For years, succeeding administrations in Nigeria had always done away with the concept of continuity of projects initiated by previous administrations. President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, however, views it differently as ELEOJO IDACHABA examines some of the areas the administration has sustained the idea of continuity for good governance.
Abandoning inherited projects
If viewed from the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo from May 29, 1999 to 2007 when he left office and later Umar Musa Yar Adua whose administration was from May 29, 2007 to April 4, 2010, and to Dr Goodluck Jonathan from May 5, 2010 to May 29, 2015, none of these administrations, according to investigation, imbibed the culture of continuity in governance by which policies of previous government are completed.
This is because every new administration believes whenever a rival party or an individual not in the good book of the previous administration assumes power, the programmes of that previous administration must be discontinued, no matter how people-centred such programme could be. This trend has continued to dwarf development efforts in the country. The worrisome dimension, had of late, assumed public discourse at every fora.
A case for continuity
Writing on this, Tayo Agunbiade, a writer and public analyst says, “History has shown that in Nigeria, when a new government from a different political party replaces the incumbent, ongoing projects, programmes and policies of previous government are ridiculed, and in most cases, terminated. It is common to see public policies, regardless of their merits and positive impact on society needlessly reversed.
“Some argue that this approach is because the new comers want to have their own idea implemented, regardless of the credentials the past government may have. Continuity for as long as the constitution permits, has its advantages as long as the policies are working to improve the lives of the citizens.”
Also, Bola Akinterinwa, a former director general of Nigeria Institute of International Affairs and foremost analyst on public issue laments lack of continuity in governance when he says, “The most critical reason for the difficulty in political governance is the lack of continuity and objectivity of purpose. Every government that comes to power has its own agenda and does not generally seek to sustain existing policies.
“Every new government assumes that it has better policies and approaches to governance. Most unfortunately, however, it is when a new government takes over power that it only begins to learn more about the limitations of its presumptions about governance.”
Abandoned projects
As a result of this, investigation shows there are several abandoned projects in every nook and cranny of the country with many assuming the status of the proverbial white elephant projects. A good example of this is the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company which was started by the administration of late President Shehu Shagari but abandoned by then Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in 1984 and subsequent regimes. There are also several of such in many states of the federation.
Changing the tide
However, when President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in May 29 2015 as a democratically-elected president, he did not hide his intention to continue with some policies of his immediate predecessor, especially those that are people-centred. Such include what the Jonathan administration started in the field of agriculture, social security system, airport rehabilitation, and remodelling, roads and rail construction.
Besides, research shows President Buhari retained some individuals that held key positions in government he inherited from previous administration. Such individuals, like the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, the statistician general of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Dr Yemi Kale, according to investigation by Blueprint Weekend, were retained in order to continue in those areas the administration feels are very important.
The Emefiele example
According to Economic Confidential, a popular online medium, “The tenure of every Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor is usually five years and renewable if the president is impressed or willing to do so. However, since the current democratic dispensation in 1999, no CBN governor has had a second term, unlike during the military regime. So, if Emefiele’s tenure is not renewed, he will not be the first to leave office after a term, but few things different about this man who on assumption of office clearly states his mission which is to run a central bank that would serve the growth and development needs of the country, he has not deviated.
“He was appointed when the economy was in turmoil with the global collapse of commodity prices in 2014 through 2016 and crash of crude oil prices to as low as $27 per barrel. He was unfazed with the development; rather he focused on his mission and has since become a strategic pilot of economic growth introducing various intervention funding policies for agriculture, manufacturing, MSMEs, power and energy sector, among others for which the president is impressed about.”
Continuing further, it says, “Juxtaposing Emefiele’s performance with his predecessors since 1999, no one pursued economic diversification as him. This earned him commendation and support from President Buhari who inherited him from previous administration. Even if he will not get the opportunity of a second term renewal, the president has shown that he believes in continuity.”
Buhari had on few occasions commended the CBN for the support given to his government. Justifying Emefiele’s position in the current administration, the minister of agriculture and rural development, Chief Audu Ogbeh says, “But for the robust support of the CBN, the successes recorded in agriculture would not have been recorded. Would the heaven fall if President Muhammadu Buhari decides to give Godwin Emefiele a renewed mandate to assist his government in the on-going economic rebirth? Likewise, nothing would have happened if the president had sacked him in 2015 and appoint someone else he trusts. It’s all about continuing with the idea of god governance.
