Father Timothy Etsenamhe
As President Tinubu’s first 100 days in office are thick, the assessment of his performance by supporters and critiques cannot be waved aside. However, some political intellectuals have shown concern about the significance of the Hundred Days in Office timeline in rating a government. While some opine that it is unnecessary to access the success of a newly sworn-in government just in a space of approximately four months, others believe in the adage that says ‘’the morning shows the day’’. The former argue that there is no constitutional or statutory significance to marking a hundred days in office; hence, David Alexrod, former top aide to President Barak Obama, called it a ‘’Hallmark Holiday—lots of attention but no significance’’.
This problem made scholars like Elaine Kasarck write a commentary titled ‘’The First 100 Days: When did we start caring about them and why do they matter?’’ Elaine was able to establish that the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt birthed the emergence of the first 100 days in office when he completely avoided his predecessor’s attempt to involve him in the troubles (the great depression) facing the country. According to Elaine Kasarck, FDR, ‘’successfully orchestrated a complete break from the past and a new start with the American people’’. Thus, Americans witnessed entirely a new form and style of governance: policies that were people-oriented; churned out press statements that inspired courage; his embrace of social communication, especially the use of radio—reaching out to the people directly and not via some spokespersons; the passing of ground-breaking legislation in favor of farmers, homeowners, and the unemployed; making bold economic steps like ‘’declaring bank holidays, which stopped the disastrous run on the banks”; and many other prohibited acts that he revoked and amended, made his administration remarkable in its first 100 days in office. In fact, ‘’ beer parties were held all over the country in celebration of the feast of the First 100 Days in Office.
Arguably, Tinubu’s First 100 Days in Office could be said to be intolerant of ineptitude. In his first hundred days in office, the president has been able to appoint members of his cabinet with specific portfolios assigned. The 10th National Assembly has been able to get its various leadership settled, and legislative businesses are in top gear. The president has personally met with almost all ministries, departments, and agencies that basically facilitate government programs and initiatives. He has introduced student loans, one promise he made to young people during the campaign, and at the time, tertiary institutions were on strike. His economic development diplomacy is spot on. On his recent trip to India, on the invitation of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Tinubu met with some high-ranking business moguls, inviting them to invest in Nigeria.
The president also attended the 18th G-20 summit, although like a spectator in a football match. However, at the end of the summit, he seized the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the South Korean President, Yoo Suk Yeol, and Narendra Modi. These countries, according to Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, ‘’have been identified as key partners in his (President Bola Amhed Tinubu’s) economic development diplomacy drive for local investment and wealth creation.’’ The president is keen on revamping the production sector of the Nigerian economy. Hence, he is advocating for economic cooperation with the various German production companies, like Volkswagen, to come to Nigeria and begin operations as they used to. South Korea is huge on technology and manufacturing; the president didn’t waste time inviting them to invest in the Nigerian local manufacturing sector in the areas of technology, telecommunications, oil, and gas. The president intends to boast agricultural production, have sophisticated defense industry capacity building, and grow the country’s FinTech by cooperating with India. It is interesting to note that these leaders are ready to start bilateral cooperation as soon as possible with Nigeria.
The president also met with the President of the United Arab Emirate and discussed resolving the flight disruptions and UAE visa ban on Nigerians that have lingered on for a while. When these issues are resolved, Etihad and Emirates Airlines can fly in and out of Nigeria, and businesses will thrive between Nigeria and the UAE. You needed to see the excitement marked with jubilation by staff of a certain flight agency that was televised when it was announced that the ban on visas and flights had been revoked. When this happens, there will be an inflow of forex into and out of the Nigerian economy, and the Nigerian stock exchange will be transformed. Accessing the economic policies of the President, the billionaire business tycoon, Femi Otedola, opined that ‘’ indeed, Asiwaju (Tinubu) has demonstrated leadership, and the difference in style is like night and day. Tinubu is leading from the front, and his economic diplomacy, which we pray he sustains, is going to drastically change the image of the country, unlock foreign investments into the country, and improve Nigeria’s perception internationally.’’
His political appointments have been praised too by many of his supporters, who laud his efforts in putting square pegs in square holes. He has also been applauded for appointing young people and women in key positions of government, a demographic that has been poorly represented in governance for too long. He has demonstrated a good enough ability to negotiate, to listen, to hold meetings, and to make necessary moves. He is politically alert and strategic. His appointment of former governor Nyesom Wike as minister of the Federal Capital Territory is one that has defiled permutations. This is the first time a South-Southerner is assuming this office, making the territory really a federal one that no ethnic group can intrinsically lay claim to, even without ruling out the recognition of the dignity of the aborigines. President Tinubu has succeeded in buying the friendship of the Rivers PDP, who to a large extent are controlled by Nyesom Wike. Today, the loyalty of the Minister and the PDP in the state cannot be said to be exclusive to the PDP. However, if the FCT must witness infrastructural growth more than it has seen, men like Wike, whose capacity to be boisterous and audacious in getting things done, cannot but be a good choice. We must take note that Tinubu’s victory at the polls is still being contested against by the People’s Democratic Party and the Labour Party presidential candidates concurrently, and the president is making these strides even in a gait that seems not agile enough. Mr. President deserves some accolades.
