The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BUHARI

  • Buhari assures of freedom of worship for all Nigerians

    Buhari assures of freedom of worship for all Nigerians

    President Muhammadu Buhari Sunday assured that the Federal Government under his watch would guarantee Nigerians freedom of worship.

    Buhari who was represented by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, made the declaration at the second plenary meeting of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

    The President also affirmed that the business of the Nigerian government was to protect the “lives, livelihood and property” of the citizens regardless of ethnic, religious or political affiliation.

    He said by the constitution of possession to which he has subscribed and sworn to uphold that, there shall be no state of religion, adding that all Nigerians are guaranteed freedom of worship.

    “More importantly, also, I affirm that the business of the state is to protect the lives livelihood and property of al Nigerians regardless of religion, ethnicity and or political affiliation.

    “Our pan-Nigerian mandate was to deal with the issues of economy and corruption. On security, we are on course. We must change the paradise of economy and create an enabling free enterprise”.

    Earlier in his speech, the President of CBCN and Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, stated unequivocally, that the bishops’ condemnation of same sex union was final.

  • Buhari to confer with French President, ministers

    President Muhammadu Buhari will on Monday leave Abuja for Paris to begin a three-day official visit to France.

    Buhari, according to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, will be accompanied on the visit by the National Security Adviser, Major-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.), the Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Ministries of Defence, Finance, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade and Investment and the Chief Executives of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council.

    Buhari’s talks in Paris with President Francois Hollande and other senior French Government officials, the statement said, will focus on the further strengthening and consolidation of ongoing bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and France in the areas of defence, security, trade and investments.

    Apart from his scheduled meeting with President Hollande at the Elysee Palace on Monday evening, President Buhari and his team will also confer with the French Minister of Defence, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts, Mr. Michel Sapin, the French Minister of Economy and Industry, Mr. Emmanuel Macron and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Mr. Laurent Fabius.

    The President will also visit the Headquarters of MEDEF, France’s largest federation of investors and employers, where he will participate in a France/Nigeria Investment Forum with leading Nigerian and French entrepreneurs.

    He will also confer with the Chief Executive Officers of leading French multinational companies such as Total and Lafarge on their current and future investments in Nigeria.

    The President’s other scheduled engagements in Paris include a meeting with African Ambassadors to France and an interactive session with members of the Nigerian community.

    He will conclude his visit to France on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 and return to Abuja the same day.

  • Cabinet: Buhari consults Obasanjo over team

    Cabinet: Buhari consults Obasanjo over team

    • May submit list to National Assembly in batches

    There were strong indications that the recent audience between President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo centred on national issues, especially the choice of ministers.

    It was gathered that Buhari opened up to Obasanjo on the criteria for choosing his ministers.

    It was learnt that the president said he was thinking of trying “new hands” instead of recycling the same old ones.

    But findings confirmed that the president may send the list of ministers to the National Assembly in batches because of the likely merger of some ministries, departments and agencies.

    The first batch is likely to meet the September deadline set by the president.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the meeting between the two leaders focused on what Buhari had done in the last 100 days, the challenges at hand, and the composition of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    A highly-placed source said: “Apart from other national issues, the president took time to explain the criteria he will be using to appoint his ministers. He said he might try new hands instead of using the same set of people that had served Nigerians.

    “He also said anyone with tainted records or with issues on corruption may not get a slot in his cabinet. I think he is on the same page with Obasanjo on the anti-corruption agenda.

    “The president restated why he would need a team to fix basic things in the country.”

    Responding to a question, the source said: “Buhari did not mention any name on the cabinet list to Obasanjo but he spoke on the benchmarks for would-be appointees and those he won’t accept.”

    After the closed door session, ex-President Obasanjo refused to speak with newsmen at the Presidential Villa.

    When pressed to respond to reporters’ enquiry, Obasanjo said: “Comot joo” (go away).”

