By Alabi Williams
In the
beginning, all seemed very well with the All Progressives Congress (APC). As
the fortunes of the former ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dimmed,
that of the new coalition shone luxuriantly. Politicians began to fall over
themselves to partake in the assemblage, even as thousands of volunteers
outside the party system placed their bet on the party. Without being asked,
they turned social media campaigners for the election of candidate Muhammadu
Buhari.
It could be said that in the build up to the 2015 elections, Buhari and
his party had their palm kernels cracked on their behalf by a benevolent
spirit. APC had little to do to clinch victory, as PDP had burnt its credit so
prodigally that it was only a matter of time for it to unravel. At home and
abroad, enthusiasts were just waiting for elections to come and go. The frenzy
was so pervasive that the government of Goodluck Jonathan had to device some
means to adjust voting dates, and postpone day of reckoning. Even that did not
stop chants of Sai Baba!
Eventually, Buhari won
and was crowned on May 29, 2015. It was time to unbundle the wrap of campaign
promises, especially that of making one naira equal to one dollar. It turned
out that there was a huge difference between asking for votes and delivering on
promises. It turned out that beyond the excitement of winning election, there
has to be proven capacity to comprehend the issues and conceptualise a process
to confront them. That is where a good number of Nigerians, particularly
friends of the APC in the social media, were forced to part ways with
government.
Today, the level of
discontent with the Buhari government is frightening. The quantity of bile
social media ‘journalists’ spew and its toxic content is enough to send a
chicken-hearted president on permanent bed rest. The rumour mill is agog with
very offensive content, and you wonder how fast the APC has frittered away the
credibility and trust on which it rode to power. And they are not about to back
off, as the economy is not showing signs of quick recovery. Their anger is that
they were conned by the ruling party, into believing that once they assist to
send the other government away, Nigeria
will become an el dorado
When Buhari came onboard, reflex action on the part of some agencies of
government created mirages that were thought to be early signs of the change
that was promised. Electricity supply became relatively more assured; supply of
PMS at the former price of N87 became readily available, and Nigerians were
beginning to reenact the social discipline that hallmarked Buhari’s first
coming, as military head of state. Effortlessly, and without raising a hand,
things seemed to work and the party in government attributed that to be the
body language of Buhari in action. They began to celebrate with much noise.
But after 100 days in
office, that optical illusion melted and the reality became that Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria
But when a civil society group, which had taken note of promises
dished out during campaigns, attempted an assessment of the first 100 days,
this government took serious umbrage at it. Even prominent commentators, who
used to be friends of APC, were not spared, when they differed on the manner
the war against corruption was pursued. Everybody is happy with the war against
corruption. It is a war on behalf of all Nigerians. But fair-minded persons are
only asking that it be total and that there should be no sacred cows. There
seems to be sacred cows in this government, as only campaign funds of the PDP
are being scrutinised. Even previous prominent players in PDP, who crossed over
to APC are being shielded. The social media crowd knows this and they, too, are
not happy. They want fairness.
As a political party,
the APC did not have sufficient time to blend and do proper appraisal of its
future. Between 2013 and the general elections in 2015, the main item on its
agenda was how to chase PDP out of power. Issues of corporate governance were
put in the waiting tray to be dealt with later. But it seemed too late, once
government had been formed, particularly in this clime, where wining an
election equals wining a ‘war’ and carting home the booties. It was in the
sharing of booties that APC first ran into stormy weather; first in the
National Assembly and later in ministerial appointments. The young Turks in the
party seem not to have much time for protocols. While the elders prevaricated,
Bukola Saraki and his group foisted a sharing formula that left the leadership
gasping for breath. That remained an injury the party has been unable to treat.
From there, they moved to the Code of Conduct Tribunal to unearth fossilised
materials with which to nail Saraki. It has been ding-dong ever since, causing
tremors in the party.
At the
level of ministerial appointments, Buhari kept the list so close to his chest
that no party chieftain or investor could put in a word for his godson. He even
warned that his nominees would be quarantined from the itchy fingers of
godfathers. When the list was unveiled, it turned out that Buhari was not
sincere with the other legacy partners, who joined to make APC a reality. While
he fenced off others, he went far into history to bring onboard members of the
defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), those with whom he toiled in
wilderness in search of the ultimate trophy.
That was not the major sore point Nigerians had with his team. It
was the fact that Buhari laboured for months to select a team that was majorly
lack-lustre, apart from a few round pegs in seemingly round holes. Before then,
he had handpicked a kitchen cabinet that was patently ethnic and failed to take
into account Nigeria
In terms of actual
delivery, Nigerians lost their cool, when the price of PMS had to balloon from
the pocket friendly region the PDP government left it to a purported market
dictated price of N145. It is still not clear, where the pump price will settle
at the end of 2017; and whether the petrol market will be deregulated or not.
The policy
on forex is even more frustrating. There are more than 10 different exchange
rates, depending on who is buying and from which source. The opacity in the
forex market is frustrating for businesses and manufacturers. Thousands of jobs
have been terminated in banks and manufacturing sector. Electricity generation
has dipped from the manageable heights of 5, 000MW to some miserly 2,000MW. All
of that facilitated the recession that was announced by government mid last
year.
The
situation with internal security is appalling, as marauding herdsmen have
sacked many homelands. Kidnappers have become brazen, as they now negotiate
with Police on behalf of their victims. The situation in the Niger Delta has
not shown signs of denouement, because government seems reluctant to negotiate.
Yet, the entire economy is anchored on oil sourced from the region.
Buhari has lost the
capacity to enchant and that is affecting governance. His teaming lovers in the
social media have turned against him. They no longer believe he is invincible.
They want justice and they want better life. Government should not dismiss them
or threaten them with DSS. You cannot threaten Facebook with DSS. Let
government go back to drawing board and make Nigeria Work Again!
*Mr. Williams is a
commentator on public affairs
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