The
last couple of weeks have witnessed the heaviest public criticism of
the Muhammadu Buhari administration since he came to power after
inflicting a heavy defeat on the Peoples Democratic Party and their
candidate Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Much of it has been on account of
the unresolved social and economic problems facing the country.
Unfair
criticism of the Buhari administration especially on account of
escalating prices of foodstuff and the liberalization of the currency
exchange needs to be challenged before it overshadows the commendable
job the President has done in fighting terrorism as part of overall
effort to secure the country, reducing corruption and yes, arresting the
economic slide before it sinks the the nation.
The
Hausa have a saying: "Ba zomo na kashe ba, rataya a ka bani," meaning
literally "I killed no rabbit, I am helping to carry the prey."
Wherever
they go these days, in London, Dubai, Beijing, Washington, New York or
Tokyo, Nigerians get the good feeling of being asked the question, how
is President Muhammadu Buhari?
It
is a proud moment for many citizens that the country is being perceived
differently now that it has a different kind of leader creating a
positive buss abroad, the kind of sentiment that can lead to foreign
investments when properly capitalized upon.
The
lavish praise the President gets abroad and the wide public support he
enjoys among the lower segment of the local population is, by contrast,
given a short shrift in the local press, mainstream and online. At its
lowest point, this unambiguous media rebuke has created a wave of
sympathy for anyone with a view that runs counter to the President's.
Boko
Haram terrorist leader, Shekau or the pipeline vandal from the Delta
region is more likely to get newspaper front pages today than the
Minister of Labour, Senator Chris Ngige or the Finance Minister Kemi
Adeosun talking about jobs creation in the economy.
I don't say that media criticism is not reflective of the feeling of the citizens.
President
Buhari has himself on numerous occasions admitted that the change
mantra has brought with it pain and suffering which he likened to the
pains of labor. It is a passing phase.
When
they ask the question, is this the change we voted for, the critic
forgets how far we have come from the scam-tainted years of the PDP
rule.
How
many people have given a thought to the possibility of Nigeria doing
something that the combined strength of Europe and America have failed
to do?
There
are many today who take for granted the declared victory over the Boko
Haram terrorists, forgetting the reign of the bomber who made it almost
impossible for regular attendance in Churches and Mosques in many of our
cities, including the Federal Capital City, Abuja.
Victory over Boko Haram has brought peace not only to Nigeria but to the countries in the Lake Chad region.
The
world leaders are still at work trying to contain the Islamic State in
Syria and Iraq, ISIS, which threat sadly continues to become more
potent.
Everyone
living in Nigeria knows that there is a major movement against
corruption as part of the ongoing change. This war has forced the return
to the treasury of billions of Naira and millions of Dollars stolen by
past officials.
On
account of this war, government suspects that the biggest trigger of
the opposition to the change agenda is the army of the corrupt. With the
enormous resources at their disposal; money that is unearned, these
forces are ready to throw in everything to gag the Buhari
administration.
When
he assumed office, President Buhari said he understood the outcry of
Nigerians and was determined to right those wrongs. I will remind you of
his inaugural speech where he said: "At home we face enormous
challenges. Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and
seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate
concerns. We are going to tackle them head on. Nigerians will not regret
that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not
succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our
problems."(Emphasis added).
He
has said times without number that his government is dedicated to the
poor. As can be seen from the 2016 budget, this is a government that is
determined to hugely empower the disadvantaged groups- the poor, the
jobless, the widows and the orphaned children including those of the
North-East.
As
a listening government, the President was prepared to open the door to
additional food imports but given the processes involved, the turn
around in any such import of commodities would have taken a long time as
to coincide with the harvest of home grown grains and cereals now in
progress. The market would have been deluged and the local grower given
the short end of the stick.
Calls
on Hausa radio by a rabble-rousing section of the opposition for the
"reopening of borders" to "allow food come in" are redundant and
mischievous because all the county's borders remain open till date.
Following
the budget, the administration has begun rolling out several social
welfare programs. The direct cash transfer to the poorest of the poor,
the school feeding and the recruitment/skills training of about one
million jobless citizens are such an example.
