President Muhammadu Buhari came to power
promising Nigerians "change". Novelist and
writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani gives five
examples of what has changed in Nigeria since
29 May 2015 when he was sworn in.

1. Are we safer?
Those of us who travel regularly in Nigeria's
north-east had become used to what should be a
15-minute journey turning into an hour-long
ordeal.
You had to stop dozens of times at roadblocks
and disembark, while heavily armed soldiers
inspected your vehicle for traces of the Islamist
militant group, Boko Haram.
Today, the number of checkpoints has fallen
significantly - even on the road to Chibok -
thanks to enhanced confidence in the security of
the entire region.
The army has regained swathes of territory that
the Islamist militants had occupied as part of
their so-called caliphate.
Boko Haram has been considerably weakened,
resigned to attacking soft targets using suicide
bombers.
Thousands of women and girls kidnapped by the
group have also been rescued, including one of
the 219 schoolgirls from Chibok abducted in April
2014.
But while there is progress in the north-east,
trouble in the Niger Delta, the country's oil-
producing region, is resurfacing.
Recent attacks on oil facilities have caused a
drop in production and helped push up the global
price of crude oil.
On patrol with Nigerian soldiers

2. Where's my money?
In the months preceding last year's elections, the
popular chant on the streets was "Sai Buhari, Sai
Buhari", which means "Only Buhari" in Hausa -
the most widely-spoken language in the north
where the president originates.
"Sai Buhari" became an almost magical greeting,
capable of earning you a discount from the
sweaty chap pushing a wheelbarrow of tiger nuts
or sugar cane.
It could even elicit a smile followed by permission
to move along, from the miscellaneous airport
officials who usually ensure that your passage
through Nigerian customs and immigration is
fraught with agonising delays.
A year later, the chant has changed to "Buhariya",
which roughly translates to "Buhari's way" or
"Buhari's time".
The slogan is now used to explain every
unpleasant evidence of Nigeria's troubled
economy and a time of austerity.
Q: "A basket of tomatoes has gone up from
3,000 naira ($15) to 18,000 naira?"
A: It's "Buhariya!"
Q: "How come the naira is plummeting against
the dollar on the black market?"
A: It's "Buhariya!"
.
3. Where's our money?
This time last year, friendship with Sambo Dasuki,
the former national security adviser, could have
altered your economic circumstances forever.
He would have been besieged with invitation
cards to be the chief guest at various events.
When he entered a room, almost everyone would
stand in respect.
Today, he sits in an Abuja jail, awaiting trial for
the alleged mismanagement of billions of dollars
meant for the war against Boko Haram - charges
he denies.
Several other big men, previous untouchables,
such as former service chiefs, top politicians and
government officials, are also sitting in jail
awaiting corruption trials, or out on bail.
And, if you're looking for a second-hand luxury
car to buy, now may be the time.
A number of people formerly linked to the
government are desperate for cash and selling off
their fleets.
It would seem as though the leaking taps that
gushed dollars to be spent carelessly have
stopped flowing since President Buhari came to
power.
Buhari's battle to clean up the oil industry

4. Where are the women?
Ensuring women's participation at all levels in
political, economic and public life is one of the
targets of the UN's sustainable development
goals (SDGs).
But oly six out of Mr Buhari's cabinet of 37 are
women, a meagre 16% and way down on the
previous administration's 31%.
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani:
"The president's wife, Aisha... appears as the
stereotypical good African wife."
The president's wife, Aisha, is also the most
silent first lady Nigeria has had in decades, barely
seen or heard - except maybe when she is
visiting unkempt children in a refugee camp or
donating food items to victims of Boko Haram.
She appears as the stereotypical good African
wife.
Her invisibility is suspicious when you consider
that President Buhari, during his election
campaign, said he would abolish the office of the
first lady - but then retracted the suggestion
when challenged by feminist voters.


5. What are we wearing?
In Abuja the government in power influences the
style of dress throughout the administration.
Staff of the government, friends of the
government and aspiring friends of the
government all aim to dress like the person at the
top.
Northerners ruled Nigeria for most of the
country's first three decades after independence
from the UK in 1960.
Over time, their traditional outfits, babarigas
(flowing gowns) and kaftans, became firmly
entrenched - even when a non-northerner was
elected in 1999.
Olusegun Obasanjo is an ethnic Yoruba from the
south but throughout his eight-year presidential
tenure, he mostly wore babarigas.
Cartoons depicting a typical Nigerian "big man"
will usually feature him dressed in the flowing
robes, his potbelly distorting the layers of cloth.
All this changed in 2011, with the election of
Goodluck Jonathan.
He was Nigeria's first president from one of the
country's smaller ethnic groups, and also the first
from the oil-producing Niger Delta, in the south.
Mr Jonathan preferred the long shirt and trouser
outfit that is traditional among his Ijaw
community.
Suddenly, the babariga was nowhere to be seen.
Government offices and hotel lobbies began to
feature an inordinate number of men dressed in
the presidential style of the time.
Some even went as far as the fedora hats and
walking sticks that go with the outfit.
Eventually, the style gained its own special
nickname - "resource control" - in reference to
the fact that most people who wore it seemed to
be the ones controlling Nigeria's oil resources.
Indeed, it seemed to be the preferred outfit of
many of Nigeria's newest millionaires.
Not any more. Within a year of Mr Buhari,
"resource control" outfits have almost completely
vanished from view. The babariga is back.
Beyond these five areas, there are many more
profound changes that Nigerians are expecting
from our government, but those will take time.
The structure of corruption and mismanagement
which previous governments left behind must first
be dismantled before a new foundation of
progress can be laid.
And President Buhari is no modern-day Hercules.
Cleaning Nigeria's equivalent of the fantastically
filthy Augean stables of Greek myth is certainly
not a one-year job.


source

www-bbc-com.0.freebasics.com/news/world-africa-36384237?iorg_service_id_internal=624173547714020">https://http-www-bbc-com.0.freebasics.com/news/world-africa-36384237?iorg_service_id_internal=624173547714020%3BAfp_qtFhnCfuh3Hg

The most irritating thing is Nigerians will keep saying 'Only God can save us'
We've been praying and complaining since our independence, yet here we are.

he go better since independent