The marking of 100 days in office by elected office holders may not be, strictly speaking, of Nigerian origin, but like any other thing imported, the country has so celebrated, idolised and glorified this event that it has become a ritual.
Ideally, 100 days in office is a yardstick for measuring performance; it is a barometer of sorts for determining the direction to which a new government in power is headed. The event should further serve as a prism through which the citizens see and judge the motive and motion of their new leaders.
In reality, however, 100 days in office in Nigeria is just a tradition, a ritual that elected officials mark with little or no consideration for its significance or purpose. And at no time was this lack of consideration more demonstrated than this year when at the federal and state levels, 100-days in office was marked with so little to justify it.
It was as intriguing as it was ludicrous that, across the country, federal and state governments, President Muhammadu Buhari and newly elected governors commemorated the first 100 days of their administrations sworn-in on May 29 in spite obvious contradictions.
To us and, perhaps, to many other Nigerians, 100 days in office means so little for an administration that does not have basic parameters and enablers of governance in place to celebrate or mark it.
It was laughable and amounted to self-glorification when the chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Adams Oshiohmole, said President Buhari’s first 100-days had been spectacular because he, the president, “has started well and fast” compared to his first term.
Oshiomohle insisted that Buhari was no longer “Baba-Go-Slow” as he has moved faster this time around. But Nigerians know better because this is a government that was sworn into office in May and inaugurated its ministers only 14 days to its first 100 days in office.
At the state level, it was also a mere circus. About 17 of the state governors did not, and still do not have their cabinet in place, yet they marked 100 days in office, showcasing next to nothing and lamenting lack of money as though there is a law forbidding them to generate revenue internally for their states.
Much as we are not against the president and the governors commemorating their 100 days in office because of its significance, we are averse to governments marking it just for the sake of it. Like the cart, it shouldn’t be put before the horse. Performance should be the purveyor of the event.
We are particularly worried with this year’s commemoration at both levels of government. At the federal level, Baba-Go-Slow still goes slow, despite rising concerns about insecurity, food security and a tottering economy. Bandits, herdsmen and Boko Haram insurgents have put the country under siege and their activities have been on the rise since Buhari’s second coming.
Many Nigerians are now refugees in their own country and the number is increasing in geometric progression. Those who are not in IDP camps are either killed or kidnapped whenever they leave one town or city to another.
Security situation in the country has degenerated to a point where citizens have lost confidence in their governments who, it appears, are helpless having resorted to negotiating with bandits and insurgents for peace and security in the land. It cannot get any worse than this.
We are all the more worried that both bandits and herdsmen have conspired to ensure that farmers don’t return to their farms, fuelling what is already a bad food security situation in the country.
Our expectation is that governments at both federal and state levels should prioritise the security of life and property of the people and, in their first 100 days in office, we expect that a significant progress should have been made, creating the basis for rolling out drums and clinking glasses as were witnessed recently.
The national economy is bleeding. A focused, result-oriented and fast-paced government, which is apparently lacking in our milieu, should, within its 100 days in office, be able to come up with measures, policies and programmes on how to manage the critical issues of inflation, exchange and interest rates.
We commend the federal government’s recent move with the setting of an Economic Advisory Council chaired by the cerebral Doyin Salami. This, in our view, is very a significant move that should have been made just the next day after Buhari’s inauguration.
Our hope, however, is that their advice will be taken and implemented. We would also like this replicated in all the states of the federation. It is only then can we say governments are thinking and working. And hope is in the air.
