slow
response to it, alleged human rights
abuses perpetuated by the Nigerian
military, mounting allegations of unbridled
widespread corruption as well as some
economic and political disagreements
with the West behind the scenes all
conspired to make Nigeria very unpopular
in the international community. At some
point, Nigerians were being treated with
disdain and subjected to inhuman
treatments in foreign lands as a
consequence. But, so far under President
Buhari, things are discernibly beginning to
look up.
– Prioritizing Regional Cooperation
Following in the footsteps of his
predecessor, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,
President Muhammadu Buhari has made
regional integration within the West
African subregion one of the priorities of
his administration. This policy direction is
not only economically vital, but it will
also be critical if the war against
insurgency is to be won.
– Returning Discipline to the Polity
Due to the president’s no-nonsense
personality as against his predecessor’s
more laissez-faire disposition, some level
of discipline has been restored to various
sectors of the country, especially the
public sector. A laissez-faire approach
may work in more civilized countries, but
in an unruly country such as ours, an
uncompromising approach is the only
thing that can bring us back to sanity.
– Reducing the Size and Cost of
Governance
When – and if – implemented, President
Muhammadu Buhari’s vow to significantly
cut down the number of ministries,
agencies and departments (MDAs) in the
country by merging the duplicates and
jettisoning the non-performers will
inadvertently save Nigeria monies to the
tune of hundreds of billions of naira that
are needlessly spilled from the national
treasury into their maintenance. The
successful blockage of these leakages
does not only make economic sense, but
it will also be a giant leap in the fight
against corruption.
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