Newsy Diary: June 2015

Buhari being sworn in as President on May 29, 2015

In this report, LEKE BAIYEWU examines the activities of President Muhammadu Buhari against the expectations of Nigerians

President Muhammadu Buhari has spent 10 days in office. Since he was sworn in on May 29, Nigerians have kept calling on his administration to pay attention to aspects of the economy that directly affect them. According to analysts, the new administration is bearing a huge burden of expectations.

Apparently to end the curiosity in some quarters, Buhari had set the first tone of his administration in his inaugural speech, where he stated that he belonged to everybody and belonged to nobody. Beyond his campaign promises, his inaugural speech raised some issues which were in line with his campaign that was hinged on providing security, rebuilding the economy and fighting corruption.

The speech was widely seen by analysts as revealing the new President’s knowledge of the wrongs with the country. In it, he listed several challenges his administration is ready to tackle.

For instance, after thanking the governments and people of Cameroon, Chad and Niger for committing their armed forces to fighting Boko Haram in Nigeria, Buhari said, “I also wish to assure the wider international community of our readiness to cooperate and help to combat threats of cross-border terrorism, sea piracy, refugees and boat people, financial crime, cybercrime, climate change, the spread of communicable diseases and other challenges of the 21st century.”

President Buhari noted that Nigeria was faced with “enormous challenges.” He said “insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages” were his 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,” he stated.

Specifically on the economy, the President said no single cause could be identified to explain the country’s poor economic performance over the years than the power situation.

“It is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less,” he lamented. Buhari noted that continuous tinkering with the structures of power supply and distribution, as well as the $20b expended since 1999 had only brought darkness, frustration, misery and resignation among Nigerians.

“We will not allow this to go on. Careful studies are under way during this transition to identify the quickest, safest and most cost-effective way to bring light and relief to Nigerians,” he stated.

Beyond power problems, unemployment is another issue the President said he would address. He said his administration intended to attack the problem “frontally” through revival of agriculture, solid minerals, mining, as well as credits to small and medium scale businesses to kick start these enterprises. “We shall quickly examine the best way to revive major industries and accelerate the revival and development of our railways, roads and general infrastructure,” Buhari said.

Furthermore, the President sought the support, understanding and cooperation of labour unions, organised private sector, the press and civil society organisations. He also appealed to employers and workers alike to unite in raising productivity so that everybody would have the opportunity to share in increased prosperity.

The president said, “My appeal for unity is predicated on the seriousness of the legacy we are getting into. With depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices, leakages and debts, the Nigerian economy is in deep trouble and will require careful management to bring it round and to tackle the immediate challenges confronting us, namely; Boko Haram, the Niger Delta situation, the power shortages and unemployment, especially among young people. For the longer term we have to improve the standards of our education. We have to look at the whole field of Medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.”

To him, the most urgent security concern is the insurgency. Although he acknowledged the progress security forces had made in the last few weeks, Buhari said security forces had made progress in the last few weeks, victory could be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State. He said, “The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain (there) until Boko Haram is completely subdued.”

Expectedly, the Buhari-led administration would not claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and other hostages in the sect’s captivity. “This government will do all it can to rescue them alive,” the President assured.

In what Buhari considered as the genesis of Boko Haram insurgency, the Islamic sect is “a typical example of small fires causing large fires,” while its “eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny following” was given posthumous fame and following by his extrajudicial murder by the Police. He added that, “Since then, through official bungling, negligence, complacency or collusion, Boko Haram became a terrifying force, taking tens of thousands of lives and capturing several towns and villages covering swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory.”

While dismissing Boko Haram as “a mindless, godless group who are as far away from Islam as one can think of,” the President called that when the group had been subdued, his administration intended to conduct a study to determine the sect’s origins, remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, the international connexions to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of “this evil.”

For now, Buhari said, the Armed Forces would be fully charged with prosecuting the fight against Boko haram. He said his administration would overhaul the rules of engagement to avoid human rights violations in operations, and improve operational and legal mechanisms for disciplinary steps to be taken against proven human right violations by the forces.

The President noted that Boko Haram was not only the security issue bedevilling the country. According to him, the spate of kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle rustlings all help to add to the general air of insecurity in the land.

In the last 10 days, the Buhari-led administration seems to have focused its attention on security. Observers of the activities of the new administration have described it as “slow and steady.” They noted the administration had yet to take shape while its direction remained unclear.

