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Tag: expectations

  • Great expectations

    Great expectations

    • Nigerians look up to Tripartite Economic Committee for workable solutions to economic crisis

    At his inaugural meeting with his newly constituted Tripartite Economic Advisory Committee last week at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Bola Tinubu told the team that “Let us look at what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong to bring life back to the economy…We’re looking for additional efforts that might help the downtrodden Nigerians and we will provide that hope and reassurance that economic recovery is on the way”.

    The constitution of this critical team could not have come at a more appropriate time as millions of Nigerians confront harsh existential conditions due to the country’s economic crisis. In recent times, there has been a steep rise in the prices of diverse essential food items, transportation costs as well as those of drugs for such health maladies as malaria, typhoid, diabetes and high blood pressure, among others.

    The decision to set up a tripartite economic advisory committee comprising representatives of the Federal Government, state governors and organised private sector (OPS) is a departure from the past whereby the economic think-tank revolved essentially around the President and the Federal Government. The expansion of the membership of the committee signals the administration’s recognition of the imperative for a collaborative approach to the management of the economy by various levels and arms of government, as well as the private sector.

    On the Federal Government side at the meeting were the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Abubakar Kyari, as well as the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris. It is not surprising that the governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, and his counterpart in Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, are representing state governments on the committee. While Governor Abiodun had achieved remarkable success as a key player in the private sector before his election as governor, Soludo is a renowned economist who had previously served as Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo as well as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Both men have the requisite experience and expertise to add value to the work of the committee.

    No less impressive is the array of key private sector chieftains who are part of the team. They include Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdul Salam Rabiu; Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr Tony Elumelu; Group Chief Executive Officer of Pandora PLC, Mr Wale Tinubu; Managing Director of Matrix Group, Abdullabir Aliu; Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivative Company, Mr Bismarck Rewane and the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir.

    Read Also: Nigeria’s expectations at WTO 13th Ministerial Conference

    We agree with the President that this calibre of players in the private sector who have deep knowledge of the Nigerian economy and a wide network of contacts can help in the administration’s drive to attract local and foreign investments.

    The composition of the committee is no doubt a reflection of the administration’s determination to quickly resolve and transcend current hardships accentuated by its tough but inevitable economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and merger of the parallel foreign exchange markets that gave room for assorted fraudulent practices. The task before the committee is no easy one and, given the stature of its members, Nigerians have great expectations that its work will begin to have positive impacts on the economy in the shortest possible time.

    Protests by hungry Nigerians as a result of escalating food costs as well as the looting of food warehouses in parts of the country are indications of the severity of the economic pains being experienced by the vast majority of Nigerians. Not only must the committee give sound and honest advice to the President, it is also important that the administration takes its advice seriously and efficiently implement its suggestions and policy prescriptions to accelerate the process of economic recovery and sustainable growth.

  • Elections, clash of powers and expectations

    Nigerians  go to the polls  this month  to  elect a new or  old president  in  an election that Nobel  Laureate Wole  Soyinka  has said he will  not vote for  either of the two  major  presidential candidates because he thinks there is need for fresh  faces  for the election of the Nigerian president. It  is an  election that both the US and Britain  have  interfered  in  with impunity. As if  Nigeria is in their  backyard  or  an  estate  that  they  and the EU recently  purchased  to teach  the citizens how  to behave in a democracy.

    Yet  both the EU  and Britain  are involved in the Brexit debacle  that resulted in the EU president  Jean Claude  Juncker calling for  a place in hell  for  Brexiteers  who  had  no  plan  but won the Brexit  referendum  anyway. In similar  manner the  US just  had its  mid term elections in which  the Democrats won a House of Representatives  majority    and have initiated  investigations  of the  life  and  businesses  of the US President Donald Trump  who has branded their  legitimate  democratic    inquiry  a  ‘presidential  harassment ‘.  In  Venezuela  which  is really America’s  backyard like Mexico, with which Trump  is playing aggressive American  soccer on Immigration,  there  are two presidents arising from  their last  election in which  the new opposition  president  Juain  Guaido a  former Speaker  claims power  because  he  claimed  the incumbent  Nicolas Maduro  rigged the election,  and dissolved parliament. So  the  former speaker claims he is next in line after dismissing the incumbent  for violating the constitution. These  then  are  the ingredients of our pot pourri  for  analysis  today  in the context  of  our  headline. Quite  a juicy  one  I  assure  you.

    We  start  with  Wole  Soyinka’s reported refusal  to participate in the  2019  electoral process  because of  his    claimed obsolescence of  the two  candidates on offer on February  16.  That really  is his choice but since he is who  he is,  he is bound to influence  some or  many  Nigerians into sheer  voter  apathy. That is  unfortunate  and  again  may  be because his kinsman  from Abeokuta,  the  politically  ubiquitous    former head of state Olusegun  Obasanjo is  feverishly  campaigning for  one of the candidates Atiku  Abubakar.  And there  is no love lost  between the two  Yoruba national leaders who  have not seen eye to eye  since the Professor  successfully  supplanted the state  backed effort of the soldier  turned  statesman to be UN Secretary  General, some years  back.

