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Taking Stock: What Nigeria’s Buhari Has Done In First Year As President

Taking Stock: What Nigeria’s Buhari Has Done In First Year As President

Exactly a year ago, Nigeria did something they had never done since independence. They elected an apposition candidate as the president of the oil producing West African nation.

While not new to the job, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari become Nigeria’s president under a flurry of promises including ending the a reign of terror by the Boko Haram militants in the north, stabilizing the economy, ending corruption and creating jobs for the youth.

Last week, Buhari clocked one year as the president of the continent’s most powerful nation and everyone was keen to know what he has achieved so far.

An opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls showed that the Nigerian president got an approval rating of 64 percent, but his job creation record and progress in improving the country’s tanking economy remained a concern.

Only 14 percent of the people polled said he has created jobs, while only 21 percent said he had handled economic matters well, the opinion poll showed.

“Interestingly, compared to one year ago, 44 per cent of Nigerians believe the country is currently moving in the right direction, while 37 per cent believe it’s moving in the wrong direction, leaving only 19 per cent who believe the country is neither moving in the right nor wrong direction,” ThisDay quoted NOIPolls saying in its report released Monday.

“Furthermore, in terms of specific indicators, Nigerians rated the president’s performance on corruption at 55 per cent, national security, 47 per cent as average, while he was rated very poorly on job creation, 14 per cent and handling of the economy, 21 percent.’’

The main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), took a much critical stance in judging the one-year reign of President Buhari, insisting that the last 365 days were wasted, africanews reported.

Buhari anti-graft crusade

PDP took to twitter with 50 cartoon photos titled ‘‘How Buhari ruined Nigeria in just 1 Year,’‘ that made satire of issues of insecurity, selective fight against corruption, a failing economy, failed promises and hard and high cost of living.

Buhari’s anti corruption crusade has also characterized his first year in office.
His first two bills to the Senate on January kick-started the process of giving an impetus to the anti-graft body to help them effectively fight money laundering and criminal activities in Nigeria.

A number of high profile officials from the previous government have already been charged with corruption, including former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki, who allegedly stole up to $2 billion in fraudulent arm dealings which deprived the Nigerian army of ammunition and equipment at the peak of its battles with Boko Haram’s insurgents, Quartz Africa reported.

Buhari’s record with the economy is what is worrying investors most.

According to a Bloomberg report, the optimism that surrounded the former military ruler’s ascent to power last year has slowly fizzled off as Africa’s largest economy crumbles under the weight of low oil prices