Exactly eight days ago, President Muhammadu Buhari regaled Nigerians with a long list of what he called extraordinary achievements by his government. Everyone listened with amazement and some dose of embarrassment. The extent to which the government implemented its own key projects and programmes sounded like a piece of magic. Buhari made his claims at the final Ministerial Performance Review Retreat where he evaluated the progress made by his government over the past seven years. Based on that self-appraisal, Buhari concluded he has commendably discharged his government’s obligations to the nation.
Specifically, Buhari said his government had recorded remarkable successes in agriculture, the economy, infrastructure, security, health and anti-corruption. He also claimed that more than 3,800 kilometres of new roads had been constructed across the country. What a magical performance. Please, clap for the President.
That was not the end of the surprises. Buhari also said the proposed Nigeria Air, a project that had stalled for years, would commence commercial flights before the end of the year. Keep in mind we have just two months and about one week to the end of the year. That is definitely another fairy-tale feat.
It is somewhat odd that long before Buhari heaped accolades on himself for achievements no one could sight, his wife, Aisha, went on record on Friday, September 30, 2022, to apologise publicly to Nigerians for the harsh economic conditions and worsening state of security in the country under the leadership of her husband. At the 62nd Independence Day Special Juma’at Prayer and Public Lecture, Aisha Buhari said: “The regime might not have been a perfect one, but I want to seize this opportunity to seek forgiveness from the Ulamas and Nigerians in general. We all need to work together to achieve a better Nigeria.”
Despite the apology, Buhari boasted to the audience 17 days later: “In recognition of the importance of critical infrastructure in economic development and the quest of this administration to leave a lasting legacy, we have implemented high-impact projects across the length and breadth of the country that meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. Some of the notable achievements include the completion of 326km Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line and railway ancillary facilities; the completion of over 156.5km Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway modernisation project with extension to Lagos Port, Apapa…”
Buhari said further: “On road projects, this administration has constructed 408km of roads; 2,499km of Sukuk roads and maintenance of 15,961km of roads across the country. Key among these projects are the construction of 1.9km 2nd Niger Bridge linking Anambra and Delta states with 10.30km approach road…”
Strangely, Nigerians are yet to see how these road and bridge constructions have improved the poor network of roads in the country.
Let’s take the Second Niger Bridge as an example. The government said weeks ago that the bridge would be completed and ready for use before the end of this year. Days later, the government reversed that statement and said the bridge would now be completed for use by 2024. And then came Babatunde Fashola who complicated the claims when he said the Second Niger Bridge has been “completed, ready for public use soon”. That was an interesting claim. I have never heard that kind of claim before now. It is either a bridge has been completed and is being used or it is yet to be completed. There is nothing like a project being “completed, ready for public use soon”.
Quite simply, the Second Niger Bridge has not been completed and has not been opened for public use. We have heard enough of the government’s unsound propaganda.
When you look at the list of the government’s achievements, you must wonder whether Buhari has just returned to Nigeria from the cyberspace, or whether he has just woken up from a deep slumber, or whether he has been on an extended long vacation outside the country. What is clear is that Buhari has been fed inaccurate information by his ministers of propaganda. And he has taken that hype to the public to celebrate his government’s successes. How many times did Buhari visit some of those project sites?
Governments across the world usually leave it to their citizens to assess how far they have travelled in providing essential services to the people. However, in Nigeria, the government has taken on the role of the proverbial lizard that fell from an iroko tree, looked around, shook its head, and consoled itself by saying that, if no one applauded it, it would extol itself. Spectators cheered derisively.
If Buhari wanted to receive a fair, accurate and honest assessment of his government’s projects, whether completed, uncompleted, or fictional, the people best positioned to undertake that appraisal are ordinary people who constitute victims of Buhari’s government. These are the people who have been pauperised for nearly eight years since the government was elected in 2015.
So, when Buhari claimed unapologetically that he had provided the basic needs of citizens during his two terms in office, it felt like he had emerged from a session with a hypnotist. And we know the capacity of hypnotists to twist people’s sense of reasoning to make them believe in fantasy. Public opinion suggests Buhari’s exaggerated claims of the achievements of his government were closer to daydreaming than a true reflection of the truth on the ground.
Buhari’s claims came against the background of an onslaught of public criticisms of the undistinguished performance of the government. For nearly eight years, citizens watched their living standards go from bad to worse, and to unsalvageable. For more than seven years, the government abandoned numerous promises it made in 2015 to turn Nigeria into an El Dorado.
The promise made to bring the value of the local currency to be at par with the United States dollar turned out to be a scam. Look at the exchange rate of the naira today. Rather than be at par with the dollar, the naira seems to be running its own course to stay away from all other currencies in the foreign exchange market.
Currently, life in Nigeria is no better than the life of animals struggling in the jungle to find food to sustain themselves. At home and outside their home, Nigerians are terrified of being abducted, killed or seized and used as a bargaining coupon demanded by bandits and kidnappers.
Today, there are no decent hospitals in Nigeria equipped to look after the healthcare of citizens. Privileged officials travel regularly to overseas medical facilities for medical checks. Ironically, every year the government budgets for the upgrade of the medical facility to be used by the President, Vice-President, their families and other top government officials. No one bothers to use the facility because everyone knows the money has gone elsewhere.
Public university education has collapsed. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has just called off an eight-month strike that seriously disrupted the academic calendar and left students, their parents and even the university teachers perplexed.
Buhari’s bizarre self-appraisal of his government raises the questions: Has Buhari ever listened to the people, consulted with them, felt their pains, engaged with them, interacted with them and empathised with them?
Future generations would remember Buhari in various ways. He would be remembered for the dreadful state of insecurity across the country. He would be assailed because he did nothing to alleviate economic hardships. He treated with apathy the widespread bloodbath by terrorists and callous herdsmen spread across the country.
While crooked elements in the society engaged in ritual murders, kidnappings, banditry, rampant looting of the public treasury and indiscriminate adultery by religious and irreligious men and women, the government looked unworried. Surely, no government would like to be associated with or remembered for these criminal activities.