It is less than 20 days to the end of Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years tenure as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after three futile attempts. It is believed that contesting elective offices should be viewed from the broader and more objective perspective of performance, capacity and character. It is on this premise that Nigerians, especially the masses, hinged their hope for a better deal on the retired General Buhari when he was canvassing for their votes.
Therefore, they trooped out en masse in 2015 and later 2019 to cast their votes for him believing that he will wipe out their tears of the insecurity bedeviling the country, especially the North where the people are facing insurgency, armed banditry, kidnapping, etc. As Tunde Olusunle says, Buhari’s swansong after his largely catastrophic years as Nigeria’s head, however, consists of inflicting more hurt on the national psyche, rather than contrition for his multiple infringements on our collective wellbeing. For the avoidance of doubt, his score sheet after his eight years stint in office has been serially interrogated and certified wholly disastrous and grossly uninspiring.
His eight years stewardship is a not-too-savoury performance, by the estimation of most Nigerians. President Buhari has destroyed the lives of many Nigerians during his eight years in the saddle. Therefore, it is not surprising that he is now sitting in judgement with his conscience. A man reaps whatever he sows and that was why during Sallah, he called on Nigerians to forgive him for his transgressions against the people, who placed too much hope on him.
His fight against corruption is a mere rhetoric as it is President Buhari who approved the release of some former governors, who were convicted by the courts for various act of corruption perpetrated by them while at the helms of affairs in their states.
As Buba Galadima says, Buhari’s government has set Nigeria 100 years back with poor governance.
Buhari’s leadership has greatly divided Nigeria along religious and ethnic lines, and crashed economic policies which affected dollar rate badly. He is leaving behind a Nigeria bedeviled by religious and monetisation issues.
Segun Adeniyi, in his column “The Verdict”, says even though he proposed no set of values beyond a ‘body language’ that, on the face of recent developments, might have been wrongly interpreted by many Nigerians, Buhari was elected president to serve as a moral compass – a leader who would need no prompting before choosing between right and wrong in the conduct of public affairs. Unfortunately, that is not what has transpired under his stewardship.
The people of Nigeria have slided into object poverty in his eight years rule as the president of the country as people are living from hand to mouth because their purchasing power has drastically reduced.
Out of the promises he made during his campaign in his first term some were not fulfilled as his reign draws to a close by May 29, 2023. And there is no hope that his successor, though from the same party, may continue with what he has started.
Therefore in a nutshell, President Buhari is a General who failed to deliver. He was overwhelmingly voted in by the poor people who believed in him as the Messiah to bring about radical change in their lives, but the people’s expectations have not beenmet by the outgoing President Buhari.
Usman Santuraki,
No2 Santuraki Close,
Demsawo, Jimeta, Yola,
Adamawa state
08032332546
