IN DEFENSE OF PRESIDENT BUHARI: IS THIS THE CHANGE WE VOTED FOR? YES, IT IS!
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.
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