Former Nigerian lawmaker in the second republic, Dr Junaid Mohammed, has rated the Buhari Muhammadu administration as very poor and unimpressive.
Mohammed said that most Nigerians are not happy with the current government.
He said: “It is clear to me, for example, that General Buhari has not performed. Now, it is questionable whether one can honestly compare his performance when he was the Head of State from January 1984 to August 1985. With his performance, when he came as a dictator through a military coup, whether he was an active participant or just a beneficiary of the mood of the army officers that staged the coup in 1984 is one point.
“But the fact that matters is when you compare that performance of the government in which he was the head with the performance of this present government in which he’s also the head, you have no reservation than to say he hasn’t performed.
“We have a government which is supposed to be democratic, but it doesn’t believe in listening. If you have a government which doesn’t believe in listening, it’s a very sensitive situation. Because, if you want to have a take and which can be made logically, lucidly, responsibly and which can be persuasively made, that government must come out honestly and sincerely.”
Mohammed said Nigeria had not made significant progress since independence as the country is still dependent on oil revenue.
He said, “Over the years, from 1958 till date, Nigeria has not succeeded in diversifying the national economy. We, still, are a one-commodity economy. And anytime that commodity goes through rashes in the capitalist market, we go to very dire circumstances, and that is the situation now.
“It could be said that is essentially our fault, the fault of those leading us. But, the fact is that some people in other countries of the world have been able to manage this difficulty we are in. So, in an overview, democratically or legitimately, Buhari is in power, and he’s not performing.
“The idea of performance is fundamental. Democracy is just a system of government. It is not a mechanism in solving all problems. We believe in this concept that when we have democracy, our problems will be solved. This is not true. I think what we need is to have the right tools. So, we have to erase the idea that democracy will solve all economic problems and the country will be rich, and poverty and management issues will disappear.
“All I can say now is that Buhari is now enjoying his second mandate. Since he has not completed his tenure of office, we cannot talk about his overall performance as best or worst. The fact of the matter is that we cannot pass the buck of saying the worst or best president until he has the full tenure and we assess his government.”
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