    According to a reliable source, the president may name the cabinet in phases because of the likely merger of some ministries, departments and agencies in line with the recommendations of the Ahmed Joda Transition Committee.

    It was learnt that the president might name ministers for key portfolios like Petroleum Resources, Finance, Works, Aviation, Health, and Justice.

    The source added: “The president is ready to keep to the September deadline but one of the options on the card is to name ministers in batches because of the likely merger of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    “For instance, the Ministry of Special Duties is likely to be scrapped because it is only being used for constituency projects and other questionable contracts.

    “Rather than keeping the nation waiting, the list may go to the National Assembly in batches.”

    When contacted last night, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, who was about boarding a flight to Paris, said: “Honestly, I do not have any latest information on the appointment of new ministers.”

    The Nation had exclusively reported that the president is on the final lap of consultations on his cabinet.

    It was still unclear if the president will reduce the size of the cabinet from 42 to 36 or a lower figure.

    Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended.

    The section reads:   “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.

    “Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.

    “Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:

    “Provided that in giving effect to the Provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.”

     

  • Buhari vows to punish soldiers who violate human rights

    Buhari vows to punish soldiers who violate human rights

    President Muhammadu Buhari has warned members of the Nigerian Armed Forces against human rights abuse and violation in the cause of their duties.

    The president sounded the warning yesterday at the combined passing out parade of the 399 officer cadets of the 62 regular course and short service course 43 of the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna.

    He added that officers and men of the Armed Forces should resist the temptation of harassing and intimidating Nigerians while carrying out their constitutional roles.

    According to the president, the current administration would uphold the rule of law and it has therefore become necessary for officers and men of the Armed Forces to desist from conducts that infringe on the rights of citizens. He noted that the fight against terrorism cannot be realised without a credible and effective military.

    The president expressed the commitment of his administration to due process, merit and total observance of the rule of law as central pillars of a prosperous and democratic society.

    The president enjoined the new cadets to play their roles as junior leaders in tackling the prevailing security challenges in the country.

    President Buhari said: “While I applaud the integrity and sterling record of the Armed Forces as an institution, this administration will insist on the rule of law, and deal with any proven cases of deviation from laws of armed conflict (LOAC), including human rights abuses. In operational conduct Nigerians expect our Armed Forces to keep law and order and not to behave like bullies.

    “The objectives of our fight against terrorism cannot be realised without a credible and effective military.  On your shoulders therefore lies the mechanism to drive the junior leadership in our Armed Forces.  The Armed Forces of Nigeria have a world-acclaimed reputation for valour, resilience and loyal service.

    “Let me reiterate the administration’s renewed commitment to due process, merit and total observance of the rule of law as central pillars of a prosperous and democratic society.  Rule of law as an element of good governance applies to the Armed Forces as much as any institution in our country.

    “It is therefore gratifying to note that recently all three Services have taken steps to not only emphasise on strict adherence to rules in area of recruitment, promotions, procurement, project executions, and more importantly, in civil-military relations.

    “I would like to commend the NDA Leadership for reminding everybody that NDA is a Professional Military Education (PME) institution.  In this regard, serious efforts have been made to ensure that academic endeavours must necessarily relate and serve the professional needs of the military.

    Buhari added:”I expect that ongoing efforts to review all academic courses of study towards enhancing the professional education capacity of the military will soon be completed.  The message of these ongoing reviews, which I hereby reiterate, is that Nigeria is blessed with many civil universities.

    “NDA must therefore carve out a niche for itself as a military research university because of its uniqueness, instead of mirror-imaging and competing with civil universities. That is why I want to recognise and commend the current Commandant for continuing to support the new Centres of Excellence established by his predecessor.

    “Let me assure you that the federal government will continue to work towards facilitation of the completion of the NDA’s permanent site.

    “I urge you to remain steadfast in your uncommon task of producing world-class officers who will continue to bring home laurels for the Nigerian Defence Academy and for Nigerians.

