Agenda for the Incoming President

We join millions of Nigerians and friends of the country in congratulating Major General Muhammadu Buhari on his victory as Nigeria’s next president.

Before now, General Buhari had made three gallant but failed efforts to occupy the highest office in the land through the ballot box.

No doubt, the desire to make Nigeria greater than it currently is may have been a force propelling him to continuously seek the people’s mandate in order to achieve the ambition. Now that Buhari has been elected into office, it is pertinent to remind him of what Nigerians want from him.

There is no denying that the General knows the myriad of problems facing Nigeria, which have been responsible for the lack of progress in the country. Even at that, there is need to set agenda for him that includes a shopping list of what the citizens want.

These include constant power, jobs, end to the Boko Haram insurgency, and an end to a general sense of despondency in the country.

First and foremost, no country desiring to develop would ever neglect the power sector, as has been the case in the country for more than three decades.

Every modern society depends on electricity for industrial and home use and Nigeria cannot be an exception. That is why the incoming administration must tackle the issue with the utmost urgency it deserves. The present parlous state of the economy is traceable to the lack of sufficient and reliable power.

Secondly, the issue of unemployment has been on the front burner over a long time with successive administrations lacking the ability to tackle it.

It is incumbent on the new government to proffer forward-looking policies that will help bring this monster under control in no distant time. It is a crying shame that millions of ablebodied Nigerians are unemployed due to lack of will on the part of successive governments to address the issue. The consequence is the high crime rate and wrenching social dislocation being experienced in the society.

Definitely, General Buhari knows that one of the dangers facing the unity of Nigeria is the continuing insurgency by the Boko Haram sect, especially in the country’s North East. It is heartwarming that one of his campaign promises was the elimination of the insurgency threat if elected President. Even when credit goes to the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan for decimating and severely limiting the capability of the insurgents, it is left to the new administration to finish the job of completely defeating them.

That public infrastructure all over the country is dilapidated is, indeed, no news. The roads, bridges and health facilities are in various stages of decay and need to be rehabilitated while new ones should be constructed to allow for steady economic growth. Finally, it is noteworthy to state that the General Buhari made firm pledges of tackling corruption, which is country’s public number one enemy. It is therefore expected that he make good the promise to yank the country from the grips of this hydra-headed monster.

We wish him well as he begins the task of taking Nigeria beyond the heights that the Jonathan administration has put it.