BUHARI'S FIRST 100 DAYS IN CHARGE: ACTIONS AND INACTIONS


On a sunny afternoon at Chatham House in London muhammadu buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive party told Nigerians in clear terms not to expect miracles in his first 100 days in office if he wins the election. He conveniently claimed that no one should expect miracles. But this was a man who has put so much hope in Nigerians; coming with the aura of bringing change to the whole country. Of course no one expects miracles or to make the G7 in 100 days but since time immemorial, presidents have been judged by their first 100 days as these are the days where the foundation for the whole administration is set. FDR when he was elected elected president hit the ground running and secured a landmark fifteen legislations within his first 100 days paving way for a recovery from a bad economy like the one in Nigeria. Thus, the birth of the 100 day marker. Since adopting the presidential system, Nigeria has also observed the 100 day marker.
Buhari hinged his campaign on three cardinal premises: waging a war against corruption, rolling back terrorism and revamping the economy. We will now look at what steps he has taken and those he has not in achieving this three promises.
ACTIONS
• BAIL OUT TO STATES
President Muhammadu Buhari approved bail-outs to 27 states of the federation. This was needed due to the arrears of salary that these states owed their workers. This comes as welcome news amidst the stories of a school teacher who hung himself when he couldn’t leave with the shame of being caught stealing a goat just to fend for his family. This was caused by the arrears of salary owed to him. In total, 338 billion was shared to these states to calm the situation down.
• POWER SUPPLY
Since his election to the office of President, there has been an increase in power supply with some areas almost recording a 24 hours power supply. This of course is good news but cannot be accredited alone to the Buhari administration as it is mostly due to the policies of the Jonathan administration.
• CREATION OF THE TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT
The Buhari administration has taken a huge step in stopping corruption by creating the treasury single account. This account replaces the 50 or so accounts where government funds were kept before and allowed leaders to cart away public funds. The treasury single account allows for only one account which is meticulously monitored by a committee.
• DISCRIMINATION IN APPOINTMENTS
After Buhari won the election, he made a disguised statement on him being against those who did not vote for him. Some said it was just talk and he didn’t mean it. However, we can see it in his appointments so far in his first 100 days in office. He has continuously ignored the south east area from any appointments ranging from NNPC chairman to special advisers. He also handed out 63 refinery licenses to individuals from northern extraction without one coming from the Niger Delta where most of the oil comes from. This is a clear sign of his thoughts towards the south East people.
• INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Buhari has shown a lot of commitment to the international relations of the country in his first 100 days in charge. Infact, in about one month plus in charge, he had already paid a official visit to Barack Obama and The United States. This and several other visits he has embarked on shows his commitment to improving the international relations of the country.
• ENVIROMENTAL CONCERN
Buhari has shown commitment to fighting environmental problems in the country like the ogoni land. He approved experts to survey the land and what it will take to restore the land from its fiendish state. The experts reported that though it will take several years, it was possible. However, Buhari has to find a short term solution to the problems of the residents of that community as they cant even plant any crop or food to fend for themselves.
• STRONG ATTACK ON BOKO HARAM
In the short time that Buhari has been in power, the Nigerian Army has recorded a number of victories over the Boko Haram Insurgents. These include capturing some of their members as well as taking back some of the cities they had earlier sacked.
INACTIONS
• FAILURE TO APPOINT MINISTERS
Buhari has failed to appoint ministers in his first 100 days in flagrant disregard for the constitution of the country. How can one man run the power, works, transportation, health, agriculture and other departments without getting things wrong? It is virtually impossible though people will say that it comes from his military background and it can work. Well, probably not to me for a man of 72 years of age. One of the values of a good president is being able to work along with people and not to do thing on your own and Buhari must learn that.
• EDUCATION
Buhari has made no effort to fulfil his promise to Nigerians that he will provide free education to them. This is a vital sector of the nation and he has made no effort to look into the problems facing it. Several children still roam the streets with no school to go to due to financial difficulties and it must be fixed. The future of this country must not be thrown away.
• RESCUE OF THE CHIBOK GIRLS
Since his entry into office, Buhari has made no attempt to look into or make efforts to rescue the missing chibok girls who were abducted by the Boko Haram sect. This was a promise which he so ardently made to the Nigerian people and most especially the parents of the kidnapped girls.
• FALL OF THE NAIRA
The fall of the Naira is also another area Buhari has not looked into in his first 100 days in office. This is a very important area considering that Nigeria goes into the international market and a lot and this could adversely affect the economy.


CONCLUSION
It is an inescapable conclusion that President Muhammadu Buhari has simply not done enough in his first 100 days in the presidency to achieve most of his campaign promises and bring a change to the country. Nigerians will be hoping that this is not a sign of things to come and his administration will improve later on.
WRITTEN BY:
OLAKANYE OLUWATOBI

If we could turn back the hands of time, Goodluck would be ours.

May God grant you a better job.

I'd just say power supply briefly improved when he took power and then fell apart again. AEDC gives us 2 hours of electricity every 3 days now. Nothing has changed, things are even worse.

The man is fast becoming a major disappointment and embarrassment. Perhaps he still got a little time to turn things around....

Just maybe