    “For you, the passing out cadets today marks the end of your very tough training in the academy and the beginning of your career as officers in the armed forces.  As you are aware, some of those who started the course with you discontinued because they could not withstand the rigours of the physical, mental and intellectual challenges which you gallantly endured.”

  • Buhari’s return of equality to public discussion

    Buhari’s return of equality to public discussion

    The recent announcement that the Buhari presidency is poised to commence free meals for school children and modest social security for the destitute revives a tradition of public discourse that had gone out of fashion in most states of the federation until the 2015 presidential election. 

    For the past sixteen years, our country’s political and economic space has been dominated by two major themes: wealth creation and humanitarianism. All the PDP governments since the end of military dictatorship had focused on creation of material wealth at the expense of the welfare of majority of the citizens. Compared to many countries on the continent and despite the oil boom, Nigeria had paid lip service to provision of quality public education that can enable majority of the citizens compete in the expanding global economic space. General (now President) Buhari and the All Progressives Congress brought the theme of equality and what Aristotle called distributive justice back to the nation’s political space first during the 2015 political campaign. Just last week, the Buhari presidency moved from the plane of  campaign promise to policy development when the vice president announced that school children would be given one free meal a day in school.

    The last time Nigerians were bombarded with messages about the importance of bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots was during the last campaign of Chief Obafemi Awolowo for the presidency in 1983 and, more recently, during the campaigns of Action for Democracy and Action Congress of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007. When public policy rhetoric was not solely about war against corruption during Buhari’s first coming or structural adjustment in the era of Babangida, it was about primitive accumulation in the Abacha presidency, and endless attempts at economic and fiscal restructuring of Obasanjo’s second coming or the mania for wealth creation for and by those with assured access to the country’s treasury in the last six years of Goodluck Jonathan.

    The recent announcement that the Buhari presidency is poised to commence free meals for school children and modest social security for the destitute revives a tradition of public discourse that had gone out of fashion in most states of the federation until the 2015 presidential election. But, as expected, the leaders of yesterday’s party of power have started to pooh-pooh Vice President Osinbajo’s announcement. They warned against simple-minded imitation of an Aregbesola model that the same party had campaigned against and identified as the source of failure of the Osun governor to pay workers’ salaries as and when due. This theory of Osun State’s failure to pay its workers ignored the fact that there were more PDP-controlled states that were also unable to pay their workers’ salaries on time. Also amusing is the PDP’s silence on the negative impact of decline in revenue from petroleum and of the federal government’s decision to take loans from domestic and international money markets to settle federal workers’ wage bills.

    Nothing is unusual about PDP leaders’ negative stance on Aregbesola’s initiative to improve access to and retention rate in public schools. The negative attitude of PDP spokespersons is in character with the struggle for power in a multiparty democracy. What is bizarre about PDP’s characterisation of modest measures of social assistance to school children and poor citizens is the facile generalisation that such government expenditures on citizens are part of campaign rhetoric after elections. Despite similar criticism of Aregbesola when he introduced this social programme a few years back, the programme has enjoyed commendation from its beneficiaries and the international community on account of Aregbesola’s responsiveness to the state’s most economically vulnerable communities. It is also on record that Fayemi’s failure to win re-election in Ekiti in his second term bid was not because of his modest social security benefits to the aged of his state. Indeed, it was in spite of his responsiveness to the most vulnerable group in the state.

    It is a good beginning for Buhari and the APC that the poor and the forgotten in the country are the first community to benefit from his administration. Provision of free or subsidised meal for school children in elementary and secondary schools in many advanced countries has many advantages. Research has shown that children who have breakfast concentrate better in school than those who do not, just as those who have nourishing food in or outside school also improve school retention rate than those who do not have the opportunity of nourishing meals. It may be difficult for those with easy access to the wealth of the country to believe that there are millions of school-age children in the country who are malnourished on a daily basis. But the truth is that the country’s classrooms are full of children whose parents cannot afford to provide one nourishing meal a day. Without the kind of the model provided by the Aregbesola government, many of such children would have found learning too stressful and enervating.

