Most Nigerians saw the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari after the 2015 presidential elections as the coming of a Messiah. Before the elections, so many Nigerians were actually yearning for a change of government simply because they appear to be tired of the government of day which for most of them believes has failed to deliver on promise.
Therefore, for a chunk number of the Nigerian populace, the current regime has brought nothing but a light at end of a tunnel. To this end, as the administration of President Muhammadu has gone beyond a year, analysts in different sectors of the economy has giving details of how Nigerians fared in the last one year under the current regime.
In the health sector for instance, the story of the Nigerian people is still from bad to worse. This is because most of the government healthcare centres are not properly equipped. Even top government officials including the president seek for medical aid abroad. Speaking on this, Associate professor of medicine at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Akoka, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, said that the health sector suffered major setbacks under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Ashiru noted that the Federal Government had yet to come up with any concrete policy on primary, secondary and tertiary health care while it had failed to act on those implemented by the previous administration. He said, “The health sector has not fared well at all. There is nothing going on so far apart from the few appointments they had made. Nothing really has been done. No policy has come out to say that the administration is focusing on primary, secondary or tertiary health care. They have continued with the status quo.”
Ashiru added, “The teaching hospitals are at their lowest helm in terms of support. They are not able to deliver cutting- edge medical services because of lack of funds. They cannot embark on major research because they are still struggling to keep the hospital together.” He also noted that Nigerians had had to pay more for health services in the last one year as the prices of drugs had increased astronomically. Ashiru stated, “Most of the pharmaceutical companies have passed on their overheads to consumers because they cannot get dollar to import drugs.
In the education sector, it was also hard knocks for the administration in education. For the former National Universities Commission Executive Secretary, Prof. Peter Okebukola, the Buhari administration started on a good note. The Professor of Science Education, who admitted that the administration inherited several challenges, noted that it had started to impact on improving teacher numbers and quality; girl-child education as well as in the scholarship offers to children in the IDP camps.
Okebukola added, “I am aware of extensive plans to attend to such issues as improved facilities for teaching and learning and increase in enrolment and retention at the basic education level. I am also aware of the plan to establish new federal universities of science and technology.
This is a good move to bolster Nigeria’s high-level human capacity in science and technology and spin us nicely into the fourth industrial revolution. “We must not also lose sight of the administration’s school feeding programme, which will impact enrolment, participation and achievement of basic education pupils. I am sure that the implementation of the 2016 budget will translate to giant gains for the education sector.” But tell that to the marines seems to be the response of the President, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Mr. Usman Dutse. In his thinking, the past one year has been an era of hard times occasioned by underfunding.
Dutse said: “As far as education is considered, particularly in the polytechnic sector, it has been tough times for institutions due to serious under-funding by the government. The schools are without governing councils, just as many rectors are on acting capacity. Again, workers have not been getting their salaries in full since January 2016. Sincerely, as it is now, nothing significant has been achieved in the last one year.”
The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Dr. Caleb Aborisade, agrees with Dutse. The sector, he said, had not witnessed anything significant in the past one year. Aborisade said, “There is no significant improvement in the allocation to the education sector in this year’s budget. Besides, the government should encourage teachers by exposing them to training and seminars to make them better. There is the need also to encourage local researchers. This will ensure the desired development in the country. Instead of depending on foreigners to drive our development efforts, I think the nation will benefit more if local researchers are encouraged.”
In the security sector, Simeon Udie, a security expert, said; “Being a trained security person, a soldier himself, the security situation in the country has not been as required. He met a fragmented police force; the question is what has he done to the police which is meant to take care of the internal security of the country? For instance, in Lagos State, we have the RRS and so in other states. Hence, the finances which these states are supposed to be using to take care of other projects are being diverted to take care of the police.
The federal government under his watch has not done anything extra about the police. “Yes, the situation on Boko Haram has improved; the soldiers are winning the war. But there is the issue of the Niger Delta. It is disheartening to note that sometimes ago when the Niger Delta Development Corporation refurbished 10 or 12 boats, the military received them with so much joy but the situation is still bad. We expect a reasonable amount of security attention in that area.
The President, Nigeria Anti-terrorist Group, Caxton Onabanjo, said although the administration had made some inroads into some issues of security like the Boko Haram insurgency, it had yet to deal with corruption in the sector decisively. He said: “This administration has not dealt decisively with the issues enough. Although the security agencies are trying their best, there are still more to be done. There are some people feeding fat on crimes; they ought to be tracked down and prosecuted; even the Fulani herdsmen crisis.”
In manufacturing, analysts believe that the current regime under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari has not done anything that will impact positively on the lives of the Nigerian people. This can be seen on how the prices of goods and services are skyrocketing every now and again. Commenting on the sector, the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Jacobs, said “The past one year has been the worst period in the history of manufacturing because of the fact that government policies made it difficult for manufacturers to plan.
“The issue of foreign exchange affected manufacturers to the extent that many of our members had to close shop while others operated at very low capacity because they did not have enough FOREX to buy their raw materials.” The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, also said, “The economic policy space remains unclear. Policy conception is faulty; hence, policy coordination and implementation suffer serious setback.
“There is therefore an urgent need for central policy strategy with detailed and well-designed policy direction. This is critical for effective and efficient coordination and implementation of policies.”
The transportation sector is said to be full of empty promises. The President, Railway African Workers’ Union, Mr. Ralph Okoro, pointed out that “As much as I don’t want to be hard on Buhari, but all we have seen so far are promises upon promises. Nothing has actually happened. In the last one year, as far as transportation is concerned, President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has not done anything.”
They have been saying that without the budget, there is nothing they can do for the railway. “So far, we’ve not seen anything; but we are hopeful. The way the executive arm of government defended the inclusion of the Lagos–Calabar rail project in the 2016 budget gave us the hope that this government would make appreciable impact on the railways.
For the poor, a Transport Consultant and Managing Director, Newsletters Nigeria Limited, Dr. Oscar Odiboh, said: “In the area of road, there hasn’t been any improvement. I guess this is because road projects are tied to budgets. Road is a capital intensive project.”
The expressways are still in very bad shape; nothing has really changed. “But one thing that we can see is the increased interest by automakers in setting up vehicle assembly plants in Nigeria. At least three new ones have started operation in the last one year. I think the people’s confidence in this area is growing.”
Nigerians are said to have fared a bit better in the agricultural sector. The Country Manager for Nigeria, Harvest Plus, Mr. Paul Ilona, said “I score the new Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, high because I have seen the template for the agricultural sector.
Since the budget has just recently been signed into law, there is not much he could have done before now in the absence of a budget. “I think by the time the money gets pumped in, there is no doubt that we shall begin to reap the result of the well planned agricultural projects.
