PMB, so what have we gained after two years?

In a few days time, it would be two years that President Mohammadu Buhari was sworn in, that equally signaled the birth of his administration. Within the last two years, a lot of things have happened. It is in this wise, that one wants to look at the last two years and see how the administration has and what Nigerians have equally gained. Has President Buhari fulfilled his campaign promises to Nigerians? What really were his campaign promises? The answer to some of the questions could be found in the president’s inaugural speech on May 29, 2015.
In his speech, the president said, “at home we face enormous challenges. Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concerns. We are going to tackle them head on. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems… Boko Haram is not only the security issue bedeviling our country. The spate of kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle rustlings all help to add to the general air of insecurity in our land.”
As a nation, one of the challenges the country faced was the threat from the Boko Haram which made parts of North East a danger zone. Some local governments in the zone were under the control of the insurgents, despite the efforts of the Goodluck Jonathan administration to tackle the problem. An army general, President Buhari showed this with the vigour with which the insurgency group was tackled. From accounts, the dreaded Sambisa forest that had been the Boko Haram headquarters has been taken over by the Nigerian army; the sect has also been technically defeated as they have been rendered without base from which to operate from. The administration has done well in this respect, what with the gradual release of some of the over 200 chibok girls taken into captivity by the sect. Although some have said the entire chibok girl saga is a scam.
Though the president tackled the Boko Haram sect, but it seems the sect has been replaced by Fulani herdsmen in ferocity of attacks. The new marauders have extended the   reach. While Boko Haram was restricted to the North East, Fulani herdsmen have extended the frontier to every part of the country. They have carried out attacks in the South West with states like Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo bearing the brunt, South East with attacks in Enugu, Abia states, Calabar in the South South and Benue in the North Central. There are still many other communities ,that have come under attacks by the Fulani herdsmen. Till date, the administration has not been able to find answers to the menace, leading to insinuation that the attackers have become emboldened because the government has not taken decisive steps to tackle the problem. Incidentally, such attacks have not been so common in other parts of the north. One wonders why.
Kidnappers are still having a field day. Our security men only acts after ransom had been paid or the deed had been done.
Another major issue raised in the inaugural speech was corruption, which had assumed a major dimension and had taken a life of its own in the country. Even the most ardent critic of the administration would give the Buhari administration a pass mark in the way the issue had been tackled and is still being tackled. The Buhari administration’s desire to kill corruption in the country seems not in doubt, though a lot of people have criticized the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the anti-corruption agencies over its method in going after the suspects. Of particular concern is media trial of suspects. Many people have been pronounced guilty on the pages of newspapers but were later freed by the courts. Not only that, the drama that has trailed the anti- corruption agency’s operations has also been criticized by prominent Nigerians.
The opinion is that the EFCC can do with less drama in the discharge of its responsibility. Of major concern, especially among the opposition is what it described as a deliberate persecution of those who had been part of the previous administration. Their argument is that the EFCC is only targeting perceived opposition figures or members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while overlooking the accusations raised against people in the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are also serving in the government. As much as I would not want to comment on this accusation, the question is; did those people facing the EFCC steal our money?
In the area of economy, one would not say the administration has fared well. Nigeria is in recession.  More Nigerians are impoverished now than when the administration took over. Many companies have folded up, scores of people have lost their jobs, and there have been an unprecedented number of Nigerians committing suicide, which hitherto, had been unknown in the history of the country. Reasons for this high suicide rate have been traced to the poor economy.But the good news is the assurance that the country would soon be out of recession.
In tackling the power problem, not much had been achieved. There is much more of darkness than light being experienced across the country. The noise of generator especially at night has made the different parts of the country power generating communities with all the hazards to health. The Minister, Babatunde Fashola, during a meeting with stakeholders in Jos, Plateau sounded frustrated that in spite of the efforts being put in place, the results have not justified the efforts.  “I regret to announce that at best, this objective is not fully achieved or at worst is being frustrated by the distribution companies…,” the minister had said.
On the rule of law, the present administration, despite its good intention, has been accused of flagrant disobedience of court orders. Many opposition figures are still in detention despite having been granted bail by the court. Some are still in detention with no clear cut date of when they would have their day in court. Former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Sambo Dasuki is  in jail in spite of different courts granting him bail. Former Benue governor, Gabriel Suswam has just left detention after spending over two months. Former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Bala Mohammed, former Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu and a host of others are still behind bars. Though one is not trying to make a case for some of these people as a whole lot of them deserve their fate as their stewardship when they were in charge of the affairs of state is nothing to write home about, but prosecuting them should be in line with the laws of the land.
In the area of health, the fact speaks for itself, most government officials still embark on medical tourism because our hospitals are incapable of handling complex ailments. I will not go into the areas of appointment which have been described as lopsided, favouring a particular section of the country.
But in all the above, I still believe the administration can and will still do better than it is presently doing. It is still half time yet, a lot can still happen before the full time. The alternative to that should not be contemplated. Nigerians believe in President Buhari. They accept his incorruptibility. He loves the country, but there are fears that ill health could hamper his desire to give the country a turn around. In all these, we can only pray. Pray for the country and our leaders so that God will touch their heart and ensure they do the right thing. Prayer for the president, so he could have permanent healing in order to take the country to the land of promise. Pray, pray, pray.