A constitutional lawyer, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) and former Lagos State Military Governor Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa yesterday expressed confidence that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration will stamp out systemic corruption and indiscipline in the country.
Sagay and Gen. Marwa, who spoke separately, noted that the socio-economic woes facing the country were direct consequences of indiscipline and corruption by past governments.
They noted that the new administration will ensure discipline and guarantee security of lives and property.
The lawyer, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said it was unfortunate that as an oil producing nation, the country was still experiencing scarcity of petrol.
Sagay cited the current energy crisis confronting the nation due to scarcity of petroleum products, which almost crippled the economy.
He said such woes facing the nation were results of corruption and indiscipline, insisting “they must be stamped out’’.
Sagay said it had become imperative that the government must situate this in the right perspective.
He said the new administration must ensure urgent resuscitation of the moribund refineries in the country for crude oil to be refined locally.
“We must refine all our petroleum products within the country. We must stop the importation of petroleum products. It is criminal for the country to purchase petroleum products from non oil producing countries,” Sagay said.
The senior advocate said Nigeria had all the devices to end the ongoing epileptic power supply, which had further impoverished its citizens.
He advised the government to allow communities to organise their own power supply systems and become independent.
Sagay called for the abolition of national grid system to allow for independent power supply.
He said government must not compel everybody to hook-on to the national grid that had not been performing optimally.
Sagay noted that the independent power stations were already in use in some parts of Lagos State, and were effective.
Gen. Marwa, who spoke at an event organised by Muslim League for Accountability Initiative, a body of 54 Islamic organisations in the country at the Arewa House in Kaduna, said Buhari should consider new ways of tackling the nation’s problems to achieve the desired results.
Speaking on the topic: “My Advice for Muhammadu Buhari”, Marwa and Prof. Idris Bugaje of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria listed some priority areas which the president must work on to succeed.
The former military governor said though he was not qualified to advise Buhari “because he has seen it all having been General Officer Commanding (GOC), minister, governor and Head of State, I will nonetheless fulfill my obligation to the organisers of this lecture and do the needful since I have been asked to”.
“Fear of God, sense of justice and equity must be ensured. All Nigerians know these are his qualities, but all those who will work in his government need to share these qualities,” he stated.
He assured the gathering that the President would “tame the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast the moment the military is provided with the right tools and wherewithal. They will do a good job”.
He identified discipline as a major issue that must top Buhari’s agenda.
“We all know that is his second name. He has done it before. He will do it better this time. Although this is a civilian regime, he will find another way around it to ensure that both government and the citizenry imbibe the culture of discipline.”
“The new administration has to device new ways of doing things. One of the areas that require new approach is the power sector. All the while, our nation has not really considered the coal option in the generation of power, whereas indutrialised nations like the United States, Russia and many others rely on coal. So, we have to look that way this time around to get out of this perennial problem,” he said.
Gen. Marwa noted that though there is need to cut cost in view of the nation’s economic reality, the Buhari administration must consider the creation of ministries of Wealth Creation and Poverty Alleviation as well as that of Railway.
According to him, “this is essential because no past Nigerian leader has received the kind of support from the poor masses like President Buhari. So, the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Poverty Alleviation must be created to take care of this critical segment of our society. “Apart from this, for a population like Nigeria, our mass transit should be railway. Hence, we need a Ministry of Railway Transportation like in India. Railway transit will move millions at a time, it will move goods and even petroleum products. It will move more people than the airlines. If the airlines can have the Ministry of Aviation, then we need Ministry of Railway.”
Gen. Marwa added: “New refineries have to be built here and there. The old ones need to be repaired to function effectively and then build a fuel reserve that can last for 90 days to take care of emergency situations like industrial strikes and the rest.”