    There is also an economic aspect of free or subsidised meals for school children. It helps to stimulate agricultural productivity. Better opportunities for bulk purchase of farm produce for farmers exist in Osun than in any other state in the southwest. Bulk and regular purchase has the capacity to improve farmers’ credit worthiness and to increase agriculture-related jobs, not to talk of providing employment for cooks and chefs. A visit to Osun State will reveal that no state has better public hygiene culture than what obtains in Osun today.  As this column observed a few years before Aregbesola came to power, each school child should be given one glass of fresh milk and one glass of fresh orange or pineapple juice each school day as part of the meal for the day. Apart from the additional nourishment such beverages can bring, the provision of vitamin and protein-rich drinks is capable of stimulating modernisation of  dairy  farming in the savannah region while daily serving of vitamin-fruit juice can boost modern fruit farming in the rain forest region of the country.

    On the few occasions I had visited Osun State, school children whom I interviewed were full of praise for the free lunch programme in their state. They were so enthusiastic about the free-meal policy that they described in glowing terms the meals given to them every day at the state government’s expense. Some of them even repeated the clichéd expression of “being given the opportunity to enjoy dividends of democracy.” It was not surprising when parents came out in droves to defend their votes when the nation’s security forces (or their clones?) supervised in a blood-thirsty way the state’s gubernatorial campaign and voting last year.

    If the experience of Osun school children is anything to go by, President Buhari and his party should act with confidence and waste no time to kick-start implementation of the free meal policy and other citizens’ welfare-related policies. Majority of Nigeria’s school children and their parents must be very excited about this policy. So must the federal government provide leadership to states on the need to use political power to enhance equality of opportunity for less materially-endowed citizens so that they too can add value in their own way to development efforts. Doing so will eclipse decades of politics of primitive accumulation by personalistic and patrimonial political and public office holders. It will also provide a new and enviable model for good governance in the country.

    But the efforts to reduce inequality must not be limited to one free meal per day for school children or token social security assistance to the elderly or the poor. Majority of Nigerians need government assistance in many other ways to enable them meet their basic needs: transportation, health, jobs, and salaries that can pull them out of poverty. Citizens are aware of the economic mess inherited by the Buhari government and do not expect miracles. However, they expect sincere efforts on the part of government at all levels to address poverty-alleviation and enhance equality across the country.

  • Coomassie to Buhari: Probe religious organisations, others

    Coomassie to Buhari: Probe religious organisations, others

    Former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Coomasie, yesterday backed President Muhammadu Buhari in his fight against corruption.

    Coomasie, who is the Sardaunan Katsina, urged the president to extend the crusade to religious organisations, military, police, para-military and educational institutions.

    Other areas the retired police boss wants the war against corruption extended to include human right associations and organised private sector.

    The former IGP spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the 5th Convocation Ceremony of Al-Hikmah University.

    He said: “The bold steps taken by the administration so far are highly commendable and it is our hope that these will be extended to other strata of the society.

    “It is a fact that both Islam and Christianity abhor corruption under whatever guise.

    “Therefore, it is the duty of every Nigerian to support the initiatives of the present administration so that the common wealth of Nigerian could be judiciously harnessed for the benefit of all citizens.”

    Coomasie, who doubles as the Pro-Chancellor of Al-Hikmah University, appealed to the federal government to offer financial assistance to private tertiary institutions.

  • Buhari greets Tukur at 80

    Buhari greets Tukur at 80

    President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bamanga Tukur, on his 80th birthday ceremony slated for Tuesday in Abuja.

    A statement by the Special Assistant to Tukur, Oliver Okpala informed that Buhari wished the elderstateman good health and thanked him for his services to the nation.

