Buhari’s One year In Office: Nigerians React

By Idahosa Moses and Igierobo Bonaventure
Against the background of the recent one year anniversary of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s APC) led administration, Nigerians have rated and suggested areas, which they think the President Buhari-led government has performed well, failed and areas his government should pay special attention to.
Despite having being inaugurated as Nigeria’s president to pilot the country’s affairs for four years, the fact that President Buhari has enormous challenges on his hands is not in doubt.
He is expected to justify the confidence that Nigerians have reposed on him, as the sole custodian of, not just the abundant resources in the land, but also their fortunes as Nigerians and their expectations as individuals. And this, he will seek to do by implementing policies and programmes that will improve Nigerians’ well being. And that is no mean challenge.
From the economic issues to others bordering on security of lives and property, the police force reform and the provision of social amenities, expectations from Nigeria’s burgeoning population is legion. Nigerians want an economic blue print that would create more industries, create more jobs, stabilize electricity and also check inflation.
In the same vein, the education sector has practically been comatose, no kudos to infrastructural deficiencies and other sundry complaints.
As well, there is acute manpower shortage and months of unpaid salaries in almost all the states in the country. Even the issue of the exchange rate of the national currency, the naira, has been a source of worry for a long time now. So, which of these aforementioned problems has President Buhari’s government fixed in his one year administration? The answer, going by reactions thus far on this issue depends on who is making the response.
In laying the background to the assessment of President Buhari one year old administration and the basic problems on ground as well as Nigerians expectations from the President, respondents have these to say:

Buhari’s One Year In Office Is A Colossal Waste Mr. Lere Olayinka (Politician)

Despite President Buhari’s electoral promises to reduce petrol pump price from the N87 per litre that he met it and make life more bearable for Nigerians, he has increased the price of petrol to N145, increased electricity tarrif in spite of lack of power supply. Food scarcity which was last experienced when Buhari was Military Head of State between 1983 and 1985 has returned to the country, with Nigerians unable to have three square meals a day. It is disappointing that the president’s speech was once again about promises, not about what he has done. Not even a mention of one kilometer of road tarred by this administration. The president says one thing; his Vice says another while his ministers are singing discordant tunes. This is a clear sign of cluelessness and unpreparedness.

One Year Is Too Short To Judge Buhari Hon Samson Osagie

I believe that Buhari has done his best. In terms of insecurity, everybody is aware that Buhari’s assumption to office as president has brought a lot of relief to the fight against insurgency. The insurgents have been so decimated and a lot of achievements recorded. In terms of corruption, nobody is in doubt that with political will and sincerity of purpose, the scourge of corruption will be a thing of the past and that is evident in the revelations we are now aware of courtesy of the EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies. In respect to the economy, Buhari is on top of the game, even though there are pains now. There is no gain without pains. The decision to remove subsidy and get the understanding of Nigerians is a clear cut pointer to the fact that he is determined to put the economy back on track in order to save more and invest in other areas of the economy through diversification.
For me, I am quite confident that the president knows what he is doing. I don’t think we should begin to award marks to President Buhari within one year. What are the indices, it doesn’t call for awarding of marks now. I believe the decisions he is taking and about the economy is in the right direction for the betterment of the populace.

President Buhari’s Government Has No Template To Work With Aigbokhaode Omoalu (Journalist)

