By Tufayl Olamilekan Adelakun
SIR: The incoming administration has the big task of fostering national unity through sincere policies that can strengthen our diversity. Though the APC won the presidential election, the party has a long way to go to win public trust. It is not enough to debunk the speculations that the party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket is aimed at the Islamisation of the country; the new administration should really be intentional about running a government of national unity.
Secondly, security is a paramount duty of any responsible government. The importance of securing the lives and properties of citizens cannot be overemphasized. The outgoing administration scored low on security. According to a report by SB Morgan, about 2,085 persons were killed in Nigeria in the fourth quarter of 2021 in violent attacks by terrorist Boko Haram and militia herdsmen and by the end of the year, the number of deaths was estimated to be 10,366.
Also, according to data sourced from the Council on Foreign Relations, CFR, and National Security Tracker, NST, an estimated 4,545 people were killed by different groups of terrorists and bandits, and incidences of kidnapping stood at 4,611 in 2022.
From the aforementioned statistics, it is clear that the incoming administration is inheriting a disturbing security situation and as such it must take urgent steps in addressing the push and pull factors behind these insecurity issues such as abject poverty and unemployment, among others. The security architecture in the country also needs to be restructured in tandem with global best practices and the welfare of the intelligence agents be prioritized to enable them to discharge their duties effectively and efficiently.
Thirdly, the economy of any nation is a building block for development. Nigeria is regarded as the giant of Africa because of the prospect and strength of its economy. Sadly, Nigeria’s economy has nose-dived under the present administration. Before President Buhari took over power in 2015, Nigeria’s inflation rate averaged nine per cent but since then there has been a surge. Currently, it is above 22 per cent.
Similarly, the last poverty survey from the NBS showed that more 65 per cent of the Nigerian population, or almost 95 million people, live below the poverty line. The 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index further reveals that 63 percent of Nigerians- 133 million people – are multi-dimensionally poor.
These indicators are all worrisome. Already, many young Nigerians have lost hope in the country due to the economic woes and are migrating massively to other countries with buoyant and thriving economies. To restore the faith of already-disillusioned Nigerians in Nigeria, the incoming government must take active measures to provide substantial opportunities, create a conducive environment for businesses, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, to thrive by tackling the epileptic power supply in the country.
Fourthly, the incoming administration must not downplay the critical need to restructure the country. A system that creates competition among the states and geopolitical zones in the country will foster more development and will bring to an end several national challenges facing the country.
Interestingly, the President-elect Bola Tinubu gave an interesting perspective on restructuring and the national divergences in a speech entitled: ‘A New Nigeria or a Better One: The Fitting Tools of a Great Repair’, delivered at the annual dinner of the King’s College Old Boys’ Association in Lagos in September 2017. Said he at the occasion: ‘We cannot become a better Nigeria with an undue concentration of power at the federal level. Many of the 68 items on the exclusive federal list should be transferred to the residual list…Some items which should be left for the states to handle such as police, prisons, stamp duties, regulation of tourist traffic, registration of business names, incorporation of companies, traffic on federal truck roads passing through states, trade, commerce and census are now on the exclusive list for the federal government.’
Fifthly, education is key to any nation’s development. The incessant industrial actions by university teachers and the non-teaching staff, the poor state of facilities in schools, poor funding of the education sector, among others are key issues the incoming administration must look into.
Lastly, the health sector in Nigeria is urgently in need of attention and as such the incoming administration must pay attention to developing it. The Nigerian health sector faces challenges such as underfunding, poor remuneration of medical personnel, brain drain, inadequate facilities, among others.