At the inauguration gala President Buhari appealed to Nigerians to bear with his administration as he and the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo began their work of reconstructing the country in earnest. He noted that the appeal became necessary due to the collateral damage done to the system before the new team came on board. The President added that the enormous damage inflicted on the country could easily be appreciated by comparing the nation’s infrastructure in 1999 with what currently prevails.

Buhari also decried high rate of youth unemployment which, he said, represented about 60 per cent of the country’s population. According to him, the country is sitting on a keg of gun powder with the prevailing unpleasant situation. To address the issue, the President said his administration would focus on agriculture and mining to engage some of the unemployed youths.

He asked Nigerians to pray for the country more than they were doing, saying, “Nigeria prays a lot; we need to even pray the more for luck so that the expectations our people have, especially the youths, would be met.”

On day two of the administration, President Buhari, while reacting to reported cases of VIPs being stopped at the airports, said no law-abiding Nigerian had been barred from travelling outside the country.

A statement issued by the then Director, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Garba Shehu, said, “Officials of past administrations, including ministers, are entitled to their full rights and privileges under the constitution and must not be subjected to any undue harassment and intimidation at the airports or at other points of entry and exit.”

The President directed all agencies under the government to run their affairs in full compliance with extant rules.

It would be recalled that the President, in his inaugural speech, had dismissed all fears that his administration would witch-hunt former government officials in the last administration. He said, “A few people have privately voiced fears that on coming back to office I shall go after them. These fears are groundless. There will be no paying off old scores. The past is prologue.”

A day after their inauguration, the Presidency announced that President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo had declared their assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau as required by the Nigerian Constitution.

The Constitution states in Chapter VI Section 140 that a person elected to the Office of the President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in the Constitution.

The duo, however, failed to make the contents public as they promised the electorate during their electioneering campaign.

While the Presidency claimed the declaration was in fulfilment of constitutional requirements and campaign promises, analysts believed that both Buhari and Osinbajo had not done anything spectacular because the contents were not made public. According to this school of thought, the constitutional requirement had been fulfilled while the moral expectation – that it would be done publicly – had not been met.

Last Sunday – day three of the administration – Buhari named the President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, Mr. Femi Adesina and Shehu as his spokesmen. Adesina, who was the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun newspapers, will serve as Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, while Shehu, was the President of the NGE 16 years ago, will be Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.

The President also approved the appointment of Mr. Lawal Kazaure as the State Chief of Protocol.

The set of appointments was the first by the new administration, raising the anxiety over those who will form Buhari’s cabinet.

It was learnt that the President was delaying the formal announcement of all his appointees until zonal balancing is ensured. Sources said the President was being mindful of the constitutional provision (Section 14 sub-section (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria), which stipulates respect for federal character.

It was further learnt that Buhari, who appears set to appoint a former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Abdurrahman Danbazau (retd.), as the National Security Adviser, was also contemplating appointing Col. Hameed Ali (retd.) as his Chief of Staff. The names of former governors of Lagos and Ekiti states, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and Dr. Kayode Fayemi, respectively, are also being touted in some quarters.

Last Monday, President Buhari held a closed-door meeting with the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), in what appeared to be his first action on the spate of insecurity especially in the North-East.

The meeting was allegedly aimed at assessing the security situation in the country against the backdrop of renewed attacks by Boko Haram. The meeting also discussed ways of relocating the military Central Command to Maiduguri, as directed by the President in his inaugural speech.

On Tuesday, President Buhari requested the approval of the National Assembly to appoint 15 Special Advisers.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate approved the proposal.

Same Tuesday, President Buhari met with the service chiefs, where they briefed him on the security situation in the country. They were appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan on January 16, 2014.

The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, after the meeting, said the service chiefs succeeded in providing the President insights into the security situation of the country. He added that they were working out the modalities for the relocation of Command Centre against Boko Haram to Maiduguri.

“On the relocation of the command centre, we are the ones to go back and work on it. Soon, it will be carried out, it is a presidential directive, it must be carried out, and we must do that as quickly as possible,” Jibrin said.

Those who attended the meeting included the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu; and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase.

Between Wednesday and Thursday, Buhari visited Niger and Chad, his first official trip after becoming President, to seek their cooperation to succeed in the campaign against the terrorist group.

While with President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger Republic during his visit on Wednesday, a statement by Shehu, quoted Buhari as saying he has absolute confidence in the ability of the Nigerian military to bring an end to the insurgency.

He said, “My administration will bring new impetus and a renewed commitment to the efforts to wipe out the menace of the Boko Haram insurgents. As a first step, we have directed the relocation of the command post of the counter-insurgency operations to Maiduguri until such a time that the insurgency is completely defeated.

