To mark President Muhammadu Buhari’s sixth year office, the presidency reeled out a catalogue of what it says are the impacts he had made in different sectors but often denied by many Nigerians. LEON USIGBE writes on the claims.
…the administration is recording giant strides, enough to make Nigerians proud. That is, those who are dispassionate and fair-minded, not beclouded by political partisanship and undue cynicism. Some people claim: we don’t see what they are doing. We don’t hear about it. Well, here it is. A Fact Sheet, a report card on the Buhari Administration, just a bit of the successes, as the milestone of six years is attained.” Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), chose these words to take to task those Nigerians he believes do not appreciate the efforts President Muhammadu Buhari had put in during his six years at the helm of the nation’s affairs.
How could so much have been done and so little is noticed, if not because people have deliberately chosen to ignore the facts, the presidential aide seemed to wonder. But in a country where citizens are seized by an out-of-control insecurity and ever rising cost of living, observers say, they can hardly be accused of not paying too much attention to what government wants them to see rather than their personal wellbeing. The din of the country’s misery may be ear-drum splitting but the presidency is determined to make the point that despite everything, there is cause to celebrate the president for his achievements and there was no better time to do so than May 29, 2021, its sixth-year anniversary. Towards this, and in an apparent bid to convince doubters, the presidency published a compendium of the impact it says the president had made on different sectors of national life, calling it a fact sheet, showing the key Buhari milestones.
In highlighting the president’s achievements in the various sectors, Adesina maintained: “This milestone affords the opportunity to reflect, and recount the impact that has been made (and is being made) on different sectors of national life. From infrastructure, to finance, education, healthcare, sports, anti-corruption, human development, housing, oil and gas, foreign relations, and many others, the Administration is recording giant strides, enough to make Nigerians proud. That is, those who are dispassionate and fair-minded, not beclouded by political partisanship and undue cynicism. Some people claim: we don’t see what they are doing. We don’t hear about it. Well, here it is. A Fact Sheet, a report card on the Buhari Administration, just a bit of the successes, as the milestone of six years is attained.”
The fact sheet contains efforts by the administration to revive rail infrastructure in the country, which the presidency opines, has led to the 156km Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail nearing completion; 327km Itakpe-Warri Standard Gauge Rail completed and commissioned 33 years after construction began; Abuja Light Rail completed in 2018; Ground-breaking done for construction of Kano-Maradi Standard Gauge Rail; and the revamping of Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri Narrow Gauge Rail.
For roads, the presidency highlighted the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), investing over a billion dollars in three flagship projects including Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, and the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway. This is besides mobilising private investment into the development of key roads and bridges like Bodo-Bonny in Rivers and Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonshoki-Ojota in Lagos, among others. Under ports development, the administration boosts of completion of New Terminals for International Airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt; construction of New Runway for Abuja and Enugu International Airports, Presidential approval for four International Airports as Special Economic Zones including Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Also, it points to approval for new private-sector funded deep sea ports including Lekki Deep Sea Port Bonny Deep Sea Port, Ibom Deep Sea Port; and Warri Deep Sea Port; development of capacity at the Eastern Ports; dredging of Warri Port (Escravos Bar—Warri Port channel) completed in 2018, etc.
In the area of power, the presidency also pointed out that the administration has taken clean and reliable energy (Solar and Gas) to Federal Universities and Teaching Hospitals across the country. Four Universities completed and commissioned already including BUK (Kano), FUNAI (Ebonyi), ATBU (Bauchi) and FUPRE (Delta); others ongoing. It avers that government is running a programme to energize the economy by taking clean and reliable energy to markets across the country. It is also carrying out a nationwide rollout of electricity meters to all on-grid consumers. There is the Solar Power Naija initiative to deliver 5 million off-grid solar connections to Nigerian households; the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), to upgrade and modernize Nigeria’s electricity grid, and the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) providing grants for the deployment of 200,000 Solar Home Systems.
As for housing, the presidency cited the progress under the Social Housing programme, with the capacity to accommodate about 65,000 new homes. Similarly, it emphasized that the administration has done a lot in the oil and gas sector where it has launched the “Decade of Gas” initiative and embarking on the construction of the 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Project. Agriculture is another area where the administration believes there is something to celebrate such as the Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP), Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, Special-Agro Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme, and The Green Imperative – a Nigeria-Brazil Agricultural Mechanisation Programmme. The Social Investment Programme the presidency affirms, has 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmme, which pays a bimonthly stipend of N10,000 per household just as other initiatives have been launched in connection with it such as the Survival Fund, National Youth Investment Fund, and National Special Public Works Program, Covid-19 300 billion Naira Targeted Credit Facility (TCF), among others.
The administration also celebrating success in other sectors such as education and health; creative industry and sports; fiscal, trade, monetary and investment reforms; presidential assent to legislative bills; Executive Orders; support to states; Niger Delta; anti-corruption and transparency expansion of TSA and IPPS coverage; BVN deployment for social investment programme and others; open government partnership; asset recovery; security and justice reforms; diplomacy and international relations, and the Coronavirus response.
From the foregoing, the presidency believes that Buhari has had a successful administration and is right to blow his trumpet. It is confident that by the time the president completes his tenure in about two years, he will depart in flying colours. “As it is said, the past is but a story told. The future may yet be written in gold. When the administration breasts the tape in another two years, by the grace of God, the applause will be resounding, even from the worst of sceptics. Facts are undeniable, and always remain so. They are stubborn things,” Adesina said.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…Stakeholders in ICT react Stakeholders in ICT react
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…Stakeholders in ICT react Stakeholders in ICT react
and then