AS many as 800 Nigerians have been killed by Boko Haram during the 100 days during which President Muhammadu Buhari has been in office according to a recent report just published by a group monitoring the government's performance.
Known as Buharimeter, a platform monitoring the implementation of the electoral promises of President Buhari, published the report, providing an update of how the government has fared so far. According to the report, President Buhari, in keeping with his campaign promise, prioritised the fight against Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria, however, it said that despite the president’s best efforts, there had been several attacks by the extremist group, leaving deaths, blood and sorrow in their wake.
“Right from his inaugural speech, President Buhari ordered the immediate relocation of the military command and control centre from Abuja to Maiduguri, Borno State. However, over the last 100 days, there have been over 30 successful attacks and bomb explosions which claimed the lives of over 800 people and caused the destruction of properties worth millions of naira.
“Since then, the administration has rejigged the Nigerian counter terrorism architecture with interventions ranging from the forging of regional and international alliances to the appointment of new security chiefs with a marching order to end the insurgency within three months to improved security spending. More so, apart from the immediate release of N5bn to bomb victims upon the directive from the president, Nigeria has received financial and technical supports from countries like China, Israel, the US, Switzerland, etc and from the United Nations to improve the victims’ economic and social conditions," the report added.
It also pointed out that within 100 days, the Nigerian Army reinstated 3,032 officers and military personnel convicted by a general court martial for offences committed while fighting the insurgents. According to the report, the government also offered scholarships to the children of slain officers and monetary compensation to their families.
Furthermore the report said: “The recent recapturing of the towns of Dikwa and Gamboru Ngala from the insurgents, reports of unsuccessful Boko Haram attacks and the rescue of some kidnapped persons from the den of the insurgents by the Nigerian military are positive signals towards ending the insurgency."
Regarding the fight against corruption, Buharimeter rated four of the 13 promises made by the president as ongoing. It said immediately after inauguration, the president and his deputy opted for a 50% pay cut as part of their commitment towards reducing the cost of governance.
In addition, the report also noted that in its bid to block leakages, the administration established a single treasury account for all federal revenues. Also, to strengthen his fight against corruption, a seven-member Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption headed by Professor Itse Sagay was constituted to advice the administration on the prosecution of its anti-corruption war.
The report added that the anti-corruption bodies, notably the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, have in the past 100 days embarked on a renewed fight against corruption. It said several foreign nations also committed to helping Nigeria locate and retrieve stolen assets, while the federal government appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and KPMG to conduct forensic audits into the accounts of all revenue-generating agencies of the government.
Buharimeter lamented the attempts to distance President Buhari from several of his campaign promises. It recalled that the president’s spokesperson Femi Adesina, tried to argue that the president never promised to make public his assets and liabilities but that it was his party that made the commitment.
However, the report added that, the president and his vice eventually provided details of their declared assets and liabilities on the 98th day of the administration. Buharimeter also assessed the president’s performance in infrastructure, oil and gas, agriculture, environment, Niger Delta affairs, employment and foreign policy.
Following its findings, Buharimeter made some recommendations to the president:
— That he must constitute a cabinet to assist him in his responsibility for the smooth and effective running of the government on a day-to-day basis within the coming weeks
— That the government immediately unveil its policy directions
— That the president should urgently articulate a Marshal Plan to address security challenges posed by terrorism, ethno-religious violence, rural banditry, kidnapping, amongst others
— That the president should direct his efforts to implementing policies and programmes for employment generation
— That efforts should be directed to the education sector, particularly in the areas of capacity building for unemployed youth, through vocational training
— That the president takes urgent steps to implement the other 197 unrated promises
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