    All  the same Nigerians should not be dissuaded  from political  participation at all levels of  our elections  as that is the way of democracy in  ensuring  that    the  choice of the people is truly,  the  choice  of  God.  People  should be encouraged to cast  their votes  and  vigilantly  too ,  so  that there  is  no rigged election.   That  is  a surer  way  to  ensure    that there is  no need  again,  for another  gun man  like the one  at the broadcasting  house  in Ibadan after  the 1962  elections  rigging in the  west  and  the ensuing  national  malaise,  from  which we have not recovered  as  a nation.

    On  the  interference  in our elections so  brazenly carried out by our  self  appointed  sovereign uncle  nations and patrons,  we urge them to  remove the planks  in their eyes  before  removing the specks in  ours. The  EU  thinks  of  Russia’s  Putin  for  now as the devil  incarnate  for  trying to  hack  elections in EU nations in order to  control  and derail  their  democracy.  The  American opposition  is  busy  trying to destroy  the legitimacy  of  the election  and presidency of the Trump  Administration  by    insisting that  Russia  hacked  the 2016 US  presidential  election    that brought  Trump  into  office. If  both the Americans and  the Europeans  found election interference  so  offensive  and repugnant for their democracy  why did they  think  Nigerians  will  not have the same feeling  of  distaste  for their  insulting  and nasty meddling in our  elections  as a sovereign nation like them?  Really they  should be advised  that those  who live in  glass houses in election  matters should  not throw stones. Or  simply  be told that on elections, charity  should begin at home.

    On  Brexit  it is interesting that EU President  literally  sent brexit  campaigners  to  hell  because  they had  no  plan  of execution. Which  is eternal  condemnation  for present  posture on politics  with  regard  to  asking  Britain  to leave the  known for the unknown without a plan  to  see it  through. The curse  should also  be applicable  to  the  Labour  Party  which sought to create a snap  election to get power from  the planlessness in the Brexit execution. This  is  not to say that satanic  curses  should be the price  of  national  or diplomatic  discourse  as  is  the vogue  now in  European  politics. But  it certainly  shows that  liberal democracy  needs  to put a break  on the ever  ready  way it  accepts dissent without due diligence  on new ideas  or    differing opinions.  Let  us  pray  that this cursing  of those with  differing ideas  will  not become the language  of global  democracy  which  for now is  championed by both  the Europeans  and the Americans.  It  is certainly  not  a  step  in the right  direction.  With  regard to  African  diplomacy  and politics  I  think  we passed  that cursing stage a long time  ago  and the dog  cannot,  hopefully, return  to its vomit.

    In  Donald  Trump’s State  of  the Nation Address  this week  he spoke  eloquently  of his  achievements  but  he didn’t  seem  to realize  that  the leverage  of  power  in American  politics have changed against  him  after the November  terms elections that gave majority to Democrats  in the House  of  Representatives.  He cajoled  the women  when  he lauded their gain in new employment under  his administration  and the largest  representation  in Congress  ever. These  women  who  see Trump  as a misogynist applauded  hesitantly  and later uproariously,  but  the following day  the Democrats  led by the same women,  created many investigative committees  to  probe both  the private  and public life of  the US  president. And  he  called  that  Presidential Harassment.  A great  understatement  when  you  recall  how  Trump had  bragged on  making deals  with the Democrats before the House, now  dominated  by them,  convened. He  even tried to appease them in his State of  the nation Address  by saying that investigations will not  bring peace  or  stop the national  divide.  Now  he faces the reality  of loss of power  in the house  and balancing that with  his gains  in the senate.  Trump  will  have  to    learn fast    and hard,  to live with  his new  found  power constrainers and competitors  in the US  Congress. It  is certainly  pay  back time for  an  election  that his  opponents  claimed the Russia  gave him on a platter of  gold.

    The  problem  now is that his  opponents have the power  to skin him literally  alive  for  not only his election  but  with  a great  vengeance  for  his  two  years  of braggadocio and petulance  of office,  before  his party lost  power in the US House  of  Representatives.  That  again  is the power  of elections    and the  way  of  democracies.  Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Expectations from Buhari before 2019

    Next year’s general elections is expected to be a tough one for President Muhammadu Buhari. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN asked some Nigerians on their expectations from the President in the last lap of his tenure.

    WITH just one year to the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first tenure, there were mixed reactions on his performance. Some believe the government has achieved a lot in the last three years, given the battered economy it inherited from the previous administration. They commended the Buhari administration for working assiduously to rescue the nation from economic recession that had inflicted economic hardship on Nigerians within a record time; decimation of Boko Haram terrorists that had taken over certain parts of the country before it came to power; and its commitment to the fight against corruption. However, critics have berated the All progressives Congress (APC) government for what they described as reneging on its campaign promises. They cited insecurity all over the country and nepotism in political appointments.

    Expectations of Nigerians for the remaining one year are varied. Secretary General, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mr Anthony Sani, implored President Buhari to live up to his national broadcast promise that the 2018 budget would be used to improve the quality of life of the Nigerian people through provision of infrastructure.

