In this new article, Etcetera grades president Buhari
mostly F9 for his 100 days in office. Read below
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-
honoured 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
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