10 Biggest Challenges For Buhari in 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari
Having laid the structure for governance, especially with the appointment of key personnel and ministers, President Muhammadu Buhari’s real test in office would probably be in 2016. The president has shown himself ready to ride out the storm into the coming year, with the presentation of his 2016 appropriation bill to the National Assembly last week.
However, Daily Trust on Sunday has identified some of the major obstacles that could pose formidable challenge to Buhari, as he set out to achieve his goals.



Fuel subsidy
As another year begins, Nigerians will be waiting for Buhari’s decision on the highly controversial subject of fuel subsidy. There have been calls for him to end the policy, which experts and many Nigerians have blamed for the crippling fuel scarcity sweeping across the country.
The consideration for the removal or not of oil subsidy would be a tough decision the presidency must take in 2016.  Nigerians will watch closely to see whether or not Buhari can summon the political courage to put an end to it, so as to end the perennial problem of fuel scarcity and the attendant massive corruption associated with fuel importation.

Boko Haram
After his swearing in, President Buhari gave his military commanders a December deadline to bring an end to the Boko Haram insurgency that has ravaged parts of the North-East. Early in the week, he was quoted as saying that the Boko Haram insurgents have been “technically defeated.” This view was repeated by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who said that Boko Haram had been degraded to a level where they cannot hold on to any Nigerian territory.
These developments show a marked improvement from the past, when the insurgents controlled and hoisted their flags in many local governments in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. But despite the successes recorded, insurgents have continued to launch pockets of attacks, including suicide bombings, especially on civilians targets. Similarly, thousands of Nigerians are still being hosted in IDP camps in various parts of the country, because their communities have not been declared safe for them to return. One of the challenges Buhari will face in the new year is setting a realizable time-frame to clear the North-East of Boko Haram remnants for the displaced persons to return home. Closely related to this, is the handling of the problems of kidnapping and cattle rustling that are on the rise in parts of the country.

Payment of salaries
Payment of salaries has been a major crisis for many state governors when they assumed office in May this year. This led many of them seeking bail-out from the federal government which President Buhari approved to be done through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The CBN disbursed N338 billion as special intervention fund to states, especially to pay arrears of salaries.
The problem of payment of salaries has remained a bottleneck on many state governments. How that would be addressed against the backdrop of dwindling oil revenues will be a hard nut to crack by Buhari’s government.

What to do with Jonathan
With his election hinged mainly on the fight against corruption, President Buhari has taken the matter head-on with the prosecution of retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser (NSA) to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, over allegation of misappropriation of funds for the purchase of arms. Some of the arms deal were said to have been approved by former President Jonathan. But the presidency has so far not shown any interest in questioning Jonathan over the arms deal, even though a number of his associates have been arraigned over the matter.
The arms deal is just one of many areas Buhari would be probing and many other sectors may be investigated 2016, raising the question of what President Buhari would do with his predecessor. His media aide, Femi Adesina, recently said the President’s hands were not tied over Jonathan, describing the possibility of investigating the former leader as a bridge that they would cross when they get to it. Whether or not the administration will get to the bridge in 2016, Nigerians will wait and see.

What next for anti-corruption fight?
Starting with the misappropriation of funds for the purchase of arms by the immediate past administration, what is in store for other sector and individuals? Invariably, key arrears of the economy might be investigated too. This may include the petroleum and the federal ministry of finance. This is surely a task before the Presidency in 2016.
In the past, anti-corruption agencies have carried out investigations of corruption cases and charged suspects to courts, where the cases were lost, frustrated or abandoned.
The litmus test for Buhari’s war against corruption will be the number of cases uncovered, investigated, prosecuted and convicted, as well as the money recovered.

Decreased naira value
The naira has been on a steady fall for months, to its present rate of about N260 against the dollar. One of the biggest challenges for Buhari in the new year is how to stop the continuous decline of the naira, which ripple effects can affect the economic policy of his government.  

Power supply
Over the years, providing adequate electricity has been a serious challenge in the country. There have been cases where various probe panels revealed huge sums of money were expended in the sector without commensurate development.
Even at that, President Buhari is expected to do more in the power sector next year and also to resuscitate the Mambilla hydro power project which the Chinese are interested in.

 Keeping the APC together
With the election over and the spoils of victory placed on the table, the gladiators in the fight are angling for recognition in the scheme of things. Certainly, next year, the president has to contend with some APC stalwarts, key among them, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Chief Bola Tinubu, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, Alhaji Aliyu  Wamakko and former Speaker, House of Representatives and Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Waziri Tambuwal. These are important figures that contributed to the party’s victory at the national level. Buhari has to find a means of accommodating their personal and political ambitions, so that they do not appear to have lost out in sharing the spoils of victory.

Can his cabinet deliver?
President Buhari took a long time to shop for the right people to appoint as members of his cabinet. As expected key persons were assigned to “core” ministries in what the government considered its commitment to sustainable development. Nigerians are expecting so much from the cabinet. Among those saddled with key assignments upon whom Nigerians hinge their hopes are: Audu Ogbeh, Agriculture, Rotimi Amaechi, Transportation, Chris Ngige, Labour and Employment, Kayode Fayemi, Solid Minerals, Babatunde Fashola, Power, Works and Housing, Ibe Kachikwu, State for Petroleum and Isaac Folorunsho, Health. The president has made job creation, reviving of agriculture, development of infrastructure and solid mineral sector as the cardinal objectives of his government. This, therefore, put the spotlight on the performances of the ministers manning these portfolios.
No doubt, President Buhari is unlucky as Nigerians, now than ever before are in a haste to see development in the country and the cabinet must live above board - one thing Buhari must not fail in 2016.

DAILYTRUST

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