Buhari, Still In Campaign Mood, Vows To Solve Nigeria’s Problems

Mr. Buhari arriving Abuja on September 25, 2016 from New York where he had gone to attend the United Nations General Assembly

President Muhammadu Buhari vowed again on Monday that he would solve Nigeria’s many problems even as a recession bites harder and internal wrangling in the ruling party worsen in his second year in office.

“God has given us people and resources. It will take hard work on our part, but we will make it. We will get out of our problems. We are determined to produce what we eat, and stop importation. We will also chase those who stole, and get them to refund,” Mr. Buhari said when he received the President of the African Development Bank (ADB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina.

With an economy in turmoil and Nigerians losing jobs by the day, many have been wondering whether the change they voted for last year would one day manifest. But Mr. Buhari had said in almost all his public declarations that the problems Nigeria faces were created by those who ruled before him.

In New York, where he had gone to attend the United Nations General Assembly recently, President Buhari singled out those who had ruled between 1999 and 2015 when he replaced former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo was the President of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007 while the late Musa Yar’ Adua, whom Mr. Jonathan replaced after his demise, took over from Mr. Obasanjo in 2007. Mr. Jonathan came to power in 2010 after Mr. Yar’ Adua died.

“We got into trouble as a country, because we did not save for the rainy day. For example, between 1999 and 2015, when we produced an average of 2.1 million barrels of oil per day, and oil prices stood at an average of $100 per barrel, we did not save, neither did we develop infrastructure. Suddenly, when we came in 2015, oil prices fell to about 30 dollars per barrel,” the Presidency in a statement to TheSimonAtebaNews, quoted Mr. Buhari as saying when he received 15 successful Nigerians on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“I asked; where are the savings? There were none. Where are the railways? The roads? Power? None. I further asked; what did we do with billions of dollars that we made over the years? They said we bought food. Food with billions of dollars? I did not believe, and still do not believe”.

But many Nigerians have said in recent weeks and months that they had become tired of the President’s frequent lamentations, adding that he was elected to solve problems his predecessor was unable to solve and was booted out.

Internal problems within the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, may make things even harder for Mr. Buhari. Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, once a lord in the party has seen his influence dwindle in recent months, culminating in the defeat of his anointed candidate in the governorship primary election in the western state of Ondo.

Mr. Tinubu demanded the resignation of the party chairman in a statement to the media on Sunday, saying that democracy was in danger under him, after his anointed candidate was defeated.

But for those who have followed his antecedents, Mr. Tinubu is seen as a bully who almost damaged democracy in the APC by imposing candidates over party members. His supporters alleged that the primary election was manipulated and should be rescheduled. The Party chairman overruled the decision of the party and Mr. Tinubu was infuriated.