The Buhari Administration at Two

May 2017 will officially mark two years since President Muhammadu Buhari’s government came into office. At this juncture, many observers—not all—would likely agree with the assessment that the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) government has, so far, failed to live up to its hype.

In some respects, the underwhelming performance of the APC government was always inevitable. From the onset, there had appeared to be a considerable gulf between what the public expected of the government and what it could realistically achieve. Especially when the myriads of challenges the country was facing is considered. In light of depleted fiscal buffers stemming from the fall in oil prices to the heightened terrorism risks triggered by Boko Haram, not to mention unbridled corruption, which only exacerbated these challenges, it is clear that, in 2015, the current government was being held up to standards that it was, realistically, never going to be able to fulfil. Although some would argue that the government, too, has itself to blame for the growing nationwide disappointment: while campaigning, its foremost candidates continued to restate commitment to promises they were highly unlikely to be able to deliver. But such are the realities of politics. Politicians will promise now, and figure it out later.