Buhari and the Challenges Ahead

The general elections would remain a watershed in the annals of the nation. The taking-over of leadership mantle by the President-elect, Gen Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the incumbent President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) brings to an end, an uninterrupted rule by the PDP since the current civilian dispensation began in 1999. The election was also memorable in that for the first time in the country’s history, an incumbent president was defeated at the polls.

What this simply means is that Nigerians have demonstrated that they can legitimately bring down any ruling president, leader or administration through a legitimate electoral process. What this civic message is saying is that the power of the electorate could be the decisive turning point in bringing about positive change while consolidating our hard-earned democracy. Despite all odds, the emergence of a virile political opposition, APC, has made it possible to challenge and defeat the PDP after sixteen years of virtually one-party rule.

No doubt, Nigeria’s problems are multi-faceted, numerous and complex but intractable, ranging from corruption to insecurity, poor economy, absence of true federalism, unemployment, power failure and impunity. To begin with, Buhari should rescue our abducted Chibok schoolgirls from the den of Boko Haram. While other nations often deploy their best military and strategic arsenals to safeguard their citizens, our military seems to be incapable of rescuing the innocent girls. Buhari should ensure that these girls’ rescue become a top priority of his administration.

The incoming government should ensure that the military and other security agencies are properly equipped. For instance, it is widely believed that a major factor why Boko Haram remains undefeated and very difficult to curtail is because there are alleged moles within the nation’s security apparatus including the military. As a former army general, the President-elect should be passionate about restructuring the armed forces, police and other security agencies. We should realise that without adequate security, the desired changed may still be a mirage.

With a population of170 million and reputed as Africa’s largest with $510 billion Gross Domestic Product, Nigeria is said to be the third largest recipient of foreign direct investment in Africa. Sadly, the nation is structurally deficient with precarious reliance on oil revenues for its survival while official corruption has been tagged as the greatest setback to the country’s development by the International Monetary Fund’s expose that over $400 billion had allegedly been looted from the country in the past 40 years. This new government should urgently embark on national economic rejuvenation.

The President-elect’s promise to fill his cabinet with technocrats with the right pegs in the right holes is in order to meet the expectations of Nigerians with a caveat that whoever is to serve in his government should publicly declare his/her assets before taking the job and while leaving office.

The stance by Buhari not to appoint defecting politicians into his cabinet is also heart-warming and decisive. It is an indication that he is opposed to the ugly gale of defections, which the country is presently witnessing.

Cross carpeting after losing an election is not an option in entrenching high democratic tenets. Politicians with diverse and sound political ideologies, whose thrust is to collectively ensure that the country grows economically, politically, socially and technologically, build great nations. Rather than jumping from one party to another, one would have expected that the defectors to come together after the elections as a viable opposition, reflect on the party’s performance and then re-strategise for the next elections rather than struggling to join the ruling party. Buhari should look beyond the APC while picking his cabinet and get people who are passionate about Nigeria and could assist him in bringing the country to the Promise Land. Beyond these, there is the need to revisit our moribund state-owned railways, petroleum refineries, and steel and power companies.

It is embarrassing that an oil-producing nation like ours continue to experience perennial fuel scarcity, as power outage has become a normal feature of our daily living. If the incoming administration is sincere in transforming the economy, it should embark on a well-orchestrated privatisation of all state-owned commercial interests. All over the world, it is a known fact that governments are not reputed to be good business managers.

Finally, Buhari should not renege on his promises to Nigerians, as encapsulated in the document, “My Covenant with Nigerians”. These commitments by the President-elect include the implementation of audit recommendations by Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), working with the National Assembly towards the immediate enactment of a Whistle Blower Act and making the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) an autonomous and operational agency, encouraging proactive disclosure of information by government institutions under the Freedom of Information Act, ensuring access to justice and respect for fundamental human rights, prison reforms, delivery of a Marshal Plan on insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping and rural banditry.

With such high expectations, Buhari cannot afford to fail Nigerians. Time will definitely tell!