weeks ago and many Nigerians are looking forward to his inauguration.
People have faith in him apparently and hope that things will change
when he starts to run the country. This is actually a good thing.
But some people think the incoming president is overrated and that not
much will change in the next four years. Perhaps they're right.
Naij.com columnist, Adedayo Ademuwagun, explores four reasons why
Buhari might not deliver.
1. His party
The APC is not so different from the PDP and some people already fear
that they've kicked out a set of bad, corrupt leaders only to enthrone
another set of bad, corrupt leaders.
Buhari might not deliver because of the party he's in. Buhari himself
is a reputable person, but there are lots of people in the party who
are known to be corrupt people and who failed their people when they
were in government.
For example, Segun Oni fraudulently won the election in Ekiti years
ago and was sacked by the court in a widely controversial election.
Everyone knows that Tinubu is a powerful politician but also a corrupt
one. These are people who helped this man become president. How in the
world do we expect him to deliver with these people pulling the
strings in the background?
These people are disreputable people who have no business in the power
but should be in prison. It's like putting a man in white in a pool of
thick mud and expecting him to come out with something clean. The
ironic thing is Buhari wants to fight corruption. If he really wants
to do that, he must start from within his own party.
2. His leadership
The president of Nigeria isn't the president of any party or group. We
need a president that can act decisively. We need strong leadership in
Aso Rock. That's one thing that's clear. We need someone who can lead
the way forward and take decisions in the collective interest of the
Nigerian people, not in the interest of his party or ethnicity.
We need a president who will fire someone when it has to be done, who
will move to solve problems and show the people some real leadership
with an impact so strong the people can feel it even in the
grassroots.
Buhari has proven over time that he lacks strong leadership. He was
effectively a figurehead when he ruled in the 80s. Everyone knows
Idiagbon was the one calling the shots. People already think if he
wins, the vice president may be more active than him given his
leadership history.
3. His precedent
Buhari's got a bad precedent. He's inheriting a dysfunctional system
and he knows it. People expect him to fix the whole thing shortly, but
that's not going to happen soon obviously.
When Jonathan came in, he was in the same boat that Buhari is in right
now. He inherited a government that struggled to make an impact, a
government stifled by systemic corruption and inefficiency that have
built over decades. He didn't bring corruption or insecurity and all
those stuff. Those things had been there or had the foundation before
his advent. He simply took the fall for the problems.
He made some progress and tried to do some reforms and make things
better. For example, he set up new universities to cater for the
ballooning number of young people who want to get a university
education. He also tried to create jobs and support young people
through things like the YouWin program. The president should be
commended for things like these that he did.
But the problem is those things pale very much when considered
alongside the extent of the problems he inherited, so the problems
simply overshadowed his good works and then the rest is obvious.
Jonathan is stepping down from that position and Buhari will feel the
heat. There's Boko Haram, there's the economy. People who have so many
expectations of this Buhari government, such that he'll have to
perform highly well to meet even half the expectations of the people.
It could be predicted that in four years from now Nigerians will come
after Buhari and yearn for him to go home after four years when they
grow dissatisfied by his performance.
4. His popularity
Jonathan won the election by a landslide partly because he was the
most popular candidate on the ballot that time. From the east to the
west, people loved this new man who wears a hat and seems to have a
history of good fortune. But after a few bad policies, he lost a good
deal of that popularity and a lot of people who used to root for him
began to resent his government.
That's because his popularity was superficial. It lacked substance. It
wasn't built on solid rock. It was built on good luck and all that
kind of stuff. That's sinking sand.
Read more at naij.com:
http://www.naij.com/423027-4-reasons-buhari-might-not-deliver.html
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