However, life has not been easy for many ordinary Nigerians ever since the inception of this government! On the streets of Nigeria, you readily see gloom and wailing; poverty and hardship; endurance and hope! The minute Tinubu made his inaugural speech, he plunged most Nigerians into poverty with his infamous statement, ‘’Subsidy is gone!’’ In fact, the president had not concluded his speech when the prices of petroleum products immediately skyrocketed. The price of fuel usually has adverse effects on the prices of most, if not all, other goods and services. Coupled with the government’s new policy of free-floating the naira to other foreign currencies, the economic doldrums in Nigeria have become abysmal. Many Nigerians believe that the president didn’t make good plans before forcefully implementing the removal of fuel subsidies and the policy of floating the naira. Today, as of when this article is being written, the naira is trading at a whopping sum of N1000 to $1, at the parallel market. The responsibility of every government is to make policies that alleviate people’s suffering. It is sad that in the First Hundred Days in Office of the President, more Nigerians have been thrown into poverty by hydro-headed inflation and highfalutin exchange rates. Families are not assured of good quality food; three square meals a day is all hypothesis now; the cost of transportation has become flirtingly alarming; in fact, life is hard for ordinary Nigerians.
While Nigerians are praising the effort of Mr. President in taking the necessary stride in putting in place a formidable cabinet, a lot more are also criticizing the appointments made so far by Tinubu, like the erstwhile president, Mohammadu Buhari, for being too nepotistic; at best, they say these appointments are ‘’lagosionalization’’ of appointments. When this is the case, the government doesn’t enjoy the characteristics of a federal system of government. Arguments are that most of these appointees are those the President has worked with in Lagos as governor and those who supported his candidacy during the electioneering. Invariably, the appointments are best described as merit awards, exclusively for those who have worked for Asiwaju and those who worked tooth and nail to see his vision of ‘’Emi lo kon’’ realized. Nigeria cannot be run like this; there are talented people everywhere in the country. This is one thing President Mohammadu Buhari was accused of all through his tenure, and we do not want a repeat of favoritism driven by extreme chauvinism. One particular ethnic group should not be seen dominating on every list of appointments that is released by the presidency. In all of these shenanigans, the minority ethnic groups bear the brunt of the ethnicization of governance in Nigeria.
Cases of insecurity are on the increase. In the North, East, West, and Central, there are rising cases of banditry and terrorism; people are still being ransacked by bandits, and their homes are being burned down with impunity. In the South-East, West, and South- there are rising cases of kidnapping, cultism, and drug peddling. The recent case of the death of Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, known as Mohbad, portrays a picture that brings to mind social unrest orchestrated by cultism, gangsterism, and the devaluation of human life in Nigeria today. In the southern part of Nigeria, cultism is rampant to the extent that 7 out of 10 young people are allegedly cultists. In some parts of Lagos State, Ogun State, Edo State, Benin City, Ekpoma, and Auchi, cult killings are recorded almost on a daily basis, with security personnel paying little or no attention to clamping down on these culprits. This is also coupled with the prevalence of increasing activities of ”yahoo boys and girls”—internet fraudsters and scammers. They indulge in all kinds of obnoxious criminal activities, like ritual killing and idolatry. The overall cause of these crimes is the inability of the Nigerian state to provide basic social and economic means for Nigerians to flourish.
No doubt, he (the President) is running helter-skelter in alleviating the poverty the APC government plunged Nigeria into. We cannot help but appreciate his strides and his dolling out of palliatives all across the 36 states of the federation in cash and kind. This government must ensure that state governments dispense these items to the vulnerable. Most citizens have not felt the effects of these disbursements. Little wonder then, recently in a particular state, a bus loaded with bags of rice that broke down on the highway in the state was attacked. The bags of rice it was carrying were all taken away by hoodlums, thinking they were “their palliatives.’’ Nigerians are living in precarious times, economically, socially, and otherwise. This government must make frantic efforts to lessen the plight of Nigerians.
While Americans celebrated FDR’s First Hundred Days in Office with a ‘’beer party’’, Nigerians are marking Tinubu’s with empty pockets and stomachs. This government must ensure that the cost of fuel is reduced by either reintroducing some sort of subtle subsidy or revamping one of the refineries to cushion this problem. The new governor of the central bank should make fiscal policies that would strengthen the naira against the dollar. However, this cannot be done merely by policies; the Nigerian economy must move away from being just consumption; it must engage in production and exportation to enable the inflow of forex into the economy. It is only when this is done that the policy of free-floating the naira will bear fruit. The lives of ordinary Nigerians matter! This government must prioritize the security and safety of the lives and properties of Nigerians and foreigners. If Nigeria is not secured, businesses will not thrive. All in all, the president is doing his best to bring Nigeria back on track. Those he has chosen as his cabinet members, the MDA, or state governors, must put their hands on deck to bring Nigeria out of the woods. The Nigerian masses are not patient; no one should hush them up when they complain. Asiwaju asked for the job and promised to turn things around, and Nigerians expect him to deliver. Nigerians must be hopeful and ready to push this administration to provide the dividends of democracy for every Nigerian.
