After 8 years of Buhari’s govt: 92 chibok girls still missing

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

The Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, will be passing the mantle of power to the next president who will be ruling the country for the next 4 years in a couple of days. In expectations of what the next government has in plans for the citizens, Nigerians are contemplating which government does better between the past government of Goodluck Jonathan (2010 – 2015) and the government of Muhammadu Buhari, (2015 – 2023) which he is going to hand over on May 29, 2023.

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 – 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari, whom many Nigerians believed, is the messiah to take the citizens to their promise.

It would be recalled that one of the reasons why many Nigerians alleged that Jonathan’s government failed woefully was connected to the rampant Boko Haram killings. The group sets off its first killing in June 2011 when they bombed UN headquarters in Abuja, killing more than 23 and leaving more than 80 injured. On the night of April 14-15, 2014, about 276 Christian female students aged between 16-18 were kidnapped by Boko Haram from Government Girls Secondary School in a town called Chibok in Borno state. Within hours of their kidnapping, 57 managed to escape, until May 2016 when the first girl was found. Nine years after, 98 girls are still being held by Boko Haram.

Nigerians voted Jonathan out because Buhari, who is a past Major General, promised to bring back Chibok School Girls by using his past military rescue experience. After 8 years of Buhari as the president and the chief Army Commander, 92 Chibok girls are still missing. It was reported that the parents of the abducted girls and the members of the Chibok community have tried to urge President Buhari to fulfil his 2015 campaign promises.

In terms of corruption and wastage of resources, Jonathan sold petrol at N87 while Buhari is selling at an average of N250 and above. Jonathan budgeted N1 billion for feeding at the state house in Abuja in 2011 and N517 million in 2015 while Buhari budgeted N1.7 billion for feeding. Jonathan used N1.4 billion to service all presidential jets in 1 year, while Buhari used N6 billion in 6 months. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, Jonathan created over 5.8 million jobs in 5 years, while Buhari fired over 2 million workers in 8 months. In the Naira exchange rate, Jonathan left dollars at N185 to $1, presently naira sells at N750 to $1.

As President Buhari is gradually packing his bags out of the presidential villa, did he fulfil his promises on infrastructure and all spheres of national life?

In 2019, President Buhari approved a special fund of 10 billion naira for the reconstruction of the Enugu Airport Runway, it was completed and reopened in August 2020. Under Buhari, several bills have been passed into law including the Electoral Act Bill 2022, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON Acts of 2019 and 2021. Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control ( NCDC) Establishment Act 2018.

On infrastructure, with legislative reform, Nigeria is seeing under Buhari’s watch some ambitious federal infrastructure programmes, such as The Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria, which was established in February 2021 with N1 trillion provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Buhari administration constructed 156km Lagos – Ibadan standard rail completed and commissioned. 8.72km extension to Lagos – Ibadan Rail line, to Lagos port complex, completed in 2021. 186km Abuja – Kaduna Gauge Rail completed and commissioned in 2016. 327km Itakpe – Warri standard Gauge rail was completed and commissioned in 2020 after 33 years of construction. There was also full rehabilitation of the railway village, Agbor, as well as the construction of a Railway Ancillary facilities yard in Agbor. Completion of the E-ticketing concession process on the Abuja-Kaduna route in 2021, which generates revenue not less than N200 million to N400 million. On road constructions, the presidential infrastructure development fund invested over a billion dollars in flagship projects, such as the Lagos – Ibadan expressway completion in 2022, and the Abuja-Zaria-Kano express and and first phase completion in 2023. He also completed a new terminal for International Airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt. In addition, the Lekki seaport, the first new seaport in Nigeria in decades also completed.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari will leave office on May 29, 2023, after completing two 4-year tenure as the president. The president has his admirers, no doubt, he also has his detractors and also those that did not care if he perform well or not. Buhari fueled the perception Nigerians have towards him of being tribalist with his double standards when dealing with Militia Fulani Herders and secessionist leaders like Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho. Buhari failed in the health sector, human rights and education. It would be recalled that university students spent over 9 months at home due to the strike.

The new president-elect, Bola Tinubu, and his cabinet have a lot of work to do. It will not be easy, and it was never meant to be. Part of what he has to focus on is uniting the nation, tackling corruption, debt management, and strengthening institutions are immediate concerns because the challenges met by the president in 2015 remain.