2 years of PMB and the unpalatable scorecard

For the first time in 18 years, Nigerians celebrated the day with a new ruling party away from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) they were used to.

And in the past two years that the All Progressives Party (APC) has been in power, Nigerians have not known so much hardship in every facet of life despite what the government and President Muhammadu Buhari's media team keep feeding the nation.

When President Buhari won the 2015 elections defeating the then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, he came with so much promises of what he and the party will do to better the lots of Nigerians, return the country to its rightful place in the comity of nations, revamp the economy, fight corruption to a standstill, tackle insecurity and provide jobs for the unemployed.

ALSO READ:"Men's Roundtable: Why President Muhammadu Buhari needs our prayers"

Nigerians were easily swayed because they had had enough the PDP and with the way the nation was tilting coupled with Buhari's antecedents, the sitting government was voted out of power and the APC won with a landslide.

But two years down the line, Nigerians have had a rethink and many of them are wondering if the change the APC promised was really worth it.

The government had promised to be up and running and in no time, take the country out of the wood but after two years, it seems all they promised have been broken.

Yes, the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Femi Adesina declared that two years is not enough to judge the regime but Nigerians think otherwise especially after a chieftain of the party had said they should be stoned if they do not deliver on their promises in two years.

let us try and take a cursory look at some of the key promises of the APC before coming into power and see if they have a palatable pass mark.

Economy: When the APC was campaigning for the elections, they promised Nigerian to revamp the economy which they felt the PDP government had bastardized over the years of their misrule.

They told us that they would take the Naira to an equal footing with the Dollar. They promised to make sure Nigeria gets out of the economic woods it had been plunged by the previous regime but in the past two years, what Nigerians have come to witness has been a recession as never witnessed before.

The Dollar has shot to the roof tops, no thanks to the wrong policies of the government. Cost of living and the prices of foodstuff has gone way beyond the reach of the common man and all we hear are blame game being put on the corridors of the PDP.

We are told every other day that the country has overcome the recession but a trip to the markets has proved otherwise as the common man find it difficult to meet up with his responsibilities.

On the economy, this government has performed poorly.

Rating: 3/10

Security: This was one of the key campaign points of the government. They had vowed to tackle the malaise head on especially the menace of the Boko Haram sect that had held the country to ransom.

Before the coming of the APC and Buhari, the Boko Haram were running roughshod on some parts of the country and at a time, they held most parts of Borno State, killing on a daily basis.

To crown it all, the abduction of more than 200 girls of the Government Girls' Secondary School in Chibok, was the final straw that broke the patience of Nigerians and they wanted the PDP out by all means.

The APC had promised to chase the terrorists out of the country and rescue the kidnapped girls. On this score, the government has performed creditably well by decimating the Boko Haram sect, chasing them out of their stronghold in the Sambisa Forest in Borno as well as rescuing many of the girls that were captured

The Niger Delta militant situation has been brought under control considerably following steps and measures put up by the government to ensure peace reign in the region.

But the victory over Boko Haram and the militants has been overshadowed by the rampaging Fulani herdsmen who have taken over from where the Boko Haram stopped.

They have been marauding all over the place, killing thousands of Nigerians, sacking villages and towns while the security agencies look on helplessly.

While the Middle Belt states are reeling and groaning under the incessant attacks, the South West is grappling with kidnappings and other crimes which have become an everyday thing.

The government needs to step up its game if they are to eradicate the security threat in the country once and for all.

Rating: 7/10

Corruption Fight: This is another commendable feather in the cap of the APC and Buhari led government going by the huge amounts recovered from looters.

The Whistle-Blowing policy introduced by the government has also yielded a lot of fruit as more looted funds are being recovered by the day.

However, the corruption fight seems to be skewed and one-sided as only members of the opposition have so far been fingered and arrested.

Any member of the APC that is indicted is either shielded or we are told there is no evidence to prosecute them. Another sore point in the fight against corruption is that any indicted PDP member who takes the wise decision to decamp to the APC is immediately considered a saint and told to go and sin no more.

It is worrisome that in all the cases we read about, no one has been successfully prosecuted by the anti-graft agencies even after making so much noise on the pages of newspapers as the EFCC has lost more cases than it has won in the courts.

Rating: 5/10

Employment: The APC had told Nigerians that they will create three million jobs every year once they get into power but the reverse has been the case in two years as more job losses have been recorded than job creation.

Companies have folded up with many Nigerians being thrown out of jobs, no thanks to government policies that has made doing business in Nigeria cut throat.

Even the social security and the payment of N5,000 stipends to unemployed Nigerians have not seen the light of the day as the party keeps shifting the goal post in the middle of the game, first saying they did not make such promises before saying the stipend was meant for the poorest and the vulnerable in the society.

How they would carry this out still remains to be seen while the unemployment rate in Nigeria keeps growing at an alarming rate.

Rating: 2/10

Power: When Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola was the Governor of Lagos State and in the opposition, he once said that providing constant electricity for Nigeria is not rocket science and something that can be done in six months.

It was based on that premise and the good job he had done in the state that he was saddled with the three-in-one ministry and he has seen clearly that it is not child's play to provide 24 hours electricity.

The power situation has deteriorated so much that some communities go for months without electricity while he keeps blaming the past government.

ALSO READ:"Men's Roundtable: Who really is the Presidency?"

Nigerians are groaning in darkness and small businesses have closed shops because they can no longer cope with the incessant blackouts they experience on a daily basis while nothing seems to be working in that sector.

Rating: 1/10

Overall, the government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to deliver on its promises and Nigerians want them to sit up nad brace up for the task ahead.

Overall rating: 4/10.