Mahamadou was also quoted as telling Buhari that, “Your decision to move the military command of Nigeria to the North-East has further strengthened our conviction that the war against terrorism will soon come to an end.”

Meanwhile, Boko Haram has carried out seven suicide bomb attacks in Borno and Adamawa within the period under review.

In the latest video Boko Haram released on Tuesday, which did not show its leader, Abubakar Shekau, the sect rejected claims from Nigerian military that it had been routed by a four-nation offensive. The unidentified speaker, who obscured his face with a headscarf, said “Most of our territory is still under our control” in the 10-minute message. He also dismissed claims that the insurgents had been defeated as “false propaganda.”

While assessing Buhari’s efforts in tackling the insurgency in the North-East so far, a former Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Brig.-Gen. Williams Obene (retd.), said it was necessary for any government that wanted to succeed to give security the utmost priority.

Obene said, “Any leader that is worth his call must make the sect his number one priority. It is not out of place to prioritise security and Boko Haram is the greatest challenge among other security problems that we have as a nation.

“It is good that he has made it a priority; the previous government did not think it could give it the top priority. With his military background, the right actions will be taken.”

Speaking on the planned relocation of the military’s command centre to Maiduguri, Obene said it was a presidential directive and soldiers were meant to take orders. He noted that Buhari in his wisdom, asked the military to relocate the command centre to that place.

He said, “My take is that it was done out of frustration on the part of Mr. President because he had watched from the sideline the lackadaisical way the operations had been handled.

“Troops are dying, welfare is not met, there are cases of indiscipline and running away from the frontline (of battles) and myriads of problems; and the command centre just sits in Abuja and its impact is not felt. ‘Go to the epicentre and bring out the novice of the field commanders there.’ That is a presidential directive and I think the military authorities are working towards it.”

Obene, however, noted that relocating the command centre to the battlefront had its demerits. According to him, “That strategy, to a large extent, will help,”adding that it comes with some implications.”

The retired general pointed out that there was no war situation that did not have implications. He said what made war against terrorism worse was the asymmetric way of fighting.

He said, “In a conventional setting, the presence of a commander at the frontline (of war) normally changes the dynamics of the situation and boosts the morale of troops. The commander does not go there empty handed; as he goes, equipment and materials that will boost the morale of troops go ahead of him – that is in a regular, conventional setting.

“In asymmetric warfare, the commanders have not been able to influence the battlefield to a large extent. Moving the command centre to that place will likely have its problems. We are very optimistic and we believe they are on ground to be able to plan.”

Beyond security, there are other pending issues, mostly economic. According to observers of the economic challenges facing the masses, the protracted fuel scarcity and shortage in power supply — which climaxed at the close of the last administration and almost led to an economic collapse — require urgent decisions by the new government to address them.

In the wake of the growing expectations from the electorate, Buhari’s party, the All Progressive Congress, seem to have come to the President’s defence by asking Nigerians to be patient with him.

Buhari had met with members of the National Working Committee of the APC on Tuesday, after which the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, confirmed the fact that Nigerians’ expectations are extremely high and that the public expects a new dawn. He, however, noted that all the problems with the country could not be solved in one day.

“All the problems cannot be solved in one day but what Nigerians want is to be sure that we are getting it right and that we are on the proper path towards addressing their long frustration towards ameliorating their condition and that is what they will get,” he said.

A school of thought believes the Buhari-led administration had yet to do anything concrete since it began, therefore, it cannot be assessed by the electorate yet. The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Mr. Eze Onyekpere, for instance, said the new administration still had to settle down, with the appointment of those that would work, before it could be assessed. He argued that the President had yet to take concrete steps on security.

“On Friday, after he finished speaking, Boko Haram has been attacking since then and nothing has happened in terms response from the government. My view is that they should be given more time. But nothing has been done. They are still trying to settle down,” Onyekpere said.

The public affairs analyst pointed out that there was still a logjam on the appointment of those that would form Buhari’s cabinet. He said until the issue was resolved, the administration might not make headway.

Onyekpere further said, “They are still having internal problems of managing their victory in terms of appointing the people to work for them. You can see that they have not been able to resolve the issues with the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives. They said they did not want zoning but there is no way in Nigeria – in a society like Nigeria – there will always be zoning. If you say it (appointment) is on merit, and the President and the Vice President come from the same place, how will other components of Nigeria feel? Remember that there are different ethnic groups, religions and sensibilities. That is why our constitution provided for Federal Character.

“They have not been able to put their house together. When they do, and appoint officials, we can begin to assess them.