On the one year anniversary of change

In truth, I didn’t want to write on the anniversary of this government but it is one full year since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in amid plenty optimism that by this time his administration will have transformed the land into one flowing with milk and honey. Let me just say that I never expected […]

In truth, I didn’t want to write on the anniversary of this government but it is one full year since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in amid plenty optimism that by this time his administration will have transformed the land into one flowing with milk and honey.
Let me just say that I never expected Muhammadu Buhari to create an ideal country between May 2015 and May 2016. Any barometer for measuring President Buhari’s performance should necessarily take into account the promises he made while campaigning for the exalted office he occupies. I am aware that Buhari promised to fight corruption, restore security and improve the economy.
The President is fighting corruption hard; this government will take credit for arresting people, civilian and uniformed, hitherto deemed untouchable. Almost all of them had claimed to serve the nation while stealing it blind. I only have disdain for people claiming that the fight against corruption is selective; as long as those being punished are selected from among the corrupt, it is okay by me. If Buhari selects all the corrupt persons inside the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and severely punishes them, he will still have instituted the fight against corruption; let PDP select their own corrupt elements and punish whenever they return to power. But we have got to start punishing the corrupt among us how so ever selected. And on the fight against corruption, I give Buhari A+. I am sure the days ahead will reveal those people and the ginormous amounts of money they stole while masquerading as patriots.
On the security front, President Buhari has also done quite a lot. The radical change effected in the security architecture of the country, the establishment of armed forces command centre in Maiduguri and improved motivation among our military have helped curtai the wanton murder and destruction by Boko Haram. Even the spate of suicide bombings in that part of the country has abated. The only people who will truly appreciate the new lease of life brought by the respite in the criminal activities of Boko Haram are mainly those in Maiduguri. I am aware that there are new security concerns about the actions of Fulani herdsmen in different parts of the country as well as escalating cases of cultism, kidnapping and robbery which threaten Buhari’s impressive security records.
However, it is true that the economy is fuddled. The economy mainly depends on a single commodity, petroleum, for foreign exchange. Since President Buhari ascension to power, the price of a barrel of crude oil has crashed from above $100 to below $30. It has only recently moved up to $50 but unfortunately, a criminal gang called the Niger Delta Avengers has given itself the assignment of creating a “red economy’ for Nigeria by sabotaging oil and gas pipelines with a view to bringing production and exportation to zero. For many of our wicked citizens, the singular motive of bringing this government down by starving it of resources for national development through the sabotage of oil export, overrides any other concern. They are ready to endure lack of electricity caused by the Niger Delta Avengers’ destruction of pipelines that supply gas to the power stations if this can bring down Buhari’s government. They don’t care what happens afterwards. Well, the matter of economy is not something entirely in the hands of this government. If the price of crude oil is at its nadir, and if the quantity exported is lower by 800, 000 barrels because some criminals choose so, surely Buhari cannot take all the blame. But I believe that in the next three years, regardless of the current atrocious events in Delta and Bayelsa states, this government will leave no stone unturned to change the direction of the Nigerian economy.
It is up to the Buhari government now to speed up the exploitation of solid minerals which abound in this country. It is up to this government to revolutionise agriculture to assure food security as well as export. This government must do everything humanly possible to wean our economy off dependence on crude oil export and there is no one angry enough to ensure this other than President Muhammadu Buhari.
But let there be no doubt that the destruction of our national oil assets is essentially an Ijaw conspiracy against the Buhari government. It is not a coincidence that the person Buhari defeated in the 2015 presidential election is one Dr Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw. Neither is it a coincidence that the criminal activities of Niger Delta Avengers are occurring an active ex-militant called Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo has been declared wanted by the court to come forward and clear himself of corruption charges. It is not a coincidence either that part of the demands of the Avengers is the reinstatement of the so called maritime university in Okerenko, Delta State which fetched Tompolo billions of Naira ostensibly for selling land on which it was to be located. Make no mistake about it; the destruction of these pipelines is replete with the hateful signature of Tompolo. The university issue is one of those awaiting Tompolo’s explanation in court.
I have no problem if Buhari crushes those agitating for Biafran Republic. I have no problem if Buhari liquidates the Niger Delta Avengers. However, I want to see President Buhari eliminate the murderous Fulani herdsmen spreading terror around the country. Notwithstanding the colluding conspiratorial circumstances, I will only be worried if by this time next year, President Muhammadu Buhari does not take corrupt prisoners, kick-start the economy, provide employment and rekindle hope in our national life.