The season of scorecard is here

WE have talked about the fundamentals of 2019 Presidency and identified the expanding scope of the issues, from basically three, which were projected by the APC in 2015 and which won them the presidency to at least five. The five we broadly identified as including economy, education, energy, security and foreign affairs. In another breath, we can still capture the issues into three; energy, human capital development and security. This would mean that all other issues including education, health and economy are grouped as human capital development matters.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) came up with series of campaign promises in the 2015 election season. Though we are now made to know that some of the promises were unofficial. But if the party can succeed in waving off the other advertised promises which might be too numerous, if not salacious to mention, it cannot escape being x-rayed on account of the three key campaign planks-economy, insecurity and corruption.

President Muhammadu Buhari made the three the key pillars of his campaign in 2014/15 and the party can in no way excuse itself from those three.

If we agree that the March towards 2019 has begun in Ernest, then we must equally conclude that the time to x-ray the scorecard of the ruling party in relation to its major campaign planks is here.

Economy

The APC took over the nation when the Naira exchanged officially at N160 to the US Dollar. Unofficial markets took the Naira to the region of N197 and N200. Inflation was at single digit and the rebasing of the economy made Nigeria the largest economy in Africa. There were complaints about the non-inclusive nature of economic growth- an indication that the growing economy did not fully reflect on the lives of the people. Again, the nation still had to grapple with unemployment and continuous importation of petroleum products, even though it is an oil producing country. Food prices were stable and despite the devastating flood of 2012, which cut across most states of the federation, there was no drought. The profile of agriculture was on the rise, owing to reforms.

In three years, the APC has taken the situation to further unenviable heights. The naira had plummeted in value. It once exchanged at over N500 to the dollar. Now it stands at N360 at the unofficial market, while the government claims N305 rate. Inflation had hit 19 per cent and now stands at 15.3 per cent. Even at that the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that food inflation hovers around 20 percent.

Prices of all goods and services had gone beyond the roofs and Nigerians are still contending with fuel scarcity. In the hinterlands, Nigerians are already conditioning themselves to buying petrol at a minimum of N200 per litre. The 50 kg bag of rice which was sold at N8, 000 in 2015 had peaked at N25, 000 at a stage and now hovers between N16, 000 and N18, 000. The NBS reported that no fewer than 7million jobs have been lost under the APC-led government.

Yes, the government would beat its chest it had built foreign reserves up to $40 billion from about $34 billion, it is planning to build rail lines across the nation and restart the Second Niger Bridge. Most of its accomplishments however remain at the level of promissory notes even as it has borrowed more than N4 trillion to fund the 2016 and 2017 budgets.

If the jury is out there, the scorecard for the APC in the area of economy would stay far below average.

Insurgency

In this area, the government prides itself as having degraded the insurgent Boko Haram group. It claimed to have recovered all territories seized hitherto by the insurgents. But what the administration gained by stopping bomb blasts in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Plateau has now been replaced  by a ferocious band of herdsmen, who have been maiming, killing and destroying human lives and farmlands in the Northern and Southern states.  The Boko Haram insurgents have also remained very bold in the Borno axis and have been attacking military formations. They are on record to have killed more military officers under this administration than previously. Despite the advertised victory over Boko Haram, the internally displaced persons (IDPs) have not relocated to their homes. They remained rooted to the camps. More camps are opening in Benue, Nasarawa axes, right now.

Thus, in the area of insecurity, the government has probably scored above 40 marks. If in doubt, several notable Nigerians who have suffered kidnappings and foreigners alike will serve as counter voices. Right now, two Americans and two Canadians are in the hands of the now famous Abuja/ Kaduna Expressway kidnappers. The Boko Haram is still keeping some Chibok girls apart from countless unnamed victims and aside the University of Maiduguri lecturers it seized a while ago.

Anti-corruption

My take has been that no regime should pride itself as fighting corruption. The system of government should do that. Once politicians take on the fight they are not equipped with, they muddle things up and leave their publicists scampering for justifications. Right now, the Buhari government has run into that conundrum. The anti-corruption war under the administration now identifies the colour of the flag of the party a suspect flies. Like the Biblical story of pass over, once a suspect waves the flag of the ruling party, he or she is passed over. The organs of government that should fight corruption, the ICPC,

EFCC and the office of the Auditor General of the Federation are left without the requisite independence. Some are completely tied to the aprons of those in power. With such outlook the anti-corruption war would score less than average.

But time plays multiple roles. It can play the healer and the killer. It can act as the redeemer of fading hopes. The time remaining on the cards can still turn things around for the APC-led government.