Goodbye, Buhari!
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In three days, on Monday, May 29, 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari will give power to the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the Eagle Square in Abuja.It has been a difficult time for the regular people who haven't had much to be happy about. Buhari became president in 2015 after a fair election organized by his predecessor, President Goodluck Jonathan. However, this time, the 2023 election was chaotic and considered the worst in our history. Despite that, Buhari sees it as his greatest accomplishment.
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Buhari did not meet people's expectations in three main areas: security, economy, and fighting corruption. He claimed to have recruited 60,000 new soldiers, but he didn't tell us how many troops we lost to insecurity, particularly due to Boko Haram terrorism. While Boko Haram has been weakened, new terrorist groups like ISWAP and bandits have emerged.The Buhari government never officially recognized Fulani herdsmen militias as a security threat, even though they have been killing people unchecked in Southern Kaduna, Plateau State, and Benue State. These militias received special protection and were allowed to act freely.
Even though we recovered from the economic downturn in 2016 and 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic, we didn't have a strong plan to improve people's lives. We had a low income, a lot of oil theft, and we couldn't produce as much oil as we should according to OPEC. As a result, the Buhari government had to borrow money and rely on the Central Bank of Nigeria to cover its expenses.
Even so, the government wasted a lot of money on questionable programs that gave cash under certain conditions instead of using it to improve productivity. The government's efforts to fight corruption lost momentum after a few years, and now the Buhari government is considered one of the most corrupt in history.
One of the worst things about Buhari's government was the extreme favoritism and disregard for the constitutional principle of fairness and equality. The government's troops killed people based on their religion (Shiites), ethnicity (alleged Biafran separatists), and their demand for better governance (the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre).
The media were scared and silenced, the judicial system was harassed, and the National Assembly, led by Ahmed Lawan, just agreed with everything the government said. The government had too much control over everything.
However, Buhari did make some progress in building infrastructure. They finished projects that were started during the Obasanjo regime, like the Second Niger Bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Many airports were also improved.
The government recently released a long list of what they claimed were their accomplishments, but these achievements didn't really improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians. We cannot give the government a passing grade.
