Nigeria's corruption- and insurgency-battling
President Muhammadu Buhari was marking his first
100 days in power Saturday by looking ahead rather
than behind, his spokesman said.
"(Buhari) does not consider the 100 days in office as
a milestone… There is no official event to mark the
day," Garba Shehu told AFP.
Buhari ran as a hawk on security and with a tough
anti-corruption stance, pledging to recover "mind-
boggling" sums of stolen oil money and vowing to
crush Boko Haram's six-year Islamist insurgency that
has killed at least 15,000.
The 72-year-old president is determined to "fix
insecurity, the economy and eliminate corruption.
These are the goals he has been pursuing in the past
100 days," said Shehu.
The leader has accused former president Goodluck
Jonathan, who ruled from 2010 until May, of having
left the treasury "virtually empty."
Buhari's vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, has
estimated the country's debts at some $60 billion (54
billion euros), and said Nigeria's economy is in its
worst state since the country gained independence
55 years ago.
Local media have been largely supportive of Buhari
thus far, comparing him favourably with Jonathan.
But Buhari's own slowness in forming a cabinet is
hurting Africa's largest economy, said Paul Igbinoba,
a Lagos-based economist and political commentator.
"The economy has suffered from the delay… The
president needs to move quickly in appointing his key
ministers and putting in place his economic team,"
he said.
Yet there have been tangible improvements under his
rule.
Electricity production rose from less than 3,000
megawatts before Buhari came into office to about
5,000 megawatts now, while refineries have suddenly
come back to life after years of idleness.
In an early sign of his assault on graft, Buhari sacked
the entire board of state oil company NNPC,
notorious for mismanagement and rampant theft. He
then installed a Harvard-educated lawyer to
spearhead reforms as the new managing director.
The military has also intensified its war against Boko
Haram in the northeast, using its air power to
support ground troops.
Buhari recently set a three-month deadline to subdue
the insurgents.
AbleMoJah® Nigeria.
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