A year ago today, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari rode triumphantly into the mysterious fortress called Aso Rock. That is Nigeria’s equivalent of The White House or 10 Downing Street. His flight to Aso Rock this time was less turbulent. It was his fourth attempt at presiding over a democratic Nigeria.  He flew on the wings of Change, helped by experienced and better endowed political pilots in the mould of Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar. But Mr. Buhari has been flying, so he is not a novice. He has been exposed to the surreal caprices of the sky, though a little rusty now, having flown last in 1983 when his flight was hijacked by one of the nation’s craftiest political pilots, Ibrahim Babangida.

So, Flight Change took off in the noon hours of May 29, 2015 bearing in its bowel about 170 million Nigerians. The occupants were full of expectations, expectations of a painless flight shorn of turbulence, void of deceit, a pleasure glide in the air, an eventful journey to a better place far removed from the disappointments and crushing pains of yesteryears foisted on them by a ravaging, ruinous army of locusts called the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In the early hours of this flight, there was a whimper of hope. Everything seemed to respond positively to the commands of the pilot. Electricity dramatically improved, there was no need to queue for fuel as the commodity was in rich supply. There were prospects that all will be well. The flight attendants obviously sensing the broad smiles draping the faces of Nigerians quickly invented a perfect reason for the smooth take off. They called it the ‘body language’ of the President. And the people, long inured to pain and anguish, heaved a huge sigh of relief. A Moses has come to deliver them from Pharaoh, they thought.

But all too soon, Flight Change ran into heavy weather. Every pilot knows that the weather will not always be fine. As a pilot you fly through a line of thunderstorms, through gushing winds, thick clouds and ash clouds. It’s just in the line of duty. But you are trained to navigate through these elemental exigencies when they pop into your track. That’s what makes a great pilot; the ability to navigate through the sometimes treacherous skies and land safely.

Now, it does appear, just 12 months into a four-year flight, that Buhari’s mojo has failed him. The body language is no longer resonating with his many readers of such language. Turbulence has set in. The man who was so vociferous during the electioneering days about a dream Nigeria he would create from the old order, about how to makeover the dour economy, subdue the tribe of corrupt Nigerians and guarantee national security has begun to stutter in his speech. The once assertive Buhari, full of gumption and gravitas and showing signs of a man who knows his way, now appears to have lost his way in the clouds.

And for all the turbulence and turmoil, Buhari blames his predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the man who last flew the aircraft. Jonathan and his crew messed up the aircraft, dismembered the engine and totally destroyed its air-worthiness, he tells Nigerians. But that was why Nigerians voted for Buhari: to fix the dying aircraft and fly them to Eldorado; not to give excuses and make explanations as to why the flight would be turbulent for as long as the aircraft permits.

And in the mound of excuses, the flight continues to jerk. Electioneering promises of reflating the economy, securing lives and property and making life good again for Nigerians also continue to fade into the horizon like a disappearing comet.

The security of the people is the cardinal duty of government. The Buhari government promised so much in this regard. Given his military background, Nigerians believed him. To be fair to the President, he has demobilized the Boko Haram insurgents far more than the previous government. But Boko Haram is not the only security threat to the nation needing urgency and decisiveness. The renewed insurgency and mortal force coming from herdsmen under the Buhari regime seems to have effectively nullified any gain made against Boko Haram. The orgy of violence perpetrated by the herdsmen (now commonly suspected to be members of Boko Haram that have fully integrated themselves into the system) is such that makes the consequences of Boko Haram terror look like a lesser evil.

The herdsmen have killed and maimed communities from Benue through Anambra and Enugu to Delta and parts of the South West. They seemed suddenly emboldened by some nondescript momentum. To add to the broth of insecurity, militants of the Niger Delta, tamed and tempered by the previous government, have rolled out their bayonets and grenades blowing up pipelines with clinical accuracy. Strangely, the President has moved military arsenal and artillery into the creeks of the Niger Delta to deal with the economic saboteurs; but he is reluctant to use the same mortal force to rein in the rampaging brutal herdsmen who do not blow up oil pipelines but commit pogrom with relish. A drop of human blood, no matter the person, is worth more than a cup of crude oil.

The President’s anti-corruption war is by far the best the nation had ever witnessed but it is also by far the most skewed anti-graft war ever. All the accused are members of the opposition party and their acolytes. Everyone around the president including the financiers of his election is a saint. This leaves more to the imagination, and Nigerians are wondering.

Buhari inherited a weak economy; that is the truth. But Buhari has made the economy even weaker; that’s also the truth. The naira has been on a free fall. He promised to create jobs in millions but Nigerians are losing jobs in droves. He promised to bring down the price of premium motor spirit (petrol) but he did the opposite. During his campaign, Buhari pledged to be of good democratic conduct. He was packaged as a refurbished democrat weaned of all traces of military tyranny. Nigerians believed him; but today under his watch the rule of law has become the whim of one man.

But worst of it all is the unprecedented insufferable conditions Nigerians have to go through these days. Inside Flight Change, there is commotion. Food and drinks are in short supply; the ambience is choking and the people are gasping for breath. The pilot has locked himself in the cockpit, blocked his ears and he’s treating himself to some good music. His crew members can no longer read his body language. The pilot is aloof, alone in his own world. But the verdict of history is inevitable. Flight Change has brought the nation to harm.

In the past 12 months, the cost of life and living has become a living hell. The trouble is, Buhari promised more than his capacity. But he can still make amend. We must not judge him by the calamity of his first year. Nigerians should give him benefit of the doubt; and pray that he finds the grace to unlearn his old despotic habits and apply himself to the leadership creeds of the 21^st century. May Nigerians have a smooth flight in the next three years in the hands of President Buhari, I so pray.