     

  • Buhari is building a just Nigeria -Shehu

    Buhari is building a just Nigeria -Shehu

    Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity. He was the Director in charge of the Media Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council. In this interview, he speaks on Buhari’s first 100 days in office and the gains so far. Tony Akowe reports

    How is the President celebrating his first 100 days in office?

    The president is not celebrating the first 100 days. If you recall, when the President visited the United States, he did say he does not believe in celebrating 100 days because such activities are fraudulent and that he will not engage in deceit. That is why he went to Daura, his home town. If Nigerians has anything to say about it, they should say it and I can assure you that the President will hear. But there will be no special activities about that.

     Does that mean there is nothing much to show?

    Well, Nigerians will decide whether there is anything to show or not. You represent public opinion. Without meaning to blow our own trumpet, I just left a town hall meeting in Suleja, organised by the BBC and I took my notes.  The ordinary Nigerians are praising President Buhari for security in the country and some of them scored him 90 percent and above. On power supply, I think this is an opportunity to clear the useless claim by the PDP that it is the work of Jonathan that President Buhari has come to claim credit for. The records are there with the Ministry of Power.  All the records are there.  They are saying power has improved because it is rainy season. Let me say that none of the hydro plants has added any megawatt. What is going on is that, like the Americans will say, there is a new Sheriff in town. People are taking their cue from the fact that there is a no- nonsense President who has taken over the administration of this country and his body language sends the message. This is the thing that is responsible for the improved power supply. No hydro station has increased output. At the town hall meeting, somebody said they drove from Suleja to Yola and back without any policeman or soldier stopping them to ask for bribe and the same thing happened on the way back. There is an environment that has been generated by the presence of Buhari in Aso Rock. Whether anybody likes it or not, it has changed things and we are feeling safer.

    A lot of people were surprised that he had to take Col Hamed Ali to head the Customs when there are several career officers for him to choose from. What informed that choice?

    I don’t know because the President didn’t talk to me on this. Let me ask you one question. Do you, in all sincerity, know Col. Hamed Ali? If you do know him, how many of his types do we have in this country? This is the man who many probably felt should have gone to head the EFCC. But looking at the critical place of the Customs in the economy of this country, you need somebody like him. After oil, the next revenue spinner for the government is the Customs. I think the President has done the best thing anybody can do for the Customs and for the economy of this country. Otherwise, smuggling will ruin Nigeria.  Look at what is happening in the textile industry in Aba, Ikeja, Kaduna,  Kano and Gusua.  There was a time when they used to employ about 400,000 people. All the textile companies in the country today can no longer employ more than 30,000 people. We have more Nigerians in need of clothing today than those so-called glorious days of the textile industry.  This is just one example.  Look at the issue of rice. Ebonyi, Anambra,  Niger,  Osun,  Kebbi,  Sokoto and Kogi have been brought together by the President and given the matching order to produce the rice need of this country. The rice industry in this country has failed because cheap Asian rice is being dumped here. The President did not ban importation because that would have offended WTO. What he has done is to say if you want to import rice, go and source your dollars anywhere you can get it. But CBN and the banks will always supply to manufacturers who want to bring in spare parts, equipment and employ Nigerians and for those who want to pay for medical bills abroad and maybe for school fees. By that action, the scope of import has been significantly reduced and that will encourage local production.

    There is so much cash crunch in the country today. What is responsible for that, especially considering the fact that this is happening under Buhari?

    I don’t know anything about cash crunch.  Perhaps, the more competent people are the bankers. I should think there is more money now going to the people because the local farmer who could not sell his produce because nobody was buying will now sell their goods. The tailor who does three hours a day because of lack of electricity can now do 12 hours a day and that will fetch him more money. The revival of the economy is a process that will take a long time.  It will not require government opening the vault and bringing out money to give to people. It is a working economy. Look at the businesses in the North-East that were closed for a long time because of lack of patronage because of lack of security.  Now, if you go to Yola, life is booming there, the same thing with Gombe.  Even in Maiduguri, you will be surprised at what you see. In spite of the threat that hangs over their head, night life is resuming.

