By Haniel Ukpaukure
I sat through the agony of watching President Muhammadu Buhari’s October 1, 2023 Independence Day broadcast not because I expected any cheering news – something different from his previous speeches, especially the recent ones – but because of its significance as his last in his capacity as Nigeria’s fourth democratically elected leader in the Fourth Republic.
It was more out of curiosity to hear what he would tell Nigerians as he begins to round off his two-term tenure.
My main takeaways from the speech, from the perspective of his promises on assumption of office in 2015, were that in the last seven years, his government has “worked methodically in reducing insurgency in the North East, militancy in the Niger Delta, ethnic and religious tensions in some sections of Nigeria along with other problems threatening our country; made “significant progress” in the fight against corruption, as evidenced in the “increasing number of prosecutions and convictions, with associated refunds of large sums of money,” and made efforts “in re-setting the economy manifested in Nigeria exiting two economic recessions by the very practical and realistic monetary and fiscal measures to ensure effective public financial management.”
It should be recalled that while campaigning for the 2015 general election, Buhari had promised to bring insecurity to an end, with a firm commitment to secure the return of the Chibok girls whose abduction was a major tool of his campaign.
He did not promise to merely reduce insurgency. He promised to wipe out corruption because, “if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us.” He did not promise “significant progress” in the fight against corruption. He promised to revamp the economy, create jobs and improve the standard of living of Nigerians.
While the administration talks glibly about its success in reducing insurgency in the North East, it carefully avoids mentioning the fact that in 2105, Nigerians could travel to any part of the country at any time, day and night, without fear of ending up in kidnappers’ dens, as it is the case today.
The government does not want to mention the fact that under the watch of a president whose military background recommended him as the right man at the right time, terrorists have shown the level of dare-devilry and bravado never witnessed in the country.
The administration has been helpless as terrorists shot down a military aircraft; invaded the country’s premier military institution, killing soldiers and abducting some; issued a threat to abduct a sitting president and attempted to make good the threat by attacking his advanced convoy and also attacking the elite Guard’s Brigade that protects him and his family.
They also have attacked a strategic prison in the seat of government, freeing hundreds of their comrades. If this is evidence of reducing insurgency from the level it was seven years ago, then we should wonder what it could have been if insurgency hadn’t been “reduced.”
Buhari mentioned “increasing number of convictions” as proof of his administration’s success in the fight against corruption. It is possible the president was referring to the routine conviction of internet fraudsters, something the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission periodically flaunts as its achievements in the fight against corruption.
He couldn’t possibly have referred to the fight that is being waged through press statements and press conferences by his spokesmen, when Nigerians know that corruption now walks on four legs under his nose. It speaks volumes about the war on corruption that one man was able to steal over N190 billion, despite the various “measures” the administration has put in place to tackle corruption.
From what we are hearing, the man may walk away with a slap on the wrist through a plea bargain that may allow him keep the larger chunk of his loot, while he returns to the state an infinitesimal fraction that would not pay for his new, 17-year-old wife’s holiday in Dubai.
It is a measure of Buhari’s seriousness and commitment in the war on corruption that his ministers effortlessly spent N100 million to buy forms to contest presidential primaries, without any question from him.
On the economic front, the relevant figures and statistics, including the macro-economic indices – compared with what they were in 2015 – are there to confirm the administration’s effort in “re-setting” the economy.
These statistics are reflected in the cost of living for the average Nigerian – the prices of foodstuff and other essential commodities that have gone out of the reach of the generality of the people.
But we must give Buhari the credit of having the Petroleum Industry Bill that languished in the National Assembly throughout the life of the previous PDP administration passed during his tenure.
The Petroleum Industry Act that would reposition the nation’s oil and gas industry for the required growth bears his signature. If not for anything, he would be remembered for breaking what had turned into a jinx.
Ukpaukure, a media/publicity consultant and writer, lives in Lagos
