6 things Buhari failed to do in 100 days

President Muhammadu Buhari, on September 6, marked the first 100 days in his second term administration. The tenure kicked off on May 29.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on September 6, while interacting with journalists in Abuja, praised the performance of the President. “President Buhari can beat his chest to say I have started well, I have started fast. You cannot call him Baba go slow now, this time he is Baba fast,” he stated.

The main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through Kassim Afegbua, however, argues that apart from the inauguration of Ministers, “nothing has happened in the last 100 days.”

John Chukwu of Ripples Nigeria reviews the agenda the platform set for Buhari and presents 6 things the President  failed to do within 100 days of his Next Level administration.

1. Failed to declare assets publicly

Nigerians looked forward to seeing President Buhari declare his assets publicly, just like Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, but he failed to do so.

The President had on May 27, 2019 received his asset declaration form from the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). Acknowledging the document from Chairman of CCB, Prof. Muhammed Isah, the Buhari promised to deal quickly with it, alleging that he realizes he would be subject of attacks once done with public service in 2023. The President’s assets remain a secret document, putting a dent on the government’s transparency claims.

2. Failed to sack Service Chiefs

Following the continuous rise in the level of insecurity in the country, it was anticipated that the President would, as a matter of great urgency, overhaul the country’s security architecture, beginning with the sack of service chiefs. This he has failed to do.

The service chiefs here include: the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Defense Intelligence, National Security Adviser, Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air Staff.

Their sack, it was believed, would inject fresh blood and ideas into the fight against the never-ceasing Boko Haram insurgency, killings and maiming of unsuspecting Nigerians by herdsmen, as well as quench the fire of banditry across the Northern States of Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and Kaduna.

3. Failed to implement Govt/ASUU MoU

On May 21, 2019, the Minister of Education, Prof. Adamu Adamu, in a valedictory press conference in Abuja said that the federal government had approved an additional N25 billion as Earned Academic Allowances for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Unimpressed, ASUU, a day after Adamu’s revelation, argued that the said amount was mere tokenism as it only represented ‘part payment’, and not a significant step in resolving the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached with the Federal Government.

In 2017, the Buhari-administration had said it did not abandon the MoU wherein it acknowledged that the government would release N1.3 trillion over a period of six years. The government was expected to release about N220 billion each year.

However, the President has not, in the last 100 days, given serious attention to the full implementation of the ASUU MoU. This has prompted worries within the academia that ASUU might embark on another strike and wreak disruptions on the school system.

Read also: Buhari’s ministers all matter…but see why these 4 have the biggest headache

4. Failed to facilitate the release of Leah Sharibu

Leah Sharibu marked her 16th birthday in Boko Haram’s captivity on May 14, 2019. It has been two years in the den of her captors. The global outrage is unceasing. This is especially so as the captors targeted her because of her Christian belief. Leah’s abduction leaves a huge dent on Nigeria’s international image as it relates to defense of human rights.

Though the Buhari administration has continued to assure that it was doing its best to ensure the release of Leah, the promises have come to nothing. Not-too-long ago, Leah was reported dead. However, the Presidency was quick to dismiss such reports. Leah remains in captivity despite promises to secure her freedom.

5. Failed to stop medical tourism

On May 14, 2019, House of Representatives members killed a proposed law in its third reading which was meant to stop public officials from going overseas for medical treatment. The lawmakers did not allow the bill to scale through on the basis that it would discriminate against elected officials.

The disappointment has become a subject of wide debate. The President had substantially been guilty of this, having spent hundreds of days seeking medical attention in Britain.

The argument had been that a lot of financial resources was being frittered by the country on medical tourism, a major set back at efforts aimed at strengthening the nation’s health institutions.

In quashing the bill, the House argued that it amounted to denial of individual rights as enshrined in the constitution. As plausible as this sounds, it is certain that medical tourism cannot be a sustainable venture.

President  Buhari, however, failed to give another life to the dead bill by taking advantage of the numerical strength enjoyed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the current 9th National Assembly. It could be recalled that the President, during his presidential campaign in the build up to the 2015 general election, promised to make medical tourism a thing of the past. He has continuously failed to fulfil this promise.

6. Failed to initiate a new constitution

On May 10, 2019, President Buhari, against every prediction, made a call for a return to true federalism. “We remain committed to improving the point to say that true federalism is necessary at this juncture of our political and democratic evolution,” he said.

The President, in his first 100 days, did not walk this talk as he failed to set the ball rolling for the actualization of a new constitution and restructuring of the federation.

His failure to initiate a new constitution is even more pronounced as he had already committed to a restructuring of the federation given that the APC had even set up a committee, headed by Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai as Chairman, which had since proposed 12 areas to the APC leadership for consideration.

 

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