There is an adage that says that when a man fails to plan, he plans to fail. And the reality on ground in the country just now shows that from the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, they have no template upon which to work with.
Although, some persons are of the opinion that he has performed as regards the fight against corruption which in my own eyes he has not done anything, because we operate from the grassroot. So, if I want to rate President Buhari’s one year administration I will say without any apology it’s a total failure. Yes many people like I said before are using the selective anti-corruption crusade of the present administration as a base for judging/accessing him in terms of success but to me I think by now President Buhari administration ought to have told Nigerians whatever loot realized from this war against corruption. They ought to tell us that this is the areas they are channeling this recovered money to. By now, we ought to know what have been realized so far and their prospect for the recovered money. What they intend to do with it. But let us leave that aside; look out the economy! You can imagine the negative impact of this administration on our economy and the masses. There are persons who are not at the corridor of power in other words still, people who don’t have place where they use pen to get their money, they retired and rely strictly on the economy to survive. If we look at the prices of goods in the market now, you will find out that it is only the rich that are benefiting from it because they can afford it. Imagine the poor man on the street going to the market to buy a cup of rice within the range of N120 N130, fish N300 per one. The fish is even costlier than the rice you want to cook with it. So as far as I am concern, President Buhari and his government have not told us where they are leading us to. And what is on ground shows clearly that the government has no focus. It seems that they don’t know what to do.
So in my candid opinion, the President Buhari administration did not record any success within this one year of his government. So, the government should go back to the drawing board, look into the areas where they can control the prices of food items because a hungry man is an angry man. We are saying that this one year administration of President Buhari is a failure because, these are the areas with which form the basis to judge. People are hungry and government should try and control the prices of food items so that the common man can get food to eat without necessarily thinking about how to get much money first before thinking of what to buy with it in the market.

President Buhari’s Economic Policy Is Not Good Enough Mr. Timothy Ighodaro, Economist

I allude to the fact that the kind of fiscal policy being implemented by the government has a bearing on the well-being of either the country, nation or the individual that make up Nigeria. We do know that weak fiscal policy can contribute to Macro-economic, monetary, exchange rate and financial instability, undermine the ability of the Central Bank to conduct effectively and efficiently, monetary policy and impede the development of a functioning system.
A significant number of our citizens are presently wallowing in poverty; whereas it is absolutely important that poverty be banished from our midst by this present APC government especially according to their political promises.
With the present snail-speed growth rate experience during the one year old administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, I am very sure that his government cannot banish poverty from our country, yet we have the potentials to grow at a faster rate if all our resources are properly and efficiently harnessed.
So, the one year old administration of president Buhari economic policy within this one year is not good enough and I want Mr. President to think along this line, our economic problems should be top on his agenda in this remaining three years of his administration.

President Buhari’s APC Government Has Failed Nigerians 80% – Mr. Kola Friday (Engineer)
It is not too early to assess President Muhammadu Buhari administration as against the belief of some person that 365 days is not enough to judge a government of four years. Although, we are not expecting the president to fix all the problems in Nigeria in one year but at least he is expected to have a working plan in place. Within one year of this administration and the way things are now in the country economically, we are heading towards disaster.
Imagine, all facets of our economy is expected to be affected by a progressive government that has the ability to affect the people positively. But I am afraid that we are not even near a developing society rather, we are a complete under-developed society where you see people feeding from hand to mouth which is not suppose to be, because we are in the 21st century for crying out loud.
So, if at this age, I mean 21st century where nations in the world are thinking on how to move forward, Nigeria is retrogressing! I don’t just understand the stance of this government; as one is forced to believe that the government is applying Shonekan’s policy of backwards integration.
President Buhari’s Administration has integrated Nigeria backwardly in this past one year. If President Buhari’s government is implementing the IMF Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP)? From all indications, what the government is doing had never helped any country. Even Greece is battling with this policy now. Is it the market or the upstream and the downstream sectors etc? They are all affected. President Buhari should have realized that the new increment in fuel pump price has multiplier effect on our economy. By this, price of most many commodities will increase. Like what Senator Ben Murray Bruce said, it is not a question of increase of fuel pump price but its effect on other sectors like the transport sector, goods and services. And we all know in this country that we don’t have the capacity to produce but rely on imported goods and services.
Again, within one year of this present administration, our foreign exchange rate is not encouraging at all! So where do we go from here?
So, in my rating or assessment of President Buhari’s one year in office, I will say the President Buhari-led administration has failed Nigerians 80%.

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Kadiri Christopher

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