    Nigerians are agitated about finding the Chibok girls and despite the improved security, they have not been found and a lot was said about them during the campaigns.

     To be fair to President Buhari, did he ever say he will bring back the girls on the second day of his administration?  What he has always said is that we don’t even know where the girls are and that we need to go in there and get the intelligence and situation of things and then act. There is better intelligence now. In fact, Sambisa forest is under observation 24 hours in case somebody decides to move those girls from point A to point B. If there is any movement that is suspicious, we have drones; unmanned aircrafts that fly around the place at night and during the day, the men take over and fly the aircraft. In the last few days,  you even saw the Chief of Army Staff leading the troupes and I am aware that in the last few weeks, very interesting pictures have been sent to the President on the basis of which we will say to Nigerians, don’t lose hope on the Chibok girls. I am not saying they have been found or that they have been seen. But it is not yet time for Nigerians to say we have lost them.

    From what you have said it does appear that the government was jolted by what it found on ground regarding the state of security because it appears you have to battle with this again like in the past.

    This Boko Haram was there for five or six years under Jonathan and he did not end it. Now you have a president who came and said go and end it in three months and this is about to happen. From my conversation with these commanders, what they are saying to themselves is that they are not going to wait for three months, but do their best to beat the target given by the President.  So, there is so much going on and I can assure you that the spirit is very high.

    Should Nigerians hold Mr. President responsible if the insurgency is not ended in three months?

    The President is responsible for the affairs of this country. If insurgency is not ended in three months, what to do is not to start blame game. As head of your home, if you tell your wife that your dinner should be ready by 5pm and you come home, the dinner is not ready, are you saying you will tell her to pack her things and leave your house or you look for explanation.  The President has appointed people and given them the matching order to do this within three months. Supposing your wife says the grinding machine you bought is fake, will that be her fault that she did not cook dinner by 5pm?

    Is the government comfortable with what seems like a sectional imbalance in appointments made by the President?

    I hear that these appointments do not constitute 5 percent of the appointments the President is going to make and they will come in waves. The President has also made two more appointments from the South-West. Do you want northerners to start abusing him for giving two appointments to people from the South-West?  They are emotional reactions to things that will come and go. This country has gone pass that stage.  I am not talking about competence because in this country, we have so many competent people all over the place.  But give it to the President, he has the right to choose those he will work with or cook his food. Somebody has cooked for him for 25 years and because of federal character, you want him to remove him and bring in another person. These appointments are like a fan which must blow all sides. These things will come and Nigerians will feel adequately represented because it is the requirement of the constitution of Nigeria and that is the position of the President because he is a fair leader, he is a just leader and will do right to all manner of people. Hold him to that.

  • Buhari: The next 100 days

    The President and his government has been in focus in the past one week. Many citizen as well as conventional journalists have called attention to the slow pace of the administration. Some have even hinted that the administration is yet to take off. This is my view, too.

    In defence, the President and his men have pointed out that there is a lot to do and it behoves him to look carefully before taking each step. Asiwaju Tinubu told the press while on a visit to the President in the past week that the slow pace was dictated by the level of rot in the system. The President himself acknowledged that He was aware that he is being called “Baba No Regret”.

    There is no doubt that only tentative steps could have been taken in 100 days. And, it will be dishonest to say the President did nothing in the period. He introduced the Treasury Single account, for example and has said a lot about corruption, thus sending out signal that whoever wants a place in the government to corner the honey pot should stay away. On the War Against Terrorism, too, the Buhari administration has left no one in doubt that every inch of the Nigerian soil is too precious to be left to hoodlums to control.

    However, I insist that the failure to constitute the Executive Council in the period is wrong and indefensible,. I hold on to the belief that it is even unlawful.  I refuse to accept that the President needs all of six months to locate men and women qualified to serve Nigeria. More than most of his predecessors, it could be said of him that he means well and would do anything to protect the country’s integrity. Governance is, however, much more than good intentions. It involves more than the intention to plug leakages and loopholes. It requires rigorous analysis and policies. This is also hinged on having a good team to translate the intentions to policies.

