Although it is not yet 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari, by a lot of his words and deeds, is showing that he has fully come to terms with the unavoidable reality of his exit from power next year. His speeches at the last United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and on the occasion of the celebration of Nigeria’s 62nd Independence Anniversary as well as many other past expressions are already indication of a readiness to just leave at the appointed time.
The president was, for example, reported to have complained about the huge fatigue that is naturally involved in the governance of the country and therefore expressed a desire for a relief, re-affirmed absolute commitment to the hand-over date and re-assured Nigerians of the conduct of credible elections that will give birth to a new government. All these statements are the basis of the belief that he must have made all the necessary arrangements for his exit.
The quarrel therefore is not about his willingness or even readiness to relinquish power on May 29 2023, but specifically about a lot of the claims, assurances and requests that his recent speeches have clearly contained. Although he consistently puts up defence for all the actions and inactions of his government, an intensive interrogation of almost all his submissions on all the issues and situations that have continued to characterize his tenure openly continues.
In 2015, Buhari took over government as a kind of rescuer, even if not revolutionary, in whom inestimable hope for the turn-around of the country was duly invested. His victory was Nigerians’ loud statement about the need to put forward a person with sufficient competence as the country’s leader so that all the identified loopholes in its fabrics and systems would be plugged.
In other words, the emergence of Buhari as Nigeria’s President was a fulfilment of a dream that was over-celebrated by especially those who believed that he was not only, in view of his past records and expressions, knowledgeable about the challenges but also strong-willed enough to bring about the desired changes. His election was, as far the millions of patriotic Nigerians were concerned, practically more about the realization of a common objective than a demonstration of a support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) or any other political interest.
Buhari apparently not only understood the frustrations which informed the desperation of Nigerians towards the emergence of an alternative leadership but also keyed into it. The situation was such that made it absolutely possible for him to play the role of a champion of the popular complaints, demands and sentiments of the people which he readily turned into basic campaign issues.
During the period of his prolonged, intensive and extensive campaigns he mouthed a strong resolve to patriotically deal with the challenges that had continued to constitute a cog in the wheel of the progress of the country. He appeared to have adequately appreciated the people’s expectations as well as the absolute need to expeditiously meet them.
In the little less than eight years that he has been the country’s elected leader, he has consistently been trying to render accounts to the people in the course of which he re-affirms commitment to the provision of credible governance, explains strategies, complains about challenges and demands stronger understanding of the citizens. At almost every point, the president seeks to create and re-enforce, as the case may be, public confidence in the government.
Even now that he is in the departure lounge, just about to vacate the scene, the president carries on with his style. As the reality of the termination of his tenure becomes clearer, he puts much more emphasis on some issues which he thinks should form the basis of judgement on his performance in office.
It has been Buhari’s regular complaint that the achievements of his government are terribly under-publicised which, he believes, is the only reason for the apparent low appreciation of the efforts of the government. This complaint shows that either the achievements he claims to have recorded are too insignificant in terms of quantity and impact to deserve wide publicity or the government officials that should carry out the publicity are too lazy to do their work.
The president’s determination to create a favourable image of himself within the country and beyond is both natural and necessary. It is, therefore, in the context of this undeniable fact that the self-commendation he made at the last session of the UNGA and also as contained in his independence anniversary message should be understood.
But the articulation and presentation of such arguments are the only duties he can continue to perform as the right of the delivery of judgement belongs to the people. This means that it is the nature of the overriding judgement that is about to be passed or has, in fact, already been passed that will determine the kind of image that he will eventually have.
Although, the verdict he has pronounced in his independence anniversary message that “in the past few years we have witnessed and overcome a good number of challenges that would ordinarily have destroyed our nation”, which is a product of self-assessment may make some sense to some people, what however appears to be the dominant belief is that the country is right now going through worst times. The incessant expression of disappointment by even those segments of the citizenry that worked for his emergence as president indicates that such conclusion is quite contrary to the belief in some critical circles in the country.
As his engagements at both national and international levels continue, there is the need for President Buhari to be more realistic about not only the sanctity of the hand-over date, but also the impact of his performance on the lives of Nigerians or, more precisely, the tangibility of his achievements. It takes more than the results of his own assessment or even the assessment of his entire team to be able to come up with the real truth about the current situation in Nigeria.
Perhaps, the most fundamental issue of concern now for most Nigerians is not the Buhari government which has just a few months to go, but the one that will succeed it. While the president is struggling hard to ensure that he secures favourable judgement for himself from Nigerians and other members of the international community, a lot of energies are currently being deployed towards the management of a process that, even with the identified shortcomings of the major contestants, can guarantee the emergence of a much better leadership.
It is yet known whether, as the twin processes towards the end of his tenure and the emergence of a new government continue, the president will laugh last or not. Whichever attitude he will manifest at the point of his departure and thereafter will speak volumes about his own kind of understanding of the essence of democratic governance.