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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