Nigeria on autopilot as new president uses time fighting fires
WE CANNOT afford to disappoint Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari told his party leaders at the weekend, writes DIANNA GAMES.
Published in Business Day SA, 7 July 2015
Mr Buhari was responding to concerns from a nation impatient for signs that their new president has the will and capability to tackle corruption, fight insecurity and instill discipline into the polity.
Just a few weeks into the job, Mr Buhari is battling to get on top of an array of problems plaguing the country, despite bold promises made before the April election that he would move swiftly to build a better Nigeria. He has spent his early days in office fighting fires in his party and in the country.
Last week, it emerged that Mr Buhari may not announce his new cabinet before September — three months into his tenure and nearly six since his election as president.
New Nigerian president faces potential crisis of expectations
Muhammadu Buhari may have ben handed a poisoned chalice, having to balance tackling a litany of economic and security problems while satisfying Nigerians' expectations of change, writes DIANNA GAMES
Published in Business Day SA, 25 May 2015
NIGERIA is facing a crisis of expectations as it heads for one of the most auspicious moments in its relatively short 16-year democracy.
The inauguration later this week of Muhammadu Buhari is expected to bring significant change to this large, complex nation.
Not only will Nigeria have a different head of state, it will have a new cabinet and two-thirds of the 36 states will be changing governors after the opposition All Progressives Congress won at the polls this year, displacing the Peoples’ Democratic Party, which had governed Nigeria since 1999.
While this presents an opportunity for a new broom to sweep away much of the rot that has dogged Nigeria’s progress, it’s a formidable task. Read more ...