Nigeria is currently in recession. That is the news headlines everywhere these days and President Buhari’s administration is working hard to curb corruption and waste of much needed resources, while at the same time, recover stolen money from past government officials. Even late last week, some of Nigerian assets, including aircrafts were listed for sale and the government may be selling more in weeks to come.
President Buhari arrives Germany
If all these are true, why then is President Buhari off to Germany on a state visit, hours after German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Africa on a tour that includes Ethiopia, Mali and Niger? I am sure that if someone in President Buhari’s office had asked, Chancellor would have included a visit to Nigerian in her itinerary, thus saving Nigeria the much needed associated expense of Buhari’s trip. Rumor has it, and I had expressed similar concerns on President Buhari’s frequent travels abroad, under every slight reasons. Perhaps the stress in Abuja is far to tolerable and there is a need for frequent gataways, but how do you justify it at this austere times?
Nigerians, who are expecting a miracle from what I have always considered a transitory leadership of President Buhari, are bound to be disappointed in the end, just as they were under Goodluck Jonathan. As a result, we should be prepared to accept the limitation of his capabilities.
At the end of the day, President Buhari will only offer Nigeria his limited portfolio of experiences as a former military leader in a civilian garb. We have seen this story played out several times before, under Obasanjo’s leadership. Every Nigerian who is interested in knowing what capabilities are available within President Buhari’s resume, should read the BBC interview of the current First Lady Aisha Buhari.
At the end of his term, President Buhari might be successful in curbing corruption engrained government agencies and possible recover some stolen funds, but in general, Nigeria will still remain anemic and below standard in meeting its basic needs, in areas of road development, energy, education and economic growth.
In my opinion, the fact that a former military leader is leading Nigeria today is a sign of failure, not progress. Nigeria should have a progressive and dynamic leader at the helm in the same caliber as the current Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola. If President Buhari is presented again in 2019 as the candidate for Presidency, we will continue on the same road to nowhere and remained tied to our flawed past.
While I do acknowledge all the efforts being proposed and initiated by President Buhari, I know that Nigeria and its population needs and deserve much more today, than he is capable of offering them.
