Muhammadu Buhari

Current President of Nigeria

Muhammadu Buhari won the presidential election in 2015 and emerged the 15th president of the federal republic of Nigeria. Prior to this, he had contested and lost in 2003,2007 and 2011. He previously served as Head of the Federal Military Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1983-1985.

Resume in Brief

AGE: 75 years (Born on 17 December 1942 in Daura- now Katsina state)

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: All Progressive Congress (APC)

RUNNING MATE: Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Preliminary Cadet Training at Nigerian Military Training college (now Nigerian Defence Academy)
  • Officer Cadet Training at Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, England

LEADERSHIP POSITIONS:

  • President of Nigeria 29 May 2015-till date
  • Federal Minister of Petroleum Resources, 11 November 2015-till date
  • Head of state,31 December 1983 to August 27 1985
  • Federal Commissioner of Petroleum and Natural resources, March 1976-June 1978
  • Governor of Borno State 3 February 1975-15 March 1976
  • Governor of the Northeastern State, 1 August 1975-3 February 1976

FAMILY LIFE: Born to a Fulani family, Buhari is married to Aisha Buhari and has 10 children (including previous marriage)

Promises (2015)

Economy:

“Target the creation of 3 million jobs a year through industrialisation public work and agricultural expansion”

Comments: Though 1.396.836 jobs were created between the third quarter of 2015, the first full quarter Buhari was in government were in power) and the 3rd quarter of 2016, the last for which the data is available, this was not enough to keep up with the increase in labour force. Nigeria’s unemployment rose from 8.2% in the period Buhari was sworn-in to 13.9% in the 3rd quarter of 2016, data from the National Bureau of statistics shows. This is the highest unemployment rate recorded since 2009.

Security:

“Ensure that under his watch, no force external or internal will occupy even an inch of Nigeria soil”

Comments: Boko Haram still makes its presence felt with suicide bombings in addition, in other parts of the country, attacks and killings associated with Fulani herdsmen have increased, with attackers sometimes laying siege to communities.

Health:

”Ensure that no Nigeria/Government officials will have a reason to go outside the country for medical treatment”

Comments: Buhari himself has not even kept the promise in the past year alone, he went abroad three times to seek medical treatment.

Social Welfare:

‘‘Introduce free daily school meals for all primary school children

Comments: Currently, over a million primary school pupils receive meals daily, an assistant to the acting president Laolu Akande announced but the pilot is yet to become a nationwide programme.

Promises (2019)

(Promises are grouped into the thematic areas: economy, infrastructure, health, education, security and political inclusion for all candidates)

Economy:

  • An enlargement of the N-Power programme
  • Investment of $500 million in funding for the tech and creative industry to create 500 thousand jobs and train 200,000 youth for the outsourcing market in technology, services and entertainment.
  • Focus on agriculture and revolutionising access to credit for entrepreneurs and artisans through ”Anchor Borrowers programme to support input and jobs along dairy, beef, hide and skin, blood meal, crops; and Agricultural Mechanisation policy with tractors and processors to create 5 million jobs.
  • Industrialisation plan through the development of 6 industrial parks and 109 special production and processing centres (SPPCs) across each senatorial district.
  • Development of the Special Economic Zones to support made in Nigeria for export (MNE)plan.
  • Capacity building initiatives through a wide scale training policy that prioritises technology to reach the demography of young people within the productive sector on a massive scale
  • Expand National Social investment programme, including ”300,000 extra jobs” for vendors and farmers by increasing the number of children fed under the school feeding programme from 9.2 million to 15 million to 15 million.
  • Facilitate business and entrepreneurship through the consolidation of the current trader moni, market moni and farmer moni schemes to form ”people moni bank”, targeting 10 million Nigerians from the current 2.3 million. Also, introduce the tech-enabled ‘entrepreneurship bank”, ease business process through legislation and established one-stop shops of all regulatory agencies ICAC, NAFDAC, SON,(MSME Clinics) in each senatorial district.

Education:

  • Remodel 30,000 schools every year and retain teachers to impart science technology engineering art and mathematics using coding animation, robotics to reinterpret school curriculum.

Security:

  • We believe we can implement the painstaking and comprehensive policy and work we have done to bring an end to the perennial conflict between farmers and herders…. We are implementing a blend of measures that ensures that justice, order, modernisation and economic paradigms emerge’’.

Infrastructure:

Provision of critical infrastructure in four areas – roads, rail, power, and internet – through –

  • Completion of the second Niger bridge
  • Completion of ‘‘several roads in Nigeria’’.
  • Completion of the Lagos – Ibadan – Kano Rail, Eastern Rail ( Port – Harcourt – Maiduguri) taking the network through Aba, all Southeast state capitals, Makurdi, Jos, Bauchi and Gombe, and the Coastal Rail (Lagos-Calabar)
  • Expand internet broadband coverage to 120, 000km of fibre network across Nigeria, after ‘addressing uniform Right of Way charges’ and prioritise internet access to education, markets, primary healthcare and business clusters.
  • Uninterrupted power supply in universities and up to 300 markets across Nigeria through renewable clean energy.
  • ‘A minimum of 1,000 Mw New generation incremental; power capacity per annum on the grid; Distribution to et to 7,000 MW under Distribution Expansion programme.’’

Healthcare:

  • Insurance for all using ‘‘co-payments to share the cost between individuals, the private and government. ‘‘While the poorest 40 per cent will be exempted from such payments’’.

Political inclusion:

  • 35%  of all presidential appointments will go to females
  • Increase the number of youth for appointments to boards of public agencies
  • Special mentoring programme in governance with young graduates working with ministers and other senior government appointees.

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