Nigeria’s politicians are
never short on promises.
After 16 years of rule by a
party which oversaw rising
corruption, growing poverty
levels, and a failing war
against Boko Haram
insurgents, its population has
grown used to them being
broken.
Still, many Nigerians hope
that those of their new
president, Muhammadu
Buhari, will prove stronger.
When he promised “change”
ahead of March elections,
Nigerians voted him in with a
hefty majority, bringing
about the first such
democratic power transfer in
the country’s history. So is
Buhari delivering? Or as he
approaches 100 days in
power, due on September 5,
is he “failing” already?
Page-upon-page of pledges
before election
The 100-day marker has been
used to gauge presidential
effectiveness ever since it
was pioneered by Franklin D.
Roosevelt, who inherited the
depression-stricken
American economy in the
1930s. The idea is that
governments can be at their
most effective at their dawn,
when their political capital is
high, their leadership fresh,
and their control of
parliament strong. The work
they do early on can serve as
a model for the future.
In almost two decades of
civilian rule, Nigeria has also
taken to measuring its
politicians on their early
performance. Both before
and since the election, the
Nigerian media has reported
widely on a series of
promises they say were made
by Buhari and his campaign
team ahead of the poll.
The main source for this appears to be
the president’s “Covenant with
Nigerians”, which was distributed to the
media before the vote and contains
page-upon-page of pledges. In it, the
president vows to “Publicly declare my
assets and liabilities” and to “Ensure
that… no force, external or internal, will
occupy even an inch of Nigerian soil”.
He also says he will “Unveil a health
sector review policy”; “Address the gaps
in power sector privatisation”; and
“Ensure that all children of school age…
are in school”.
These were widely reported at the time
as pledges to be carried out in the first
100 days, setting out “what Nigerians
should expect from Buhari’s first 100
days in office” according to one report
and “what I will do in my first 100
days”, according to another.
But as September 5 approaches, a row
has broken out over whether or not
Buhari and his team made any
commitment to achieve the promises
within his first three and a bit months
in office.
‘Too late to disown the promises’
Asked by Africa Check, Lai Mohammed,
the ruling party’s national publicity
secretary, said he was “not aware that
[Buhari] promised to deliver anything in
his first 100 days”.
The presidential spokesman Garba
Shehu went further by saying he “did
not fund or authorize” the pamphlet,
which in fact makes no mention of
achieving the president’s aims within
100 days. He also disowned a reported
second document entitled “One
Hundred Things Buhari Will do in 100
days”, which Africa Check could not
source.
In response to such rebuttals, the Centre
for Democracy and
Development released an article on
Monday arguing: “It is too late for
President Buhari to disown the
promises, on the basis of which
Nigerians voted for him”.
In fact, as Oluseun Onigbinde, one of
those behind the CDD’s promise-tracking
Buhari Meter, noted, in a speech in the
UK in February, then candidate Buhari
had already dismissed talk of what
should be done within 100 days.
Why Buhari’s campaign team did not
correct the widespread reports of the
100 day claim at an earlier point is not
yet clear.
Population may grow less patient
Of course, meeting the full set of
promises attributed to the
president would be a tall order for the
first 100 days of any government, let
alone one shackled by the interests of
an old political elite which doesn’t share
the president’s distaste for dirty
dealings.
During his first three months in office,
Buhari has focused on launching a
multinational force to fight Boko Haram
insurgents in the north-east, and
on repairing broken relationships with
Western partners. He has
begun reforms within the opaque state-
owned oil company, cancelled
unfavourable oil contracts, and
started probing public officials,
including the former national security
adviser Sambo Dasuki.
But the president is yet to name a
cabinet and has struggled to gain
control of a rebellious national
assembly. Jihadists continue to occupy
some north-eastern territory and are
staging bomb attacks on a weekly basis.
Kids are still out of school and hospitals
are a mess. Even on measures which he
could have delivered alone – notably
asset declaration – he has stalled.
Buhari’s popularity is still palpable, but
his honeymoon period will soon be
over. With his first 100 days behind him,
if he struggles to deliver all that he’s
promised them, the population may
grow less patient. Allowing people to
believe the 100-day promises had been
made is not a good start.
Eleanor Whitehead is The Economist’s West
Africa correspondent, and lives in Lagos.
This report was first published by our
partner, Africa Check
www.africacheck.org , a non-profit fact-
checking organisation. Twitter account:
@AfricaCheck . We have their permission
to republish here.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/189411-counting-to-100-what-promises-did-buhari-make-to-nigerians.html

Buhari During Campaign:


Insurgency Will Be A Thing Of The Past In My 2weeks Of Assuming Office..


Buhari After Been Elected:


In 2months Time Insurgency Will Leave Nigeria. But, 2months has passed..


Buhari Promising Promise On Top Promise:


Insurgency Will End By December 2015

Meanwhile Buhari has denied ever making promises. EFCC should go after the man, he is scamming Nigerians.

Na one naira to one dollar funny pass

Buhari never made any 100 days promise to nigerians..is nigerians dat made 100 days promise to demsef...I have apc manifesto and my covenant with nigerians...nothing like 100days in office dia..

Yeebos ar on it again but d yorubas and hausas ar too intelligent to take dix rubbish from u cursed erosion striking region..

So..just hoolop niggar..hoolop..hallar

kestolove95:
Buhari never made any 100 days promise to nigerians..is nigerians dat made 100 days promise to demsef...I have apc manifesto and my covenant with nigerians...nothing like 100days in office dia..

Yeebos ar on it again but d yorubas and hausas ar too intelligent to take dix rubbish from u cursed erosion striking region..

So..just hoolop niggar..hoolop..hallar

behold another younger version transgender of Liar Mohammed..

BeeBeeOoh:
behold another younger version transgender of Liar Mohammed..

hoolop niggar just hoolop

kestolove95:
Buhari never made any 100 days promise to nigerians..is nigerians dat made 100 days promise to demsef...I have apc manifesto and my covenant with nigerians...nothing like 100days in office dia..

Yeebos ar on it again but d yorubas and hausas ar too intelligent to take dix rubbish from u cursed erosion striking region..

So..just hoolop niggar..hoolop..hallar

Miss Lai Mohammed : Kindly upload dis manifesto ma.

Thanks in anticipation.

Buhari n fake promises b like bintu car without engine.

Stealing is now corruption and I now have so much electricity, I don't know what to do with it....... that's fine by me.