The focus of any new government is to ensure project execution for the electorate to benefit true dividends of democracy and good governance as a springboard for rapid economic transformation in a country.
Though, President Muhammadu Buhari who took over in 2015 has done his “best” in the execution of projects cutting across infrastructural development such as good road network, effective housing, transportation, education, portable water, agriculture, power and energy, some of these sectors require good governance but witnessed challenges in governance such as corruption and growing insurgence menace.
Peeping into President Buhari’s government, some of the notable achievements include the completion of 326km Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line and railway ancillary facilities; the completion of over 156.5km Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway modernisation project with extension to Lagos Port, Apapa. On road projects, this administration has constructed 408km of roads; 2,499Km of SUKUK roads and maintenance of 15,961km of roads across the country. being boosted with the certification of Lagos and Abuja International Airports by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, while Kano and Port Harcourt Airports are undergoing similar certification processes.
On the economy, the President restated that the country had witnessed seven consecutive quarters of growth, after negative growth rates recorded in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2020. The GDP grew by 3.54 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the 2nd quarter of 2022. This growth rate represents a sustained positive economic performance, especially for the Non-Oil GDP which fell by 4.77% in Q2 2022 against Oil GDP which grew by -11.77 per cent.
However, to be fair to Buhari, Jonathan bequeathed him an economy in a tailspin. And of course, Buhari promised he was going to fix it. To be fair to Jonathan too, he reportedly left $26.8 billion in external reserves; contrary to frequent claims by the Buhari government that nothing was left to build on.
Nigeria’s oil export dwindled under Jonathan. Naira was devalued. Corruption was rife. Nigeria became heavily indebted. But Buhari was meant to be a breath of fresh air. He was meant to fight corruption and salvage what was left of the economy. Yet again, Buhari would outdo his predecessor. For context, a month after Buhari took over from Jonathan in 2015, our domestic debt stood at N8.39trn. Buhari would spend the next seven years increasing it to N19.24trn as of December 2021. Our debt rose to N41.6trn in Q1 2022. Nigeria owes so much but there is nothing to show for it. We spent 96 per cent of our revenue in 2021 on debt servicing. The last figures released by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, show that debt servicing surpassed Nigeria’s revenue in the first four months of 2022.
Under the current regime the naira continues to tank to all-time lows against the dollar even above N720 at the black market. The prices of petrol, kerosene, diesel, and LNG have continuously increased beyond what the average household can afford; a perfect storm for skyrocketing inflation with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) giving Nigeria’s inflation rate which has risen from 20.52 percent in August 2022 to 20.77% in September.
Last year, in what many saw as self-deluding, Buhari promised that his government would lay the groundwork to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years. Well, unemployment currently accounts for 33.3 per cent of the population (that’s approximately 60 per cent of the youth demographic) and despite social investment schemes like N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Program (GEEP), Tradermoni, and the Special Public Works Programme he launched, it’s hard to see how they have served as any meaningful solution to the trifecta of poverty, unemployment, and underemployment.
As we prepare to elect fresh leaders next year, it’s helpful we remind ourselves that the people we think are capable of doing the job may end up drawing us back. This made President Muhammadu Buhari to warn political appointees including ministers and top government officials not to abandon governance for electioneering activities, threatening that anyone found wanting of such infraction would answer to the neglect.
Working towards his exit plan from office, President Buhari, despite harsh criticisms of poor performance also jumped into self appraisal that his administration has scored pass mark on impact projects, while directing all political appointees to steer the portfolio of their offices to the very end, and not shelve same aside for 2023 electioneering politicking as the business of governance must continue to receive the needed attention during this period.
Ultimately, for President Buhari to set his name in gold he should set up a committee to monitor the compliance of top Government Political appointees to remain focus on governance till the last, not divert their attention into politicking as countdown to the 2023 general elections begins. And any minister or DG that is found wanting to this directive should be sacked immediately.