    What do I expect of the Buhari administration in the next 100 days? Governance. A real first glimpse at the ability and capability of the President would come to the fore when he hopefully unveils the much-awaited team this month. I hope he would not over-centralise, thus bureaucratise governance. It is impossible for one man to run the affairs of a country as complex as Nigeria in the modern age. This is no time for any leader to play the superman. He cannot be a strongman or foreman. He is only one man; has only 24 hours in a day and cannot work round the clock. In knowledge, too, every man is limited; no one is an expert in all things. We want a President Buhari, not a General Buhari.

    If 100 days is too short to catch a glimpse of Buhari, the action man, seven months cannot be so regarded. During the next 100 days, I expect that the first Buhari budget would have been presented to the National Assembly. I expect that his ministers would be appearing before the Appropriation Committees of both Houses and thus availing us the direction of things to come. Unfortunately, the heads of the ministry would not have sufficiently worked with the President to know his mind, or even the real philosophy of his government.

    In the next 100 days, we expect to have seen the Foreign Policy Blueprint. I also expect that the energy policy would have been unveiled. Would the subsidy on petroleum products be retained or removed?

    How would the administration create jobs for the teeming youth population? Does he just intend to give instruction to the MDAs to absorb more into service, or would he rather reflate, reposition, straighten and strengthen the private sector?

    I look forward to a second 100 days when the full security blueprint would have been out. All we can say so far for the government is that it is sincere in implementing the same template established by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, but to which he merely paid lip service.

    Beyond the terror challenge in the North East, what is to be done with regards to the resumed spate of kidnapping in the South South and the South East? What about armed robbery in the West? There should be a coordinated plan to secure lives and property in all parts of the country.

    A major promise by the All Progressives Congress during the campaign was introduction of a social security scheme. This might not feature in the first year of the administration, in view of the socio-political outlook. But, it would be fraudulent for the President to keep silent till the end of the year.

    President Buhari rode into power having triggered a crisis of expectation. The first 200 days would enable us assess his management skills and reassess our expectations. The beauty of the outcome of the 2015 polls is that the electorate now realizes that it reserves the power to install and remove governments.

  • Buhari and August 27, 1985 (thirty years after)

    This might allow experimentation with new forms of electoral representation, reintroducing political competition and participation first at the grassroots.

    Phasing in democracy in this way could defuse grievances and pressures and give the government a stronger basis of legitimacy. With the economy in dire straits, there will be no shortage of grievances and pressures in the months to come. Nigeria’s external debt remains in excess of $20 billion, and payment on short-term trade debts is lagging months behind. Oil production remains low and petroleum prices are likely to tumble further, as Babangida himself recently warned the nation. Hence, the prospect is for even less than the 1984 oil income of $10 billion, which is less than half the peak figure of four years ago. Most economists believe that the only way out of the crisis is for Nigeria to reach agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a three-year $2.5 billion loan; negotiations on this have been deadlocked for three years because Nigeria has refused to accept the IMF’s stringent adjustment program. Upon taking office, President Babangida seemed determined to come to an agreement quickly but then threw the question open to public debate, and the consequent intense opposition has clearly reduced his freedom of manoeuvre.

