Eight years gone and we are in another election year. And as always, an election is a year of change. But before we fight for the realization of this change, it’s paramount on us both as the citizens and the governed to appraise how this great Nigerian has steered the Nigerian ship in the last eight years.  

We must begin to ask questions – both hard and soft. The rest of the Nigerian public would want to know if President Obasanjo has done more good or harm to the Nigerian society. But, in doing this, the noun - objectivity must not be murdered. Simply put, the assessment must not be influenced by personal feelings, prejudice or bias. The Pros praises the economic sectors where the president has delivered, the cons states otherwise. 

And I make bold to start, by stating that the gains in the telecommunications sector need to be acknowledged. Both in terms of sharp rise in Nigeria’s teledensity as compared to what it initially was, and in massive employment opportunities generated by this singular sector. Today, most Nigerians are direct and indirect beneficiaries of the success story of this sector by either being employed or by being engaged in the lucrative businesses that came to be as a result of progress of the telecom industry. 

Presently, many Nigerians are wont to say that the Obasanjo administration has ‘’opened-up the economy’’. That more Nigerians are into gainful employment than they have ever been in the recent past and that there are great influx and springing – up of companies (in consulting, servicing, human resources, e.t.c) one could call start-ups. The stock market is booming and has re-gained the confidence of the Nigerian public. 

Also, the Obasanjo administration has paid a good homage, in terms of appointment, to the Nigerian intelligentsia. Talk of CBN and remember Charles Soludo, Finance ministry and Ngozi Iweala, Adeniji Olujimi and Joy Ogwu in the Foreign affairs ministry, Oby Ezekwesili in Education ministry. In NAFDAC, the irrepressible Dora Akunyili has been marvelous. Ernest Ndukwe still walks tall in NCC. 

The re-packaging of the aviation sector especially as it appears in the introduction of Virgin Nigeria and Virgin airways has yielded some successes.

More to these, is the debt cancellation, which, Nigeria stands as the first African nation to be free from the immensely rich Paris Club of creditors. Our foreign reserve stands at 40 billion US dollars at the moment. The re-capitalization of the banking industry is as fruitful as it has left us with banks that we can actually call banks and be proud to do business with. 

Image laundering – the president would have scored a good mark here, considering his contributions to AU, NEPAD, the respect he commands in Commonwealth and other international bodies, but the constant seizure and kidnappings of foreign oil workers in the Niger delta region tells a different story of whom we are to the outside world.

On the contrary, what then are those sectors of the economy where His Excellency faltered?  

On Minerals – The Ajaokuta deal, if it had been well fashioned, would have been according to experts one of the biggest employer of labor in Africa. But, today, most Nigerians hardly talk in the positive about this corporation. 

How could we ever explain, that there was a point in our history when the Ministry of Petroleum became part of the presidency? How could we also explain that one of the world’s biggest producers of oil cannot efficiently supply petroleum products to its citizens? Is it not strange to say, that our refineries are now moribund, and that we are being supplied petroleum products by few individuals? And that these are partly the reasons for the acute shortage in the supply of petroleum products – which has come to be known as the fuel scarcity syndrome. Whenever we are meant to embrace this ugly situation, Nigerians with a mere per capita income of less than 600 US dollars are forced to pay as high N 150 (1.2 dollars) for a liter of fuel. 

On Power generation – the change from NEPA (Never Expect Power Always) to PHCN (Please Hold Candle always in Nigeria) tells the story of a mega corporation that only merchandise on darkness. In the US, Coal accounts for close to 50 percent of the source of electricity generation; our Coal lays waste in Enugu, our Natural gas is under utilized. Are we, then, to believe that 8 years is too short a time to supply power uninterruptedly, at least to the big cities and industrial layouts of Nigeria? 

On Road reconstruction and infrastructure – our roads still kill and could be regarded as death traps. Nothing has generated as much controversy as the mystery behind the disappearance of the hundreds of billions of Naira voted for road reconstruction in the last eight years. The Obasanjo administration by his inability to unravel this mystery has done a great injustice to the word – accountability. The story of this poor performance in road construction replicates itself whenever we ask questions about the general state of our infrastructure. Our taps are still dry, housing for all remains a political gimmick, and our public hospitals are too inhospitable to its patients. More devastating is the high unsafe state of our air space. 

On Education – education made in Nigeria has been terribly debased and wallows in continual rot. ASUU has never ceased striking, though; we must all agree that their striking action precedes the Obasanjo regime. Nevertheless, his government has not done much to find a lasting solution to the angers of the university dons. It seems bizarre, though instructive to note that the Obasanjo administration encouraged more investments in the establishment of private universities, to the detriment of the public counterparts. In addition, it’s remarkable to state that our educational sector remains poorly funded with allocation of less than 9 % as against UNESCO´s recommendation of 25 %. 

On Law, Order, Peace and Security – the Obasanjo regime displayed a dismal performance on this very crucial sector. From the north to the east, south and west, there have been serious cases of political unrest, killings, escalated violence as well as total break down of law and order. The high spate of political killings as witnessed in the last eight years is as catastrophic as it is very uncharacteristic of a democratic setting. The unresolved and dastard murders of Bola Ige, A.K Dikibo, Harry Marshall and more recently Funsho Williams buttresses the obvious statement that our political scene is very hazardous. What about the killings in Odi and Zaki Ibiam, the silence with which the PDP handled the mayhem unleashed in Anambra by the Uba group of brothers and so many other similar cases. 

Do we still have any kind words for our police force? The Nigerian police force, the supposed law enforcers and the friends of the masses have become our greatest nightmare and our worst enemies. Refusal to give them N 20 could easily cost one his life. And they have continued to maim and kill Nigerians both young and old because of this mere pittance. The irony of the whole matter is how this terror has continued unchecked by this present government while Nigerians continues to die in an unworthy manner. 

On the fight against corruption – Though some people will admit that EFCC has succeeded in instilling little fears in the minds of the unscrupulous, but it is also engraved in the hearts of most Nigerians that the war on corruption is being fought with a double-edged sword. On one side it confronts corruption but condones it on the other side. 

Finally, the Nigerian masses should have the last say on this issue. As we differ in our thoughts and opinions so do we differ when the question on how we have fared under the Obasanjo regime is asked? Personally, I think that the president would have done more considering the resources at his disposal – the booming oil sector, the recovered Abacha loot and the huge economic gains of the last eight years.