Buhari, 29 govs begin new tenure today

…Nigerians demand improved security, economy turn–around, holistic anti-graft war

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Today marks the 20th year into the fourth cycle of the nation’s political life and in keeping with the May 29 handing over cum inauguration day, political power will change hand in some instances while powers will be retained in other instances.

History is being made as President Muhammadu Buhari takes oath of office for the second time as President and Commander- in- Chief of Armed Forces alongside his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

President Buhari will be the second Executive President in this dispensation to be sworn-in a second time after former President Olusegun Obasanjo who served from 1999 to 2007.

Also, 29 State governors are being sworn-in with 17 of them returning while the rest 12 are freshers in governance.

Recall that governorship elections were not held in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo and Osun states on March 16, 2019.

President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the February 23, 2019 presidential election by defeating Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the standard bearer of the major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes (55.6%) to defeat Atiku who scored 11,262,978 (41.2%) and was declared winner by the Chief Returning Officer and Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

His first term in office was rated differently by different segments of the nation’s citizenry within and outside the country but with overriding view that the Buhari -led APC administration performed above average.

For four years since May 29, 2015, the Buhari administration hinged the policy thrust of the government on three cardinal programs of fighting corruption, ending the Boko Haram instigated insecurity and rebuilding the ailing economy.

The APC government under President Buhari during the pre-2019 election campaign across the country solicited the support of Nigerians to vote the party back to power to enable it consolidate on achievements made in the first term.

The president obviously got the mandate of the electorate to continue in office.

As the President takes oath of office today, he and his party are expected to double efforts made in the last four years to justify the second mandate.

It would not be out of place if the President sticks to his cardinal programmes as much is left desired.

Not all Nigerians are in tune with modalities being employed in the fight against corruption. The government has to display more political will in the holistic war against the hydra- headed scourge of corruption and impunity especially in public spaces.

President Buhari, a retired Army General and former Military Head of State, has to be firm and decisive in tackling the festering insecurity of various dimensions.

The country is being pushed to the brinks by incessant blood-letting occasioned by armed banditry, communal strives, insurgency, armed robbery, ritual killings and enlarging kidnapping business that has seize the country by the way throat.

The APC administration needs serious tinkering with the nation’s economy to avoid it sliding back into recession.

Recent economic indices and statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics are not favourable and the government has to put in measures to cushion the effects of the harsh economic environment on ordinary Nigerians, small and medium scale entrepreneurs as well as conglomerates.

However, despite all these, many Nigerians are excited at the second coming of President Buhari as hopes are high on what his second term in office will bring.

To achieve set targets for his second term in office, President Buhari needs to further entrench the principle of power separation and respect for rule of law, fairness, Justice and equity.

He needs to have a synergy with a willing legislature by interacting positively with the National Assembly to get accelerated legislative approval for policies and actions of his government.

Of course, to make Nigeria work effectively, the Federal Government’s efforts need to be complemented by the state governments who should make the impact of governance felt at the grassroots irrespective of their parties or programmes.

The governors are expected to give succour to their people and stop mortgaging the future of generations yet unborn with huge debt profile, both foreign and local.

To governors should be more concerned about the frightening spate of insecurity that has pervaded almost every region of the country by complementing efforts of the Federal Government backed security agencies.

They need to commit huge chunk of their security votes to issues of security in their states rather than using such to oil political machinery and patronage.

Governors of the insurgency ravaged North-East states need to pay attention to social investments programmes, education and health issues while effective programmes should be drawn to take restive youths out of the streets.

Newly inaugurated governors – Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Babanana Umara (Borno), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Abdulrahman Abdulrazak (Kwara), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa).

Others are Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Mai- Mala Buni (Yobe) and Bello Mohammed Matawalle (Zamfara), have great task of surpassing their predecessors in office in terms of performance and bringing dividends of democracy to their people.