    Reaching agreement on an IMF loan would unlock perhaps another $2.5 billion in loans and credits from other sources; it would also enable Nigeria to resume imports necessary to regenerate industrial production and employment. But critics denounce the hardships that would follow the required currency devaluation and subsidy cuts. They also dismiss the utility of another huge infusion of cash, which, they maintain, the country is no better equipped to manage than the massive infusions of the oil boom. As President Babangida recognized in his recent independence- day address, “with or without the IMF loan facility,” all Nigerians “must make hard choices involving great difficulties and requiring sacrifices from everyone in every sector, including the Armed Forces.” With or without the loan, the prospect is for a prolonged period of economic austerity, in which consumption has to be limited severely and productivity sharply increased. Knowing this, the Babangida government may well determine that the urgent need for government to be responsive to the popular will, in particular the opposition to the loan, outweighs the urgent need for new foreign exchange and restructuring of debt. The Reagan Administration’s new policy emphasis on economic growth as the best relief for debt crises in the Third World may eventually benefit Nigeria.

    Further, since the Babangida government has struck a surprisingly cordial stance toward the United States and promised to remove bureaucratic and other obstacles to foreign investment, the time might be propitious for the United States to take the lead in helping Nigeria to restructure its international obligations. Ultimately, however, the success of the new government is likely to depend on whether it can build a national consensus around a coherent economic strategy, distribute the sacrifices fairly, and put a stop to the disastrous leakage of the country’s resources through corruption and mismanagement. This will be difficult to do without some institutional means for ensuring open and accountable government. In this sense, 20 months of repression may have taught the valuable lesson that the choice between democracy and economic recovery is a false one.

    We should also flash back to Major-General MuhammaduBuhari’s maiden address:

    In pursuance of the primary objective of saving our great nation from total collapse, I, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the Nigerian army have, after due consultation amongst the services of the armed forces, been formally invested with the authority of the Head of the Federal Military Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is with humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I accept this challenge and call to national duty.

    As you must have heard in the previous announcement, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1979) has been suspended, except those sections of it which are exempted in the constitution.The change became necessary in order to put an end to the serious economic predicament and the crisis of confidence now afflicting our nation. Consequently, the Nigerian armed forces have constituted themselves into a Federal Military Government comprising of a Supreme Military Council, a National Council of States, a Federal Executive Council at the centre and State Executive Councils to be presided over by military governors in each of the states of the federation. Members of these councils will be announced soon.The last Federal Military Government drew up a programme with the aim of handing over political power to the civilians in 1979. This programme as you all know, was implemented to the letter. The 1979 constitution was promulgated. However, little did the military realise that the political leadership of the second republic will circumvent most of the checks and balances in the constitution and bring the present state of general insecurity. The premium on political power became so exceedingly high that political contestants regarded victory at elections as a matter of life and death struggle and were determined to capture or retain power by all means.

    It is true that there is a worldwide economic recession. However, in the case of Nigeria, its impact was aggravated by mismanagement. We believe the appropriate government agencies have good advice but the leadership disregarded their advice. The situation could have been avoided if the legislators were alive to their constitutional responsibilities; Instead, the legislators were preoccupied with determining their salary scales, fringe benefit and unnecessary foreign travels, et al, which took no account of the state of the economy and the welfare of the people they represented. As a result of our inability to cultivate financial discipline and prudent management of the economy, we have come to depend largely on internal and external borrowing to execute government projects with attendant domestic pressure and soaring external debts, thus aggravating the propensity of the outgoing civilian administration to mismanage our financial resources. Nigeria was already condemned perpetually with the twin problem of heavy budget deficits and weak balance of payments position, with the prospect of building a virile and viable economy.

    The last general election was anything but free and fair. The only political parties that could complain of election rigging are those parties that lacked the resources to rig. There is ample evidence that rigging and thugery were relative to the resources available to the parties. This conclusively proved to us that the parties have not developed confidence in the presidential system of government on which the nation invested so much material and human resources.While corruption and indiscipline have been associated with our state of under-development, these two evils in our body politic have attained unprecedented height in the past few years. The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years has been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society. Since what happens in any society is largely a reflection of the leadership of that society, we deplore corruption in all its facets. This government will not tolerate kick-backs, inflation of contracts and over-invoicing of imports etc. Nor will it condone forgery, fraud, embezzlement, misuse and abuse of office and illegal dealings in foreign exchange and smuggling.