By Babatunde Ayedoju

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May 29 has remained a very important date in the political history of Nigeria since 1999 when the country returned to civilian rule, marking the beginning of the Fourth Republic.

It would be recalled that on May 29, 1999, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as the second executive president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having won the presidential election that took place about three months earlier.

It would also be recalled that the military had been in power since they truncated the third republic in December 1983, though there was a very brief civilian rule known as Interim National Government in 1993. Prior to the truncation of the Third Republic in December 1983, the military had also been in power from January 1966 to October 1979.

When the men in khaki finally decided to go back to the barracks by conducting presidential election in 1999, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who had been military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 was declared winner of the election and sworn in on May 29, 1999. From that moment onwards, May 29 became Nigeria’s annual Democracy Day cum swearing-in day (specifically for election years such as 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023).

However, there were agitations in some quarters that June 12 ought to be Nigeria’s Democracy Day, instead of May 29. Reason? On that day in 1993, Nigeria conducted what was known as the freest and fairest presidential election up till that time. It was between Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola of Socal Democratic Party (SDP) and Bashir Tofa of National Republican Convention (NRC). Based on available election results, Abiola was said to have won overwhelmingly, but the military government of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida annulled it.

The June 12 election was unique because at that time Nigerians put ethnic and religious sentiments aside by having Muslim candidates for the two parties. Also, the SDP had a Muslim-Muslim candidature, because Abiola had a Muslim running mate – Babagana Kingibe. Also, even people from the north reportedly voted massively for Abiola, instead of Tofa who was from that part of the country.

So, when the Babangida-led military administration annulled the election while results were coming in, it was a big blow on many advocates of democracy, especially from the South West. Therefore, such advocates of democracy kept agitating that democracy day be shifted to June 12. President Muhammadu Buhari finally heeded that call in 2018 when he changed Democracy Day to June 12, but May 29 has remained swearing-in day.

Therefore, in keeping with that tradition, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in on May 29, 2023. Today marks his first year in office, an anniversary which the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, earlier announced was going to be low-key, featuring sectorial briefings by various ministers in President Tinubu’s cabinet.

A lot has, no doubt, happened in the last one year of the Tinubu-led administration. Still fresh in the memory was his inaugural speech wherein he announced that “fuel subsidy is gone” and immediately the pump price of fuel soared to the skies.

Aside the skyrocketing price of fuel, Nigerians have witnessed an unprecedented depreciation of the naira. We have also seen the introduction of policies such as student loans and the introduction of cyber security levy which was reversed because of the public outcry against it.

Speaking on the past 365 days of the Tinubu administration in office, Professor Simon Ehiabhi, from the Department of History and International Studies, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, said, “Based on what we can see, not statistics though, I don’t think there has been any improvement in the last one year. The policies initiated by the present government have not started yielding results. Fuel price has increased, inflation has become very hyper. Salary has remained stagnant, while corruption and insecurity are still everywhere, alongside cases of political thuggery.”

Professor Adedayo Afe, also from the Department of History and International Studies, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, said that the Tinubu administration has done averagely well, though one year is not enough to measure the performance of any administration.

On the positive side, Professor Afe noted that herdsmen attacks in the south west had reduced to the barest minimum. He also described President Tinubu as one who has listening ears, citing his response to the constitution of governing councils of universities which the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) earlier drew his attention to; and the cyber security levy which he reversed, following the public outcry that greeted it.

However, the professor of legal history pointed out that Nigerians are wallowing in abject poverty and are angry because the state of the economy. While noting that the current economic downturn goes beyond the Tinubu administration, being a global problem, he added that most government officials display affluence in a way that shows they do not empathise with the sufferings that Nigerians are passing through.

While blaming the Federal Government for not doing well enough to address the soaring pump price of fuel in the country, he recommended that government should provide adequate security, revive our moribund refineries and encourage agriculture, stating that there is no reason why Nigerians should not be able to feed themselves.

A University Don, Dr Harrison Idowu, said that though the previous administration laid a bad foundation, the Tinubu administration has also not done well in office.

His words: “Though one would not expect them to do any magic within such a short period as this, the hardship under the present administration has gone from minimum to maximum, and I think everything began with the removal of fuel subsidy. Not that subsidy removal won’t have a long-term positive effect, but I think this government was too fast to implement that policy.”

While saying that people who are suffering cannot rate any government high, Dr Idowu added, “There is still a long way to go. We cannot crucify the government now. Let’s give them the benefit of doubt within the years left.”

A civil servant who pleaded anonymity said, “My take on Tinubu’s performance is not different from others. It is obvious that this is not the renewed hope promised. How much were rice, beans, garri and other foodstuffs before Tinubu took over from Buhari?

“How do I rate a president that deliberately makes policies that affect the masses negatively? It has been one year of pains, untold hardship and hopelessness. Some citizens who could not bear the situation have committed suicide while those of us who are still living are struggling to survive. It is a situation of eating the breakfast and be thinking of how to get food for supper because nobody thing about the lunch again.

“Look at the price of petrol, how many people can afford it? Then ask yourself how many time the CBN has increased interest rate this year not to talk of giving masses crazy bills at the end of the month forcing them to pay for darkness,” she added