Charles Onunaiju

IT is certainly not the best of time to indulge in any kind of advocacy for President Muhammadu Buhari’s political future, even among his early admirers still wonder why he had not turned one Naira to one US dollar and his skeptical detractors, have always believed that his famed integrity was a politically manufactured chimera to hoodwink the simple-minded.

Notwithstanding the genuine concerns and worry about the competence of President Buhari to direct the affairs of Nigeria till 2023, there are even more compelling reasons to indulge him for another term.  

In economic terms, President Buhari has engendered a most fundamental structural reform of the economy, whose disruption would only spell doom. The structural reform, in which key and core infrastructures, consisting of road, rail and air networks are in early formations, must be prosecuted in the long–term through policy consistency and strong political will, both of which cannot be guaranteed by any regime change in 2019. 

The strategic import of such crucial infrastructural projects for sustainable and inclusive economic recovery cannot be overemphasized, and therefore requires a consistent policy engagement to come to fruition.

The deficit of such enabling and key infrastructure component have left the economy to financial speculations and such unproductive activities have previously skewed the economy to portfolio investors and other hot money chasers. The value of critical infrastructures in any emerging economy is hallmarked by the creation of inclusive value chain, in which every sector of society, including unskilled persons and artisans can find a suitable niche in the economic life of the country.

Closely associated with President Buhari’s important focus on transport arteries are equally his dutiful commitment to agricultural modernization and power infrastructure. After many years of successive regimes dilly- dally on the Mambilla Plateau power project, he has taken the bull by the horn by expressly committing to getting the project, off the ground. When completed, the Mambilla Plateau power Project would unleash nearly additional 4,000 megawatts to the national electricity grid. Against the background that entrepreneurs of all sorts invest about 40% of their capital to generate their own power, the Mambilla power project when completed would be a remarkable game changer to the country’s industrial aspirations. To place the burden of this colossal project and many others on President Buhari shoulders is squarely and strictly beyond the politics of his second term bid.

It is Nigeria’s best national strategic imperative to ensure that these projects reach points, where no considerations of political expediency would put them in the back burner. For nearly two decades, since the return of civil rule, such critical and strategic infrastructures have been objects of political rigmarole with the consequence of near economic bankruptcy, where productive activities have literally ceased, giving room to excessive speculations.

President Buhari has given focused and sustained commitment to agriculture and while the system is still riddled with leakages and cronyism, there has been an appreciable improvement in nominal food guarantees from the national agricultural activities. It would still take some time to assure Nigerians of food security but if the trend of policy priority to local farmers and enhanced agribusiness is sustained, it would not be too long before the country returns to food self-sufficiency.

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The enabling policy framework to drive a compelling economic structural reform is only sustainable in the context of a strong political will and commitment. 

 President Buhari, though, has abysmally failed to guarantee the instant bread and butter that he and his party earlier promised, he has however, laid out the most credible and enabling framework in our context to guarantee a better life in the near future.

Politically, the imperative of President Buhari’s  election in the first place is essentially to disrupt an inept and dysfunctional political process that engages the elite greed but miserably ignores the popular needs of the people. He has not, so far discharged this foremost contract to which the masses risked their skins to have him elected. The political process, including institutional reforms, cry for attention and no matter, what advances, President Buhari may make in economic  reforms, the unreformed political process would ensure its reversals.

The current constitutional guarantees for a bloated government both at executives and legislative branches are not sustainable. Not only has rivalry and inter-institutional conflicts hobbled governance but have diverted scarce resources to areas outside the immediate needs of national development. The system of extravagant and costly governance has given rise to structural and institutional corruption to which even individual office holders are helpless pawns.

Despite President Buhari being satisfied  with the scheme of things as they currently exist,  he still holds out any serious prospects to shake things down and retool the nation’s political infrastructure and enthrone a new politics.

With a second term, he can muster sufficient political will to enact far-going reforms that would revolutionise politics, even long after he has gone.

Despite Buhari’s position, he is still best placed to shake-up the inertia that has befuddled our politics and stymied the economy.  His second term will not be a honeymoon but a fight for his legacy.

Onunaiju writes from Abuja.