BUHARI ACHIEVES ONE OF HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISES SINCE AFTER INAUGURATION- PREMIUM TIMES

Seven months after taking over
government, the Muhammadu Buhari
administration has succeeded in
achieving only one out of the 222
campaign promises made to Nigerians,
according to a report by Buharimetre, a
civil society monitoring report tracking
the implementation of the president’s
campaign promises.

The report, which covers the activities of
the All Progressives Congress-led Federal
Government from May 29 to December
31, 2015, observed in its assessment that
the achievement was in the area of the
fight against corruption, even though a
lot was still left undone in that regard.
“PMB has only achieved 1 out of the 222
tracked promises, which constitutes 0.5
percent of the promises,” Buharimetre
reported.
“ More so, Premium times  reveals that while the
government is taking action to achieving
only 27 (12.2 percent approximately) of
the tracked promises thus ongoing, 194
electoral promises are still ‘Not Rated.’
“ The latter constitutes 87.3 percent of
the tracked promises.”

The electoral promises not rated, it says,
is because there is “no tangible related
activities being implemented.”
The 2015 report is the fourth on the
series of report on the assessment of the
performance of President Muhammadu
Buhari and the governing party, the
APC, on the delivery of its 222 electoral
promises.
The report examined and focused on
issues around insecurity, the economy,
oil and gas, corruption, agriculture and
social sectors, with emphasis on the
environment.
It also provided useful insights into the
current state of key sectors as a way of
establishing the basis of measuring
outcomes.
Assessing the fight against corruption,
the report noted that there had been
visible efforts to combat corruption since
the inauguration of the present
administration, naming the arrest and
prosecution of some notable persons and
the efforts to recover looted funds.
“PMB anti-corruption efforts have been
commended as a step in the right
direction,” the report noted.
“ Positive opinions in this regard are due
to the possible positive impact of the
efforts on development and democracy
in the country.
“However, the government has been
accused of politics of selection in the
fight against corruption. A delay in the
prosecution of the accused people has
been a major criticism of the
government. Moreover, while the
government has shown unmatched
commitment to curbing corruption, such
effort should be institutionalised.”
The
report observed that one of the promises
of the current administration was to
strengthen the capacity of anti-graft
agencies, particularly EFCC and ICPC, by
guaranteeing their prosecutorial and
financial independence as well as
security of tenure.
“Despite the fact that the anti-grant
agencies have shown renewed efforts in
the fight against corrupt practices, there
has been no effort by the government to
amend relevant laws to guarantee their
independence in these areas,” states the
report.
“Moreover, nothing has been done to
enact the Whistle Blower Act, as
promised by the administration. We
believe that through these interventions,
the performance of anti-graft agencies
would not rely on the personality and
political will of President Buhari, but
rather the campaign against corruption
would be institutionalised and thereby
would extend beyond the current
administration.”
While stating that it was aware of
government’s commitment to fighting
corruption and blocking leakages in both
the civil service and the oil and gas
sector; and exhibiting a strong political
will to fight corruption irrespective of
who is involved, Buharimetre observed
that the fight against corruption must
not be devoid of strict adherence to the
rule of law.
“In the last few months, several of the
people accused of corruption have been
detained against the law, which
stipulates that all accused must be
brought before the court 48 hours after
arrest,” it stated.
“Some people granted bail have since
been re-arrested and detained. The fight
against corruption must be pursued in
line with due process and never in abuse
of the law.
“It is also imperative for the government
to acknowledge that the fight against
corruption should not be confused as
sufficient to address all governance
challenges in the country.
“Essentially, fighting corruption is and
should remain one of the policy
priorities of government but not the only
overarching intervention necessary to
strengthen governance, especially in a
country like Nigeria where democracy is
still transitioning.
“The campaign against corrupt practices
should simultaneously exist with
interventions such as social provisions
that could discourage people from
engaging in corrupt practices, and to a
large extent, galvanize support for the
campaign. This may also help
institutionalise the anti-corruption
process in the country.
“ Allegations of perceived bias continue
to be made against the PMB
administration in several parts of the
country. For instance, the South Eastern
part of the country continues to claim
marginalization on the part of the
government.”
Boko Haram
Although, Buharimetre noted the efforts
of the Nigerian military in the fight
against Boko Haram insurgency in the
north east of Nigeria and to ensure
security in the entire country, it said the
rising wave of violent crimes such as
armed robbery, kidnapping, militancy in
the Nigeria Delta and the activities of
Biafra separatists groups were posing
even greater danger to the security of
life in the country.
The report acknowledged the
achievements in decimating the
capabilities of Boko Haram insurgents in
the North East and the reorganization of
the entire structure in the anti-terrorism
project, but noted that the sect continues
to display strong resilience and shocking
adaptability.
“Members of the group, who formerly
travelled in armoured personnel
carriers (APCs), now ride horses, motor
bikes and bicycles to carry out their
nefarious activities,” said the report.
“ These range from poisoning water
when fleeing villages and adopting soft
target attacks using suicide bombing,
executed mostly by young girls.
“The insurgents have also carried out
attacks in Nyanya and Kuje, on the
outskirts of the capital city, Abuja.”
It faulted the government’s responses to
the increasing number of internally
displaced persons whose living
conditions had become life threatening.
The
report also underscored government’s
failure to officially unveil its
accountability plans for resolving the
Boko Haram insurgency.
“This may be partly because the problem
is not Boko Haram alone. Amnesty
International recently issued a report
titled Stars on Their Shoulders, Blood on
Their Hands indicting the Nigerian
military for its wanton killings in the
war against the insurgency,” it said.
“The ICC-OTP has also established eight
possible cases of crimes against
humanity in relation to the North East of
Nigeria. This includes six possible cases
against Boko Haram and two possible
cases against the Nigerian security
forces.”
The report also drew attention to the fact
that the remote and immediate causes of
violent extremism are still very much
alive in the polity.
“There are smaller, less popular Islamic
radical groups present in several parts
of Northern Nigeria,” says the report.
“For instance, Yanlabaiku in Kebbi state
is preaching against Western education
and Westernisation, and Niger state is
pervaded by different radical Islamist
groups. Most of these groups live in
seclusion, preaching and practicing
radical Islam.”
It also cited armed banditry which had
continue to terrorise rural communities,
rustling cattle, raping and abducting
women and girls, killing people and
committing highway robbery and thus
increasing tension in Northern Nigeria.
Also citing the Biafra struggle, the report
noted that the state approach, and
particularly the security sector approach
in handling the conflicts remained a
cause for concern across the country.
“There are fears that if the IPOB is not
properly managed, it may degenerate
into a low level insurgency, further
compounding current security
challenges,” it said.
“Soon after the security agents
clampdown on the Biafra separatist
movement, there were reports that the
Nigerian Army, in preventing an alleged
attempted assassination on the Chief of
Army staff, General Buratai, killed
twenty Shia members in Zaria.
“The Shia are said to have put up
barricades and blocked the road to be
used by General Buratai. The Army went
to the sect’s enclave Husainiyyah, the
residence of sect leader Ibrahim Zakzaky
in Gyallesu, and the DarurRahma
mosque, where many unarmed people
were killed.
“Human Rights Watch (HRW), has
alleged that no fewer than 300 members
of the Shia sect were killed and secretly
buried by members of the Nigerian
army,” the report stated.