P
PressRoom
Guest
Twelve months after he swept into office on an euphoric tide of Nigeria’s desire for change, President Muhammadu Buhari is a man beset on every side by problems with no easy solutions. The economy is in trouble with Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele warning of a looming recession. The naira rate has crashed against major global currencies. In the North East, the Boko Haram insurgency has weakened considerably. But that spot of good news is offset by the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta, with a new group called the Avengers bombing oil pipelines. In the South East, a dormant Biafran agitation has been revived.
In a recent interview with THE NATION, he spoke on the bumpy transition from the last government, shocking discoveries in office and the huge burdens which face his administration going forward.
Looking at the last one year, how would you assess what has happened in terms of your expectations when you took office, the challenges you met and the progress made or lack of it?
You will recall that during our campaign, we identified three problems of our country. First, was security the situation especially in the North-East then. Second, was the economy and third was corruption. In the North-East, when we came in Boko Haram occupied 14 local governments and they had hoisted their flags and called the areas their Caliphate. But I can assure you that Boko Haram is not holding any local government presently. They had progressed to using IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and by taking on soft targets people in mosques, churches, market places, motor parks, killing them in tens, twenties and fifties … that you all know about, and killing school children. So, I think we have made substantial progress in that area. If you know anybody living in Maiduguri or Yobe, he or she will tell you that people are going back to their homes; those who moved to Kano, Kaduna or even here in Abuja, are now moving back and they are trying to continue with their lives.
Economy: On the economy, again, we were unlucky. We are now a mono-culture economy and everybody is dependent on oil revenue. The oil price collapsed and we were exposed. From 1999 to 2014, the average price of Nigerian crude that was sold was $100 per barrel, but when we came in, it plummeted to about $30 per barrel, and now it is between $40 and $50 per barrel.
At some stage, I got the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to give me a list of the things we have been spending our foreign exchange on and it showed food items such as tomato puree, grains, rice, wheat and even toothpicks. I didn’t believe it and I still don’t believe it because if he said we were building so many factories, buying essential raw materials and spare parts machineries, I would have believed it.
Corruption: I would speak about that in two days’ time (today, May 29) and also on subsequent attempts to prosecute where we have found evidence; about where the monies have gone and the different banks either here or outside the country. We would let you know.
Boko Haram: The progress that has been made in the fight against Boko Haram is widely acknowledged not only in Nigeria but outside the country. But as we have made progress with Boko Haram, other serious security challenges have arisen. You have the issue of the herdsmen and the killings; you have the Niger Delta Avengers; the Biafra agitation; and incessant kidnapping. Can Nigeria’s security infrastructure deal with these multiple fronts that are opening up?
On Herdsmen Attacks: On the recent herdsmen (killings), I asked one of the governors if the herdsmen were fighting perennially with the farmers and he said there was a difference. This means that these people were either hired to come and fight and worsen the ethnic relationship in Nigeria or they have no profession other than fighting for a fee. But these are just reports that still have to be confirmed later. So that is what I can answer about the herdsmen and I think the law enforcement agencies are working very hard to identify them.
South South Militants: Now about the militants in the South-South: when we came in, I got one of the senior officers (in the army), a Major-General, and asked him to revisit the agreement the late President Umaru Yar’Adua signed with them. I said he should get a copy of the gazette so that we can see the agreement to know what stage we were in. I haven’t received a comprehensive report on that yet, but I believe the officer is working hard.
In a recent interview with THE NATION, he spoke on the bumpy transition from the last government, shocking discoveries in office and the huge burdens which face his administration going forward.
In a recent interview with THE NATION, he spoke on the bumpy transition from the last government, shocking discoveries in office and the huge burdens which face his administration going forward.
Looking at the last one year, how would you assess what has happened in terms of your expectations when you took office, the challenges you met and the progress made or lack of it?
You will recall that during our campaign, we identified three problems of our country. First, was security the situation especially in the North-East then. Second, was the economy and third was corruption. In the North-East, when we came in Boko Haram occupied 14 local governments and they had hoisted their flags and called the areas their Caliphate. But I can assure you that Boko Haram is not holding any local government presently. They had progressed to using IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and by taking on soft targets people in mosques, churches, market places, motor parks, killing them in tens, twenties and fifties … that you all know about, and killing school children. So, I think we have made substantial progress in that area. If you know anybody living in Maiduguri or Yobe, he or she will tell you that people are going back to their homes; those who moved to Kano, Kaduna or even here in Abuja, are now moving back and they are trying to continue with their lives.
Economy: On the economy, again, we were unlucky. We are now a mono-culture economy and everybody is dependent on oil revenue. The oil price collapsed and we were exposed. From 1999 to 2014, the average price of Nigerian crude that was sold was $100 per barrel, but when we came in, it plummeted to about $30 per barrel, and now it is between $40 and $50 per barrel.
At some stage, I got the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to give me a list of the things we have been spending our foreign exchange on and it showed food items such as tomato puree, grains, rice, wheat and even toothpicks. I didn’t believe it and I still don’t believe it because if he said we were building so many factories, buying essential raw materials and spare parts machineries, I would have believed it.
Corruption: I would speak about that in two days’ time (today, May 29) and also on subsequent attempts to prosecute where we have found evidence; about where the monies have gone and the different banks either here or outside the country. We would let you know.
Boko Haram: The progress that has been made in the fight against Boko Haram is widely acknowledged not only in Nigeria but outside the country. But as we have made progress with Boko Haram, other serious security challenges have arisen. You have the issue of the herdsmen and the killings; you have the Niger Delta Avengers; the Biafra agitation; and incessant kidnapping. Can Nigeria’s security infrastructure deal with these multiple fronts that are opening up?
On Herdsmen Attacks: On the recent herdsmen (killings), I asked one of the governors if the herdsmen were fighting perennially with the farmers and he said there was a difference. This means that these people were either hired to come and fight and worsen the ethnic relationship in Nigeria or they have no profession other than fighting for a fee. But these are just reports that still have to be confirmed later. So that is what I can answer about the herdsmen and I think the law enforcement agencies are working very hard to identify them.
South South Militants: Now about the militants in the South-South: when we came in, I got one of the senior officers (in the army), a Major-General, and asked him to revisit the agreement the late President Umaru Yar’Adua signed with them. I said he should get a copy of the gazette so that we can see the agreement to know what stage we were in. I haven’t received a comprehensive report on that yet, but I believe the officer is working hard.
In a recent interview with THE NATION, he spoke on the bumpy transition from the last government, shocking discoveries in office and the huge burdens which face his administration going forward.