Funmilola Adediji

One of the characteristics of Nigerians is to compare political tenure. Nonetheless, it appears that the previous administration is always perceived by the citizens of Nigeria to be better than the current administration.

Will the citizens be blamed for such comparism?

The former president of the federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari handed over the government of Nigeria to the then President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the 29th of May 2023 who is currently the president. After the swearing in of Tinubu, a lot of policies were made, which sparked different reaction among the citizens and non citizens of the country.

Let us discuss the policies and the citizens’ reaction to it.

The removal of fuel subsidy was what the president used to welcome Nigerians into his administration. In no small measure, this sparked a lot of reactions in Nigeria and outside the country; the removal of subsidy brought about increase in the prices of the already expensive goods in the market, and as a result of the president’s speech on removal of subsidy, oil marketers withheld their oil and subsequently inflated the price for their benefits .A lot of critics took to their media space to criticize the president for his actions and not properly making arrangements to ease Nigerians on the heat of removal of subsidy.

Nigerians, already used to Nigeria government not making adequate arrangements for the severe rule made, didn’t compare the president to his predecessor as his administration was still young. But with the prices of things going up, one prayer that is prominent among Nigerians is “I hope this administration will not be worse, that we start to miss the former president, whose administration was described as one of worst administrations in the history of Nigeria.”

Do Nigerians miss Buhari is the question that takes a lot of time to answer. Well a lot of actions played by the present administration will answer the question.

People were asked to rate Tinubu’s administration and the rating was quite low as a lot of people unanimously said that his administration has been a thorn in the flesh. A person said “Should we start from the price increase of everything? The fact that salary is not enough to do anything, the increase in school fees …”  well, this is the reality of Nigeria.

A lot of people are frustrated; hands are no longer meeting.

The president at the early stage of his administration told Nigerians to bear with the country’s current state, but the questions Nigerians have asked is, is the president himself trying to manage the economy well? A funny question, right?

During the Muslim celebration of Eid Kabir, the president was seen guided with over 100 convoys which were not Nigerian made cars. This, without mincing words, sparked a lot of controversies; some people said the president said we should put up with the economic downturn of the nation, but he, the number one citizen, could squander the nation’s resource. Some said Nigerians are meant to support or patronize Nigerian products, but the president is not doing that. He should play the lead role in bearing with the country’s current state but he isn’t.

Tinubu’s ministerial list is considered to be the most expensive ministerial list in Nigeria, Tinubu appointed 48 ministers who would be paid salaries. Is this not too much for a country that faces economic meltdown? At this point, Nigeria government should be cutting down expenses in the same way the citizens are compelled and implored to do so.

Another controversial action of the president was his attempt to fight against military rule in Niger through war threats. This action was highly criticized by people.

 Let see some of the reaction.

A lot of people opined that Tinubu made the wrong decision by interfering into the affairs of a sovereign state. War shouldn’t be the next line of action, as staging war can affect the economy that is already in a bad condition. Some stated that the Republic of Niger is a sister to Nigeria. And some asked that who were they planning to use to fight war, a question which was raised as a result of the statement by the Director General of National youth service corps, Brig. Gen shaibu Ibrahim which he said “the youths during their Nigeria youth service corps were properly trained and can fight war if the need arises” Isn’t this funny? A lot of people reacted. “Youths are not properly catered for and yet they want to use them to fight war.”

The removal of subsidy, not making enough plan to ease Nigerians of policies made, the ministerial list, the threat of war, and the increase in tuition fees during his administration, the difference in the rate of naira to dollar, and among others have made some Nigerians to miss Buhari as some people stated that at least they could eat and do some things during the former administration, but now things are worse than ever. Everything has fallen apart; Families are starving. Students are dropping out of school. People are dying on a daily basis as there is no money for hospital bills. Unemployment is the order of the day. Crimes are increasing exponentially. Some youths have seen the seemingly right excuse to engage in internet fraud and prostitution. Future leaders have lost hope in the country. Everyone wants to japa, nothing is getting better. It seems, without any form of gainsaying, everything is in shambles.

The present state of the country has left much to be desired. When Buhari’s tenure came to an end, many Nigerians rejoiced, hoping that the next president has what it takes at his disposal to usher the country to unprecedented growth. However, it is now obvious that living in the country is now unpalatable.

Are things going to get better or are Nigerians going to continue to miss Buhari?