President Buhari’s 100 Days: Foundation for progressive country

My narrative of the first 100 Days of President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, without being immodest is to award excellent grade to the regime for laying the foundation for a progressive Nigeria; it is an uncountable score-card. Uncountable score-card in the sense that the foundation framework being laid by Mr President to change Nigeria is to some a mirage.

The time and meticulous manner he is taking in constructing the foundation confounds many, especially those who wished that Mr President completes projects like the 2nd Niger Bridge or chase away the Boko Haram insurgents under 100 days. Such flag-off did not happen, but we have moved from uncertainty to certainty and from public officers to shape in or ship out.

Many critics for either mischief or utter negligence easily gloss over the fact that it is very difficult to either notice or even properly assess the quantity and quality of concrete, iron rods, pipes and planks which go into the building of a high rise building. Tools to diversify our economy are being fashioned out, for the dwindling oil revenue has left deep hole in our national treasury; this calls for cordial bi-partisan cooperation.

Therefore to rekindle Nigeria’s hope, reposition the vast human and material resources and salvage the country from dangerous slide into a failed state is herculean but not insurmountable. This is more so when Mr President met an almost empty treasury, and unpaid salaries, consequent upon mindless, pervasive and unbridled corruption of the last regime.

My take is that President Buhari is meticulously constructing a progressive Nigeria, a country of prosperity and better life, devoid of extreme poverty, gross unemployment and the liquidation of the middle class.

We may recall that the urge to return Nigeria’s lost glory as a truly African leader made him to weep openly in 2011 before the presidential election, when our merger (Congress for Progressive Change) with the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria collapsed. There were many interpretations to his cry for our beloved country; some rated it altruistic and naturally some rated it inordinate ambition.

My assumption on why many, and even some members of our great party failed to appreciate the import of this vital foundation, is that he did not in his first 100 Days follow the traditional ground breaking flag-off of major projects, like roads, bridges, coal and gas power plants, hospitals etc, rather he devoted more time battling to plug the leakages and rake up stolen funds.

The fact remains that outside his crusade to wage strident war against corruption as enunciated in the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his containment of the Boko Haram insurgents, Mr President has uncountable score-card of silent foundation for a New Nigeria, enthronement of a progressive era, construction of pro-people programmes and pursuit of the empowerment of the greatest number of our citizenry.

President Buhari’s integrity quotient has triumphed over his formal authority and garnered the uncountable score-card of improved electricity supply, regular fuel supply, and resurgence of anti-graft war and uncountable ones.

It’s important we ask ourselves what made the federal permanent secretaries who were in bed with the profligacy of the last regime, converted born again today? Or why the former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Bade, who chided the governor of Borno State, Ibrahim Shettima, when he said frustratingly that Boko Haram is better equipped and better motivated sang the same song today? The change coming out from Buhari’s phenomenon is endless.

Aside from the huge benefit of the Buhari-phobia that has re-energized both private and public servants, we have also noticed the silent reclamation of the people’s ownership or participation in our commonwealth. This is evidenced with Mr President’s blunt refusal to remove the fuel subsidy, refusal to sell the state owned refineries, the stimulus bailout funds to state governments and social safety nets like school meals in the offing.

May one restate that Mr President genuinely wants to consolidate democracy where the socio-economic happiness of the greatest number of Nigerians is guaranteed. Thus reconstructing of the sordid condition he noted in his Chatham House speech of February, 2015, ‘a growth that, on account of mismanagement, profligacy and corruption, has not translated to human development or shared prosperity.’

One stands to be corrected in stating that the return of the progressive era is one of the major achievements of the first 100 days of Buhari’s regime. For the progressive era has been on the retreat, if not in a state of decline in the last three decades in Nigeria. Indeed the decline of the progressive era started with the exit of President Buhari from government in 1985.

When we returned to democracy in 1999, many Nigerians thought that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led federal government will reverse the trend of the nebulous economic policy, which some call the Washington Consensus or International Monetary Fund (IMF) simulated programme, but they did not.

Rather, what the PDP did is, quoting Mr President Chatham speech once again is to, ‘created two economies in one country, a sorry tale of two nations: one economy for a few who have so much in their tiny island of prosperity; and the other economy for the many who have so little in their vast ocean of misery.’

My understanding of the progressive era being constructed is anchored on President Buhari’s belief that corruption will kill Nigeria if we do not kill corruption. The task is to eradicate poverty, provide employment and mitigate the growing inequality is his road map to our collective development. He also believes that not all Nigerians are thieves and that with collective efforts more will be achieved.

The journey has begun, the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Professor Itse Sagay ant-graft committee and location of military headquarters in Maiduguri are all aimed at building the blocks for a progressive Nigeria.

For those who tag the ongoing war against corruption selective, one counsels that they should be rest assured that sooner or later, there will no boundaries. He wants to restore faith in anti-graft agencies; for a cursory study of principle of dialects will convince anyone that the thesis will lead to a synthesis and nowhere for thieves to hide.

In sum, Mr President has demonstrated his commitment to fight insurgency and corruption and has designed the economic road map for the greatest number of Nigerians to participate in the socio-economic activities without hitch or hindrance. This is the foundation for a progressive Nigeria and road-map to a win-winscenario.