No ministerial appointees, a paralysing one week labour strike, empty treasuries in most states with mountains of local debts, poor handling of the Niger Delta crisis; those are the depressing events that characterise the first month in office of the man many have since dubbed baba go-slow, a man whose friends claim is a legendary procrastinator.
The chicken farmer may not have transformed our nation to the eldorado he promised but his first few months in office gave every Nigerian a new hope for a better tommorrow.
Beyond repeating the usual political platitudes, there is nothing to convince the ordinary Nigerian that this presidency would be any different from the last. The verdict is damning, this presidency is either non-existent or fast asleep! While the government is locked in a titanic struggle to maintain gas prices at N75/liter, legislators are busy amassing the spoils of war by awarding themselves jumbo salaries and allowances that ensure a senator goes home with N8m per annum in allowances alone.
Umaru claims his goal is to transform Nigeria into one of the top 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020, however Nigerians are tired of empty words that are at variance with the realities on ground. 7 years after the magical year 2000, Nigerians are still without food, health, education, good roads and good governance.
Yar asleep has indicated that his first three priorities would be the economy, how he hopes to rescue a non-existent economy is open for debate. The states are no more than rent collectors with state governors simply waiting for federal allocation before any activity begins.
No one knows what policy direction this government is intending to take, no goals, no vision, no mission statement. Tragically a mere "successful" transfer of power from one civilian government to the other is not enough, Nigerians expect their lives to improve tremendously. At this rate the nation seems to have gone into hibernation. God bless Nigeria!
