I was meant to create a scorecard for Buhari and post it the day before he left office. A nice KPI review where I’ll drop funny sarcastic remarks under every sector and write how lackluster he was. But I couldn’t for some reason. So I’ve opted to write my most emotionally driven post in a while, devoid of numbers, or links to facts (all you need to do is open your browser, and you’ll see different articles with concrete evidence if that’s what you’re looking for). Today, I’ll write about what being in Buhari’s administration felt like to me.
As much as people hate to admit it, Buhari was the direct answer to a lot of prayers circa 2013. I remember my aunty saying that Nigeria needed a strongman that had integrity. She was echoing what other people were saying across the country, from marketplaces to Banks. In 2015, the strongman came in and people danced on the streets. Who could have known what was coming after?
Why I recall this origin story is to remind myself (and everyone) that the government is not just one man. The same president that was responsible for closing borders for imports without us having adequate production capacity, is the same person that opened roads, ports, and rail lines. And gave landmark Acts like the PIA and the Startup Act. Policy matters a lot more than the person.
Sure, we might say “Ehn, every time we bring concerns these people will come and say infrastructure, na infrastructure we go chop?” Well, yes actually because everything is connected. Food will spoil on the road if it doesn’t get to its destination quickly, and the seller would have to charge to recoup losses. That’s just one reason off the top of my head why roads are important (I didn’t even mention farmers having access to their farms). And this connection works in all ramifications. We need security to be able to go to farms (or anywhere), and we need a good education to learn how to make processes easier and more efficient. We need good healthcare so we don’t burn money that could be used elsewhere, trying to get treatment. And so on. We need to focus on making sure all these things come up together, the sector-by-sector approach might not work anymore.
How far must your loyalty go? At what point can you decide that you’ve done enough for another person? This is one problem that the Buhari administration had, and I’m afraid the Tinubu admin. might as well. The president’s refusal to change personnel was the most needlessly stubborn thing I’ve ever seen. His readiness to support mediocrity too was a marvel “You can see this guy underperforming, sack him!”. This ties to my first point, the examples that I stated as achievements made with good policies, were spearheaded by brilliant individuals, while other department heads just sat and waited for payday. Shake things up when needed!
Finally, I’d like to address this to the man of the hour:
“Dear Buhari,
your departure is giving me mixed feelings; as a human being that is averse to change, it feels weird saying goodbye to the person I’ve known at the helm of affairs for the most aware phase (so far) of my life. You were there when I got admission to University, stayed with me through the strikes and price hikes, never uttering a word, even when we pleaded for you to address us about all that was happening around us. You remained stoic and aloof through it all. Teaching us all to mind our business.
And now you leave me. Too scared of bandits to come and visit you in Daura.
For this reason, I feel a connection between us. This was probably the same connection my dad felt back in the 80s when you were in charge of affairs. In his case, you managed to annoy him twice, that’s a feat!
I hope that you believed you could change the nation. Because if you just came to prove a point, then sir, you should have just stayed away. Your Presidency has demystified you, and now you leave with far fewer supporters than you had when you were still the President we never had.
Thank you very much for the good you did though. I keep hoping that you actually worked on putting us on the right track and that we just can’t feel it now because we haven’t gained steam yet.
As for the new guy, I hope that he will do well. And, I hope that everyone will be ready to help him do well, either via criticism, encouragement, or volunteering (or even working for pay).
I am bad at goodbyes, so I wish you the best. And I promise I won’t cry. But I will listen to ‘It’s so Hard to say goodbye to Yesterday’ by Boyz II Men, it’s the least I could do.
Don’t be a stranger”
What Have I been up to?
Reading a scary book by Reed Hastings, “No Rules, Rules”. Tell me what your thoughts are about it when you read it.
Till next time guys. I hope “next time” is soon. I have missed this.