Kale
Kale, the statistician general of the federation is one senior government official the president inherited from the previous administration. Many thought on assuming power in 2015, a fresh appointment would have been made to replace Kale who had occupied that position since 2011, but that was not the case.
This is in spite of the near altercation Kale and the presidency often have over certain figures about government’s claim about employment, unemployment and inflation rate.
Ochogu hails Buhari
Speaking on this, a development expert, Dr Joe Ochogu tells Blueprint Weekend that he believes the president’s style of allowing every appointee to have an independent mind is the sole determiner of what happens in his administration. “You will recall recently that Dr Yemi Kale, the DG of NBS and Shehu Garba, the president’s media aide exchanged near-hot words on the social media over some figures released by the agency about employment rate in the country.
“Ordinarily, that was to be an affront on the government under which the NBS operates but the independent status the president grants to agencies is what had always played out in whatever you see about this government. I think the president believes in the veracity of the data from NBS, so would not want to intervene unnecessarily, but beyond that he wants, I believe, he wants continuity in that regards, especially since it was the same agency that announced how Nigeria became the largest economy in Africa in 2014.”
The social investment schemes
In 2016, the federal government said it was consulting relevant stakeholders for the repackaging of the social investment programme of Goodluck Jonathan’s programme like the Youwin programme. The former finance minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, stated that the intention was with the objective of injecting new ideas for its sustainability.
She assured the YouWin programme would be restructured to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability in investing the capital grants given to the beneficiaries by the federal government.
Adeosun confirmed that all federal government commitments under the YouWIN programme would be fully met but said due diligence would be carried out on every beneficiary, using tools like the Bank Verification Number (BVN) before disbursements. It was in that regard that N-Power started.
But Senator Shehu Sani who represents Kaduna Central Senatorial District of Kaduna state took a swipe at the programme, saying the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) established by President Jonathan and the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) of the present administration were largesse dispensed for political goals.
He said, “The SURE-P programme was designed to build up the grassroots support base of the PDP and the N-Power was designed to build the grassroots support base of the APC.
“SURE-P and NSIP are institutionalised state generosities and philanthropy presented as social intervention while actually intended to neutralise mass resistance against social injustice and inequality presided over by the political establishment and the ruling elites. They are all hands outs thrown to the poor to purchase their conscience and loyalty.”
No matter how anyone perceives the social investment schemes of the government, analysts say it’s continuity of good governance.
The airport
In 2013, President Jonathan reached an agreement with the Chinese government over a $500m loan facility to build four international airport terminals in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt. Works, according to Blueprint Weekend had continued with some of them completed and recently commissioned, especially the remodelled Abuja and Port Harcourt airports while works are ongoing at the Lagos airport.
It was gathered that with the failure of the airports remodelling project of the former administration, the Buhari administration decided to complete the repairs of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and the facelift of the terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
According to the general manager, Corporate Affairs of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, “Construction work is still ongoing at the four terminals that we were working on before the concession approval and everything will continue normally. The remodelling of these major ones will continue without any disruption. The other airports will be taken care of when the concession has taken place.”
The rail system
To many in the country, the knowledge about railway line was only limited to what one read in the newspapers until the current administration took on the challenge.
Therefore, even though the Jonathan administration began the Abuja-Kaduna; Lagos- Kano rail lines, works were not completed before the administration left in 2015. Blueprint Weekend learnt that the Abuja-Kaduna rail line which is now functional, is the first to be implemented as part of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge project.
There is also the 312km-long Lagos-Ibadan rail line is a double-track standard gauge line awarded to CCECC in August 2012 at the cost of $1.53 billion, which the present government is poised to see it completed.
Agriculture
The revolution started in agriculture under former President Jonathan has been upheld by the current administration. In 2016, Ogbe said the government was reviving the e-wallet system for fertiliser allocation and distribution started by Jonathan a year after it was suspended.
The decision to restart the e-wallet scheme, according to analysts, represents another economic policy reversal by Buhari administration which had earlier dumped the initiative. It was part of the growth enhancement support scheme introduced by the Jonathan administration to address the menace of middlemen in the fertiliser supply chain which experts identified as a challenge for farmers.
The policy, seen as one of the few successes of the administration, ensured the registration of about 4.2 million farmers within its first year. More than 10 million were said to have been registered at the height of its implementation. This also involves the gains in cassava and grain revolution across the country in recent times.
Analysts perspective
In summary, analysts are of the view that the people would be the better for it if a project inherited from a previous administration is completed by the succeeding administration. Beside cutting cost, such effort would also ensure smooth development of the nation’s infrastructure.
