President Muhammadu Buhari is 100 days in office today, having been sworn-in on May 29, 2015. Although the idea of marking the first 100 days in office of certain categories of public officials did not originate from our shores, it has become a tradition to have a tentative assessment of new administrations at federal and state levels when they have spent 100 days in office.
The occasion, indeed, offers an avenue for new governments to showcase their achievements or, at least, the direction in which they are moving. The celebration is expected to give a roadmap on where the government is going.
Even though 100 days is not enough to correctly assess a regime that has a four- year lifespan, the period is enough to gauge the focus and policy direction of the administration.
Upon assumption of office, President Buhari made it clear that he would fight corruption headlong, win the war against terrorism and rebuild the economy and dilapidated infrastructure, among others. An assessment of his first 100 days in office does not indicate that much has happened on these fronts, even though his strong   body language against indiscipline is making many Nigerians to sit up, especially with regard to corruption and the power sector, where there has been a significant improvement in electricity supply, even when the president is not known to have taken any major step in the sector. Certainly, the president’s image as a no-nonsense person is changing the people’s attitude to work in some sectors of our national life.
President Buhari, during the period in question, has been auditing the ministries. That will give him a good picture of the   situation of things in the country and the areas in which critical interventions are immediately required.
To ensure probity in the management of Federal Government’s revenue, Buhari has directed the implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA), a good policy that his predecessors failed to implement, for all government ministries, departments and agencies. This should address the duplicity in the accounting methods of these organizations, which paved way for   monumental corruption in the past. However, we must point out that the president’s war against corruption has witnessed more media trials than prosecution by the courts.
With 100 days over, we expect a more coordinated and spirited fight against corruption, through prosecution of suspects. Nigerians will want to see corrupt politicians tried in courts and convicted, with their loot returned to the treasury. It is not enough listing the huge funds stolen and stashed in European and American banks. Nigerians want these monies recovered and returned to the treasury forthwith.
President Buhari has done much to refocus the war against insurgency and streamline its operations. He has relocated the command headquarters of the troops engaged in the war to Maiduguri, Borno State, the epicenter of the insurgency. He has also visited neigbouring West African countries to enlist more coordinated support for the war against the insurgents. Despite these efforts, however, the insurgents are still proving difficult to surmount. They have intensified daring attacks and exploits against our troops since Buhari assumed office. The bombings and killings are yet to abate. No doubt, the government has so much to do in the war against terrorism. The war against insurgency is, indeed, far from over. The insurgents appear to be waxing stronger and hitting soft targets. The non-release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls is still a pointer that more still should be done in the war against terrorism.
Apart from the president’s efforts to tackle terrorism and his war against corruption, the government has not been forthcoming on his policy direction on the economy. The exchange rate of the naira to the dollar and other international currencies has risen astronomically since Buhari came into office. The prices of food items, especially rice, fish and chicken, are on the rise. He has not been forthcoming with clear policy statements on important issues such as fuel subsidy, and whether he would end or retain it.
Nigerians have also not been apprised with his government’s plans for job creation, even though unemployment is one of the serious challenges facing the nation. We do not know how he intends to address the challenges in the educational sector, or his plans to revamp our dilapidated public infrastructure. The government has been accused of being so slow. So, the president must speed up his response to the nation’s problems. To worsen matters, Buhari has taken so long to appoint ministers that would help outline his programmes and how they are to be achieved.
We, therefore, urge the president to begin the implementation of his programmes in earnest. Nigerians are expecting a quick fulfillment of his campaign promises.   He should form his cabinet without any further delay and make sure that his team hits the ground running. After 100 days in office, there is no doubt that the president’s honeymoon is over. This is the time to deliver on his many election promises.
The claim by the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that the president did not make any specific promises on what he would do within 100 days in office is unacceptable. It is no excuse for him not to give a clear picture of how he is going to address the nation’s many challenges. We advise him to correct the impression that has wittingly or unwittingly been created on the marginalisation of the South-East by his government.
It is, nevertheless, early days yet for this administration. Let the president quickly get his bearing and begin a quick implementation of his change agenda for the country.

Next will be the Next 1000 days of our changed nation

Closecall:
Next will be the Next 1000 days of our changed nation

Nigerian educational system, particularly universities. Lecturers are known to collect money from students in exchange for good grades. Some say they have to bribe university administrators in order to have their exam results compiled and submitted to the (required) National Youth Service Corps.

In August 2014, Nigeria’s own Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) reported that corruption was endemic to Nigerian universities, due to continual failure to make violators accountable for their actions. The Chairman of the ICPC’s University System Study Review, Professor Olu Aina, said there was a lack “political will” to deal with corruption violations, few internal checks and balances in universities to prevent corruption, and little external oversight of corrupt practices.

Beyond political corruption, the Nigerian education system suffers in other ways. It compares poorly not only to those of developed Western nations, but also to other African countries like Ghana and South Africa. In 1997 and 2000, federal government expenditure on education was below 10% of the overall budget. The money appropriated to the education sector in the 2013 budget was ₦426.53 billion which amounts to only 8.67% of the total budget (₦4.92 trillion). The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommends that the education sector accounts for 26% of national budgets in order to impact national development.


What proportion of Nigerian students quite from school? According to Channels Television Station report on 9th September 2014, over 10.5 million Nigerian children are out of school. This shows the literacy level of the country. According to the guest on Channels Television who gave the statistics, he stated that the problem of Boko Haram in Nigeria today is because they were not in schools when they were young. He went further to say that they were fed with wrong information and because of that lacked knowledge, and when they lacked knowledge they lacked wisdom. So, they are a problem to the country because they lacked knowledge which they would have gained if they went to school (Boko Haram).

Inadequate Infrastructure in Nigeria

Infrastructure may seem a trivial issue following other problems like Boko Haram, but how can a country progress without a reliable power supply? The power sector is corrupt and mismanaged, and many workers in the electricity sector are not equipped with the proper skills or training. Domestic production suffers in these conditions, but many foreign companies also find it difficult to conduct business in Nigeria because of frequent power failures. This problem keeps Nigeria a Third World country from year to year.

Also, what do we have to say on the state of Nigerian road networks? Business suffers without a dependable road system. Corruption and the embezzlement of public funds keep roadways in disrepair. In 2011, the World Bank reported that only 67% of paved roads and 33% of unpaved roads were in good or fair condition. Between 2001 and 2006, only $50 million of the needed $240 million were allocated for road maintenance.

Similar issues of inadequacy and corruption can be seen in the water resources and railways. Nigeria needs to tackle the challenge its infrastructure problems by providing the proper funding and cracking down on the embezzlement of public funds earmarked for infrastructure. Any engineer or contractor that fails to do his work well should be taken to task.

Nigeria needs more power and better roads. The workers in these sectors should be paid well, and those with good skills and strong ethics should be rewarded. Citizens should carry out a peaceful movement, telling the government how important the power supply is to the country.