Another glimpse on restructuring
Policy re-orientation will bring about the change we need. Nigeria has been waiting for the Messiah that will unite or reunite the nation in the last forty six years. There were speculations on who is the Messiah. The incumbent regime was there and we are still looking for a Messiah. Consequently in 2015, Buhari surfaced on the political scene. His integrity narrative rented the air. When Buhari came into power, Nigeria expected him to start from where Jonathan stopped. Continuity is the epitome of good leadership.
Surprisingly, Buhari jettisoned the 2014 National Conference policy document which represented the general will of all Nigerians. He was to go ahead to validate it through a referendum or pass it to the legislature for validation. In jettisoning the 2014 Conference documents, President Buhari has left Nigerians with an unfinished business in their hands. On account of this albatross, Nigeria has not moved even an inch away from where Jonathan left it. Nigeria voted in Buhari by voting out Jonathan so that Buhari will create discipline and order. These hopes have become a mirage. What we see today is a state of disorder. The anti-graft war is slanted against the opposition. Instead of concentrating on governance, the government spent all its energy staging anti-corruption war. But this political gimmick even if it means bringing all Nigerians in handcuff to refund the stolen money, this cannot substitute for restructuring. Then, why does he waste Nigeria’s time blowing anti-corruption out of proportion. The more Buhari fights corruption, the more corrupt people surround him. This is very glaring. The untouchables and the politicians among us are not affected by the anti-graft war even when they are mired in corruption.
God gave Buhari the second chance to achieve what no Nigerian leader could achieve. One might ask what this chance is. It is the chance to really restructure Nigeria. The parameters for restructuring were given to him ready-made by the outgoing President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. President Buhari is a man of destiny. God threw him up as a president of the federal republic of Nigeria to rebuild, reunite and restructure the nation by merely implementing the general will of the people, implementing the 2014 confab policy document. Two years have almost elapsed; he still has two years to go before he runs out of his terms and covenant with God. God has a large heart and has given him a long rope to do God’s will by implementing the will of the people of Nigeria. Failure to comply with the general will of the people this time, may affect his chances of being their shepherd for the third time. There is a biblical basis for this line of thought: when the people of Israel asked for a king, God gave them the man called Saul. When Saul ignored the will of God, he ran out of God’s favour. President Buhari should know that power comes from God. God watches how the leader uses the power vested in him by God. Buhari should know that the voice of the people is the voice of God. This is where the dictum of Patricia Sowell Harris comes in that “None of us is greater than all of us.” We can emphatically say that Nigeria cannot be united until “the 2014 confab policy documents are implemented.” We can analyze consequential policy failures. There will be restiveness among the youths on account of high and rising unemployment index. Already there is stagnation in the economy.
Businesses are not growing. We are facing foreign exchange crunch on account of slump in the oil prizes in the international market. Activities at state level are comatose. Aside oil, every other segment of the economy is operating at a low level. This economy gloom, this dark cloud can be dispersed with restructuring as a master- stroke.
Once the 2014 confab policy document becomes operationalized, Nigeria will bounce out of this ugly recession to a boom. Public expectation from the performance of naira and the national economy at large will be positive. If the 2014 confab policy is implemented it wouldn’t be long the states will take full charge of their own economy, pay off arrears owed to staffers of the state bureaucracy, debts owed to foreign countries and the central Bank of Nigeria will be paid off. Industries across states and local governments will bloom and employment generation will be the consequential effect. If I were Mr. President, I will implement the general will of the people so that God will bless me. Nigerians are still looking for the leader that will make the difference and that leader could be you, Mr. President.
