One year after, It’s time to move on to other issues

The one year anniversary of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first year in office has come and gone. The year was marked by blame game, excuses by politicians still stuck to the election mode. We have had enough of that now and I think it is time for us to move on to other issues, like governance.

In the last couple of weeks, the media have been awash with statements credited to President Buhari’s men as well as appearances to defend the administration’s performance or the lack of it in his first year.

The president met with editors of some media companies and subsequently media owners, all in a bid to tell them personally why things didn’t work as planned in his first year.

And not to be left out of the presidential parley, the State House Press Corp, including yours truly, also rendezvoused with Oga at the top. Over lunch, Mr. President told us almost the same story he told the editors. Well, maybe not. But he spoke of his first-year experience in Aso Rock.

He said he and his All Progressives Congress (APC) party had underrated the rot in the system after 16 years of the People’s Democratic Party being at the helm of national affairs.

Dwindling oil prices, zero fiscal buffers, corrupt officials and politicians who had stolen the nation dry, saboteurs who tried to curb his efforts, especially the budget cabal who caused so much confusion and disharmony, meant that his first year in office was a huge challenge for the new administration.

The last year was a very tumultuous one packed with nasty experiences, the President said. For Nigerians, the story couldn’t be any different. It was a roller coaster with many unexpected bumps. I am sure you’ve got your fair share of the difficulties in the country, especially the economy.

Mr. President regaled us with what he referred to as the nasty experience of “budget padding” and the impact it had on key ministers who were directly involved working daily, especially for those who had never served in government.

“ Some of them literally lost weight because they were sleeping less and eating less. Working on every kobo to be spent,” he said, adding that they would probably not recover from the stress of it all by the fourth quarter of the year. He felt more pity for Information Minister Lai Mohammed, who he said was always somewhere on TV explaining the performance of the government or the lack of it if you ask some people.

One other point he raised was that everybody expected the change mantra to work in their own way forgetting the realities facing the country.

While he spoke, a few questions kept lingering in my thoughts: “What is the way forward now? Where do we go from here?” While the president made his Democracy Day broadcast, I listened out for a plan, for clear-cut directions for the second year but I heard none. I thought to myself, it seems like we may have to walk blindly again, groping around in the dark trying to fix things.

I think Mr. President realised too late that things aren’t always what they seem from the outside. I can only imagine what it feels like after contesting for so long, making lots of promises to the people and having finally won, coming in and seeing that things aren’t as they looked from the outside.

“This is the condition we found ourselves and this change mantra had to go through hell,” Mr. President told us.

It is time to chart a new course. We have been forced to believe that the first one year was a time of foundation laying, building drafts and all that. Now, it is time for the building to start to rise. It’s time to add flesh the skeletal structures, walk the talk and fulfilling promises made.

Nigeria, like many developing nations, is plagued by many troubles. Some more current, while others have almost been phased out.

The security challenge by Boko Haram and the newly emerged militant group, Niger Delta Avengers in the South South geo-political zone of the country, a receding economy and problems with food production (i.e tomato ebola), as it is popularly called.

Nigeria has been known to be a nation that has weathered many storms and still stayed united. Many will argue that this time won’t be any different especially as a lot more Nigerians remain hopeful of a better country for everyone. We keep the faith alive.

One highlight of the Press Corp’s visit to Mr. President was that he was introduced to Abubakar Ladan, the oldest photo journalist in the State House and perhaps in the country.

He is over 80 years old. You see, Baba Ladan as we fondly call him has been a photographer at the presidency since the days of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. He is an acclaimed linguist too and a proper Nigerian. He is fluent in Efik, Yoruba, Igbo, French, and of course his native own Hausa dialect, among others.

The big story is he does not plan to retire anytime soon. The job keeps him going, he says. I asked Baba about the source of his strength and he said to me: “Keep an open mind towards everyone and live in peace. People don’t know that but it is one of the biggest things. I sleep well at night because I am at peace”.

Finally, on a lighter note, Mr. President gave a hint that most of his visitors, especially cabinet ministers, were afraid of going back through the corridor for fear of being captured on camera by journalists and made to speak. They would usually ask the President what to say in the event that the journalists inquire about their mission. This got everyone in the hall, including the president himself, laughing.

Just so you know, he asked us to put them on their feet, so they will be scared of coming back and maybe give him more time to concentrate on other things. He asked the journalists to research more about them so that they will be forced to also do their own research before answering questions.

 

Elizabeth Archibong