In
addition to hard work, all leaders need luck on their side to create
what is sometimes seen as economic miracles. As leader, President Buhari
never had the luxury of high oil prices as did his predecessors in
office.
When
he first emerged as the military Head of State, General Muhammadu
Buhari saw oil price, the mainstay of the nation's economy sank to as
low eight Dollars a barrel.
He
rolled up his sleeves, worked on diversification strategy of the
economy only to be eased out of power just as they began to take hold.
Thereafter, his successors abandoned these efforts.
On
his second coming, this time as a democratically elected leader, the
collapse of oil prices has challenged President Buhari to quicken
efforts towards the diversification of the economy with emphasis given
to agriculture and solid minerals mining. Every crisis, it is said, is
an opportunity. Not so in Nigeria. This is a county that inherited
massive technological inventions from Biafra, yet failed to take it
forward. We must not lose this opportunity to diversify the economy and
our foreign earnings presented by the present oil crisis.
As
the country hopes for a bumper harvest this year, government is taking
steps to ensure that no farmer will sell at a loss or fail to find
markets for their harvests. Grain silos are being readied nationwide to
receive excess produce for warehousing to ensure food security, avert
market glut and price collapse. By this, government will ensure a
minimum guaranteed price.
In
dealing with challenges of the economy, the administration is devoting
attention to ridding the country of its notoriety as a difficult place
of doing business.
The
government has been making quiet but significant progress in this area,
thanks to the leadership given by the National Economic Council under
the Vice President and the combined efforts of the Ministries of Trade
and Investment, Finance, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Budget and Planning
and the Customs under new leadership.
Everyone in this sector is doing everything in their power to boost up Nigeria.
President
Muhammadu Buhari's infrastructure initiatives will see country making
progress with intractable projects such as the Second Niger bridge, the
East-West expressway, the green field Lagos-Abuja expressway and
important national railway projects, Lagos-Calabar and Lagos-Kano which
had been on the drawing boards for as long as anyone can remember.
These
projects will be counted among the accomplishments of the
administration alongside the 4,000 MW Mambila power plant which the
President has declared a national priority. Government has also taken
several bold steps to boost renewable energy. It has opened the door for
a new conversation on the environment with decisive steps towards the
clean-up the Ogoniland in the Niger Delta.
The
currency liberalization and the deregulation of the petroleum products
sale will make President Buhari one of the best presidents till date.
The removal of subsidies on the petrol products has saved the government
more than two trillion Naira annual expenditure in this respect.
President
Buhari's foreign trips have brought many things to the country. He has
energized our foreign policy. Beyond the enormous goodwill reaped from
"resetting" age-old but damaged relations with neighbors and distant
partners and friends, the President has attracted foreign development
assistance and direct investments (FDI). It is generally accepted that
good foreign relations bring foreign direct investment. So much is
currently being done one year into the administration. This is in spite
of the world economy being sluggish and recession-stricken.
It
bears repeating that President is a different kind of leader, who just
happens to be a victim of the tyranny of high expectations. He has
brought positive intention, commitment, honesty and personal integrity
into governance. This is why the country's poor hold him so dear; this
is why the world is in love with him.
His
knack for prudent spending and effective management of resources is in
the belief that this country can only prosper when there is
transparency, reduced corruption and a drastic cut in bureaucratic red
tape.
His
decision to have a small cabinet, reducing government ministries from
46 to 24 has the effect of relieving the treasury of the burden of
salaries, allowances and miscellaneous expenses now being counted in
billions of Naira.
President
Buhari should be credited for the the unblemished record of his
ministers. This is a government that has stayed above scandal for a
year.
If
all of these are not desirable changes, to be appreciated and adored,
it is hard to know or determine what some of our critics want.
These reforms certainly represent major milestones in change which have led to a decline of corruption at the top.
As
to the question of these leading to a resurgent economy, it all means
that in a democracy everything takes times. The President needs our
support with understanding and patience. No matter how hasty a president
wants to bring changes, there is no magic wand in that office to make
everything change from bad to good or make all of us prosperous with a
wave of the hand. This change is on course. It requires patience.
The change is working for the nation and sooner than later, the testimony shall be given.
Garba Shehu.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.
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