The Face of Change?

Three years of the All Progressives Congress is utter letdown, writes Olawale Olaleye

The last three and a half years of the regime of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre have been short of expectations, to say the least. With its brutish approach to politics, the gradual failure of other sectors of the system has become impossible.

Apart from a few ministries – not more than two or three – the record of failure of the Muhammadu Buhari government is already public knowledge, no matter how hard its spin doctors try to undo these palpable public records.

Take away the ministries of Transportation and that of Power, Works and Housing – the government of Buhari is generally believed to have failed to live up to billings and rather than sit up to review its inadequacies with a view to fixing them, it has descended further into mediocrity.

Particularly disappointing but directly pointing to these failings are some of the events that occurred last week – both in the politics and governance of the country. What these events have also indicated is the tendency for impunity by successive governments, but with differing propensity.

A coupe of weeks ago, there was a rapprochement between President Buhari and Senate President Bukola Saraki. The meeting showed promises. But less than 24 hours after, those who run government on behalf of Buhari, showed their hands, when they attempted to change the leadership of the Senate in a sense that exposed the partisanship of the police.

It was apparent that those who conceived the plan, had envisaged that Saraki would leave the party, APC and had also planned to impeach him through a back-door plot. That too failed and stoked more high-profile defections, including that of the Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal.

Since then, the flurry of activities that followed showed deficiency in the management capacity of the current government.

From the instigated, coordinated and planned impeachment of the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, by eight out of 30 lawmakers to the failed installation of a new deputy governor in Imo State in one of the most condescending approaches as well as the unrelenting moves to forcibly reopen the National Assembly and effect a change of its leadership, have all combined to constitute huge danger to the political, economic and social life of the nation.
The decision by the Nigerian people to tag along with APC in 2015 after assessing the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership, which was demystified by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency was an informed one.

Although the choice between Buhari and Jonathan was a totally impossible one, to settle for Buhari was the only option. While, the hope in the Buhari administration may actually be staggering, the president’s inability to deliver profound leadership has made a complete mess of the journey so far.

Not only has his government failed in activating the principle of sanction and reward as an effective instrument in building a decent and sane society, his drive towards sectionalism and favouritism has exposed the fears that some had about his personal disposition in the days leading to his election.

The fact is that the president presents the face of someone, who has created a free-for-all environment in the corridor of power as people with selfish and ulterior motives have since seized the initiative on his behalf, creating more problems than they have the capacity to solve and leaving him to deal with the backlash since the buck stops with him.

With a recalcitrant security situation, limping economy and inherently defective leadership, the current look on the face of CHANGE as proposed by the APC is not a pleasant sight to behold. There is not just a disharmony in the working relationship amongst top government functionaries in the cabinet, there is a worrisome disconnect between the government and the governed.
Therefore, it is baffling how a government that came on board with a rare goodwill lost its head within three years.

Currently characterised by integrity deficit, the APC has a lot of explaining to do to the voting populace on why the beautiful pictures it flashed during the 2015 campaigns are not the same as the ugly face it now wears. For sure, it is going to be their record posting against the people’s verdict!