It was the eve of the presidential election of the year 2015. Like the sun, Abuja was disappearing behind us. Sitting beside me was my uncle and in the back seat, my mother. We were on road to the village to vote for Muhammadu Buhari. The car I was driving was an old Honda CRV with no spare tyre. The plan the day before was not to travel at night and with a car of questionable vitality, but we had no choice when father, who was away in Minna, called to say he could not make it to Abuja to drive us down to the village as was agreed; that we should not bother about voting. Mother will have none of it. As a business woman who travels to Kano often, it was imperative that Buhari becomes president. And even if it means hitting the road at night with an old car, she must cast her vote for the man who will defeat Boko Haram, and bring back peace.

Long story short, we arrived safely. Father thought it was too much of a risk: what if the joint of the front tires had given way? What if one of the tyres had burst? What if… What if…

But at the time there was greater what if  that troubled us more than all what ifs:what if Jonathan wins, and Buhari doesn’t become President?

All that was nearly two years ago. Today, by the power of God and of the people, Buhari is Nigeria’s President. The jubilation that undulated throughout the nation has simmered. Now only one question stares us in the face: how far so far?

Citing especially the war against Boko Haram to buttress their stand, supporters of the government have argued that the President is on the right path. But there are others, and they are many, who argue that the war—even though it has largely been sucessful—is not enough to give the President a pass.

Delivering a lecture at the 4th Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture on Feb15, 1998 Buhari said,

…The questions to ask about a country’s development are three: what has been happening to poverty? What has been happening to unemployment? What has been happening to inequality? If all these three have declined from higher levels, then beyond doubt this has been a period of development for the country concerned.

What Has Been Happening to Poverty?

There is no statistics to back this claim, but it is true that Nigerians are poorer than they were two years ago. Even the Vice President has admitted that there is economic hardship. Whether it was caused by the fall in the price of crude in the international market or by whatever factor, all compatriots feel the pain of the price of food and essential commodities going up, while money is becoming increasingly difficult to get.

What Has Been Happening to Unemployment?

As a graduate I know first hand that the matter of unemployment is a very disturbing one. Without a single doubt, unemployment is on the rise. If you write ‘Vacancy’ and place it on a notice board with a phone number underneath it, the number of calls you will receive—even from people with advance degrees—will boggle your mind. The N-powered program may assuage the pain a little but it is not in anyway a solution. Our thinkers, the Osinbajos of this country, must do something, and quickly too.

What Has Been Happening to Inequality?

Inequality is not unrelated to poverty and unemployment and seeing as both poverty and unemployment is on the rise, it is needless to suggest that inequality will follow naturally. The middle class is ebbing away by the day.

Verdict?

Even by his own reckoning, Muhammadu Buhari has performed below par. Nigerians have started to fear they have labored in vain; that they have wrongly placed their faith. Personally I am still hopeful the President will atone, in time.

In the meantime, the President should know that we understand Nigeria is not easy to govern, and he still enjoys the support of many a compatriot. But please—please!—enough with the apparent inaction and the irritating silence and show of insensitivity to the farmers/ herdsmen disturbance in the country. For a government that mouths so much about taking security seriously, this highly disappointing and very annoying. The recent disturbance in Benue that left several dead brought back the painful memory of the Jonathan days when hundreds were slaughtered in Baga and the government said nothing.

(Please plant a tree today.)

The writer is on Twitter @ngugievuti