Critics say the rave on which President Muhammadu Buhari came into power is fast dwindling, his name is barely pulling the same positive effect it had during the election period and the reasons are not far fetched.
Battling with age and some health issues that have seen him leave the country for treatment, President Buhari has been handed the toughest of tasks.
Having returned from his trip to the United Kingdom, the Nigerian president must get straight to it regarding the situation of the country.
Nigerians are looking to see where the country is headed and their final verdict regarding the APC-led dispensation will be how Buhari is able to handle three very pressing issues rocking the nation to its very foundation.
1. Economic crisis
Trade for many has come to a halt following the fluctuating value of the Naira. An increase in fuel price following the removal of subsidy has not made business any better for Nigerians.
The price of tomatoes and other food items means more troubles for a teeming masses that have been said to be living below a dollar per day.
Investigations reveal that the stiff economic situation in the country has stirred a mass migration of many people from the Urban cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The people cannot cope with the inflation and many ask if this is the promised change.
There are no jobs, many youths linger in the streets seeking opportunities that seem never to come. The APC-government has reportedly made provisions for a welfare package of N5000, but the question remains, what exactly will the monthly stipend do, especially in a time when prices are skyrocketing?
Salaries are being delayed and retrenchment seem now to be the order of the day. The Federal Government has moved to put a stop to the mass retrenchment, however, how will the firms survive with the number of staff they have, if business fails to thrive under the harsh business atmosphere in Nigeria?
President Buhari and his team are of the opinion that corruption is crippling the economy and the president has sworn to fight corruption to the latter. However, there are some who believe that Buhari has made his anti-corruption war selective.
There are also claims that the president is operating on a “damaging and outdated monetary policy”, hence the nose-dive experienced in economic growth.
Buhari has promised to diversify the Nigerian economy, however, that move seem coming too slow for the Nigerian people. The Nation remains ever dependent on its oil trade.
2. Terror groups
To say that Nigeria has become a nation whose people live in fear due to terrorism is not out of place. While the Nigerian army is still engaged in a fierce and almost never ending battle with Boko Haram in the northeast, there is a storm welling up within the south-south region of the country.
The situation within the Niger Delta region has become so very serious that virtually every other day, a new militant group emerges with requests of their own, most of which are totally unrealistic, hence, sending the message that the chances of really coming to an agreement with the FG is so slim.
There have been several attempts at negotiating with the militant groups within the Niger Delta, but no truce has been reached yet. Some have said that the renewed violence within the region is due to the loss of Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in the last presidential election.
Those who favour this line of thought are of the believe that the people of the south-south are of the opinion that the north setup Boko Haram to cause a huge disruption in the Jonathan-led administration, hence the Niger Delta will use militants to cause chaos, now that a northerner is at the helm of affairs.
The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) recently said that associates of former president, Goodluck Jonathan are using Niger Delta Avengers to destabilise the President Muhammadu Buhar’s led administration.
MEND alleged that one of the most prominent militant group in the region “the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), is the vehicle currently being used by Niger Delta political elite and associates of former President Goodluck Jonathan to destabilize President Buhari’s Government. It was these political juggernauts who are loathe to see President Buhari gain a foothold in the region.”
Once again, the Niger Delta has gone back to violence and vandalism, a development which further cripples the Nigerian economy. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) disclosed that it lost more than N19.43bn in the month of April, as the country’s crude oil production dropped from 59.27 million barrels recorded in February to 57.43 million barrels in March, due to growing acts of pipeline vandalisation in the Niger Delta region.
The corporation stated this in its Monthly Financial Report released in Abuja on Thursday where it also revealed that over 1,500 megawatts of electricity were lost as a result of the destruction of oil and gas facilities, adding that the capacity utilisation of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company plummeted from 25.65 percent in March to 6.36 percent in April.
“The NNPC’s monthly financial and operations report indicate an operational loss of 19.43bn in April 2016 as against 18.89bn in the month of March 2016. The deficit increased by 2.83 per cent in the month of April 2016 due to a slight decline in revenue generation, which is attributed to the decrease in petroleum product sales by 7.11 per cent.
“The NPDC’s crude sale for the month is still hampered by Forcados pipeline vandalism, which continued to deny the NPDC of monthly crude oil revenue of about 20.0bn,” the report stated.
3. A civil war
The last Nigerian civil war which took place between July 6 1967 to January 15, 1970 led to the death of over two million civilians. Once again, the hand writings are on the wall, heralding that yet another bloody war is imminent.
Like a movie script, some Igbos have started to toe the same path which led to the Biafran war. Led by Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the pro-Biafrans have sworn to secede, claiming that Nigeria has dealt unfairly with the Igbo people.
Nnamdi Kanu is in custody, faced with charges bordering on treason, however, the Radio Biafra director’s fame has grown so much that he is seen by some as a messiah sent for the liberation of the Igbo nation, a very deadly ideology.
The massacre and arrest of pro-Biafra agitators has not in anyway helped issues, it seem like the more security operatives kill them, the stronger their resolve to see that Biafra Republic is actualized.
President Buhari is now saddled with the grave task of ensuring that Nigeria remains united, a task which many fear he might not be able to execute perfectly.
The battle for the unity of Nigeria gets intense everyday, especially in a time when the pro-Biafrans have embraced the Niger-Delta militants and are working in alliance to see that the country is divided.
Several calls have been made to see that the federal government sets Nnamdi Kanu free, however, there are fears that with his widespread fame, the pro-Biafra leader might become even more deadly than anyone thought. Analyst have said that the splitting of Nigeria seem inevitable, some even argue that it will take a miracle to see Nigeria remain united till the next general elections.
President Buhari has failed Nigeria is fast become the song on the lips of many. The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) described the one-year of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a dismal failure.
The group, through its head, Debo Adeniran, said the administration spent a full one year giving excuses and blaming its predecessor for the challenges in the country.
In the same vein, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN) has said that President Muhammadu Buhari does not understand Nigeria. The senior advocate in pushing for the implementation of the 2014 Confab report said Buhari “isn’t a politician and he doesn’t understand the political arithmetic of Nigeria and he doesn’t understand the political geography.”
Source:
http://nigeriabreakingnews.com.ng/revealed-top-3-things-threatening-president-buhari-2/
Topic: Revealed! Top 3 things threatening President Buhari (Read 898 times)
