Controversial musician cum writer
Etcetera is here again with how president
Buhari has gone so far in his government.
We often use benchmarks as measures of progress. ‘How is your
favourite football team doing at the beginning of this season?’ ‘How
many words does your one-year-old son say in a minute?’
And, of course, there’s the time-honored measure of how well a new
president is doing after 100 days in office. In case you hadn’t heard,
that benchmark is here for President Buhari.
You may feel it’s a little impertinent for me to issue a report card
for President Buhari on his performance during his first 100 days in
office. Yes, I’m not his teacher, and he’s not my student. But what the
heck? It’s a free country and everyone else is doing it. So here it
goes:
Confidence
Buhari has brought back confidence in governance. Especially in tough
times, the confident presence of a leader begets confidence in those
that he or she leads. With his steady demeanour, optimistic outlook and
command, Buhari embodies confidence. The number of incompetent heads of
parastatals he has sacked so far reflects that sentiment. The percentage
of Nigerians who think the country is on the right track is up. Grade:
A1
Pace of Governance
When the pressure is high, leaders need perspective. They need swift
action. Buhari is working on so many things all by himself that it’s
sometimes hard to keep track of all of them. He has too much on his
plate. He should get into perspective and allow others do the job where
he can’t. It won’t be a surprise to discover that the president is in
charge of his travel itinerary, meeting schedule and other range of
issues on his plate. He runs the risk of edging toward a burn out. Well,
some argue that the president is keeping a pace that works for him.
Grade: F9
Communications
Effective leadership communication is outcome oriented and audience
specific. President Buhari is clearly not an articulate communicator and
he doesn’t do enough to shape his message to the audience. Hearing Mr.
President pronounce APC leaves you lost and wondering if you heard him
correctly.
Maybe his media aides should have used this as an excuse to exonerate
him from the hundred things he promised to have achieved before his
first 100 days in office that has now capped him as a liar. Buhari’s
tone of voice usually stays within a fairly narrow range. He could do
better here. Grade: F9
Team Player
There are two major factors on this distinction. The first is to get a
great team in place. The second is to get your ego out of the way and
allow the team to do their job. Buhari has stumbled here and most people
will agree that his failure to appoint ministers in his first 100 days
in office has been a setback to governance.
Whether you agree with me or not, Buhari can’t be president and
ministers all by himself. We need competent hands to man the various
ministries.
You cannot achieve a lot in three and half months without the support
of a team. Good leaders are the keepers of the what, not the masters of
the how. Assembling a strong team also helps in establishing an agenda.
Buhari needs to realise that he’ll likely never have more momentum than
he has now if he doesn’t put a team on the ground. Grade: F9
Accountability and Responsibility:
President Buhari has done fairly well with the campaign for
government officials to be held accountable for their actions or
inactions. He has brought a sense of transparency and has taken some
interesting first steps in promoting government accountability.
I think this is an area where there is a lot more to do however. For
instant, there hasn’t really been a clear explanation yet as to how he
is going to tackle corruption and how the country will avoid being
ripped apart by government officials in the years to come. Grade: C
Economy
This has so far been one of the president’s worst subjects. He may be
making a grave mistake focusing all his attention on recouping looted
funds instead of providing the basic needs of the people. Never in
history has this approach successfully led a country out of recession.
This might lead to an unhappy ending, and more inflation. The continuous
drop of the nation’s currency is stark reminder that we are still in
the worst slump in 50 years. Grade: F9
National Security
Nigerians are still not experiencing any sense of security. People
are dying and getting maimed everyday on the streets by hoodlums and
touts. Boko Haram insurgents are still using the yet to be found Chibok
girls for their bombings. Armed robbers are having a field day carting
away properties. The country is still not safe. Grade: F9
