Scholar, author of “Nigeria and the Lugardian Hubris” and two-time Minister, Prof Ihechukwu Madubuike, has assessed the one year of the Tinubu Presidency, rating his performance low, looking at the continued incarceration of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway, state police controversy, restructuring and the Governor Alex Otti leadership in Abia State, among others.

He said the Calabar-Lagos highway project is a distraction, adding that “it looks like a highway to nowhere. In politics everything may look probable, but not everything is acceptable. Politics, responsible politics, I mean should be a moral vocation, tracking always some value addition. There is a Lagos to Calabar Railway project announced by the APC administration with all the necessary aplomb. Where is it? I think this administration should first complete that project before it begins a new road project. Let the administration begin it from the Calabar end.

“There is nothing magical about one year or hundred years in office. Performance is not time bound. It is not a journey. It is a destination. Yet a journey of a hundred years begins with a first step. President Tinubu began with a misstep – the announcement of the subsidy removal, even before his inauguration. That has hunted his administration and his style till now. He has not publicly told us he has recanted the subsidy regime. The situation is worse than what he inherited and there are no policy directives to tell us what has replaced that regime. Communication is important in governance. Telling the populace the truth increases trust and public confidence.

“Today, many families can hardly eat three square meals a day nor sleep with eyes closed. Inflation rate at 33.9 per cent is said to be the highest in over 28 years. Manufacturing companies, or what is left of them are shutting down, with some industries relocating to other countries. Unemployment is increasing with many Nigerians fleeing the country with consequent brain drain. We are still walking the tight rope economically speaking. Development goes where there are talents and merits appreciated. It is time to restructure this country, going forward. We need a better structure that will lead to a better society, self-apprehension and better system of governance. We have never faired well with this system of governance with all the imbedded banana peels. Therefore, it may not be with Tinubu, even though he knowingly applied for the job. We are under system capture – a system of purposeful corruption, where public policies are not directed for the interest of the people – at least not for all, an Emilokan sort of. (Story adapted from Daily Sun)

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