    His words: “My expectations in the last lap of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure is for him to live up to the promise of his national broadcast where he promised this year’s budget would be used to improve the volume and quality of infrastructural development and stem insecurity across the nation.

    “Now that the budget has been passed, Nigerians expect works on infrastructure to start in earnest and move at a fast rate. This would enable Nigerians have confidence in his ability to live up to his promises and return him to continue as president for second tenure.”

    He recalled that Buhari promised to fight insecurity, corruption and revamp the economy.  The ACF scribe noted that of the three campaign promises, “priority is necessarily on taming insecurity and corruption. This is because no economy can thrive amid insecurity and unbridled corruption. In my opinion, the Buhari regime has done creditably well in weakening the capacity and capability of the insurgence to launch attacks across the North reminiscent of the past to now a level that normal life has since returned to most parts of the North, except perhaps in the fringes of Northeast where the insurgents still aim at soft targets.

    “One therefore, expects government not to rest on its oars in its determination to extirpate the insurgence; though we all know that hard power of military might alone cannot cannot wipe away insurgence completely.”

    Lawyer and human right activist, Mr Monday Ubani, upbraided the government over what he described as senseless killings of innocent Nigerians by the herdsmen. He acknowledged the government efforts in decimating the Boko Haram insurgents. He said: “The gains made in tackling Boko Haram had been wiped out by the herdsmen killings, especially in the Northcentral. The Buhari administration should sit down and tackle the issue of insecurity.”

    Another lawyer, Mr Wale Afolabi, also called on President Buhari to focus more on security, particularly killings by Fulani herdsmen, adding that the primary responsibility of government is to secure lives and property.

    Afolabi said the regime has spent most of the three years fighting insurgence and corruption and that the last year should be spent to provde infrastructure such as roads, rail and other important projects, in line with the change mantra of his administration.

    He enjoined President Buhari to intensify the good work he is doing in the area of provision of infrastructure. He said: “If I have the opportunity of talking to him, I will tell him to brace up on security of lives and property, because there can be no development without peace.”

    On clashes between herdsmen and farmers and kidnapping , Sani said he believes the Buhari regime has its own plan on how best it can give those inspiring the clashes and kidnapping the same treatment it gave to Boko Haram.

    On the fight against corruption, he advised the government to step up efforts by ensuring quick investigation and prosecution of corrupt cases, in order to disabuse the minds of doubting Thomases.

    Afolabi added: “The judiciary should be made to understand that no matter how good the laws may be, the usefulness to the society have more to do with the judgment of the people on the bench. Judges should deliver on substantive evidence rather than the prevailing technical justice that likens judiciary to a spider’s web which catches small flies and let go the big ones.”

    On power supply, Ubani urged the government to lay a proper foundation for the power sector, with regards to generation and distribution. He said the distribution companies are frustrating government’s efforts in ensuring constant power supply. He said these companies were not ready to invest, but to make money at the expense of power consumers. He said government’s directives that all power consumers must be given pre-paid meters has been flouted by the discos because estimated billings favour them.

    Ubani also advised the government to create enabling environment for foreign investments. He said the rate of unemployment in the country can be reduced if the foreigners are encouraged to come and set up business in Nigeria. “If there are job opportunities, the level of criminality and agitations would reduce,” he added.

    But, an economist, Dr Abdullahi Aminu, said the Buhari administration should not be blamed for the country’s economic woes, saying it was an accumulation of mismanagement by previous governments. Rather, he said he enjoined Nigerians to applaud the government for taking the country out of recession. Again, he applauded the government for the diversification of the economy, through development of agriculture, saying Nigeria is producing rice in commercial quantity for the first time.

    However, Aminu wants the government to create enabling environment for the local manufacturers to operate. He said the small scale and medium manufacturing companies are the largest employer of labour after government. The major problem of the manufacturers is power supply. They operate on diesel which is not profitable to them.

    Sani also commended the government on the management of the economy. He said: “So far, so good in the management of the economy, considering the recession set in the third quota of 2015 and the government worked hard to exit it. Now that Nigeria has recession and both price and volume of production of crude oil have improved, one expects the government would use any increase in revenues to bring about improvement in the life of the majority of Nigerians.

    Buhari was also commended for his unwavering attitude in the fight against corruption.

    Aminu described fight against corruption as the hallmark of the Buhari administration. He said it was the first time the government is waging war against corrupt practices. He said government has recorded tremendous success in the anti-graft war.

    He recalled that soon after Buhari assumed office, some officials of the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan started returning some of the loots they carted away. Some of them reportedly agreed to do so in the interest of Nigeria. Besides, he said, many discoveries have been made through the efforts of the anti-graft agencies.

  • Leaders, values and expectations

    The  saying that bad news travel  fast has become an understatement in  this age of viral social  media  and fake news.  It  is   a  world where   hacking has become a  real and potent cyber  weapon  that  destroys democracies  and even  the companies  that  have  made  billions from the internet   through  mass  consumer  participation  and sheer  volume. This   has made data  mining a huge  wealth  spinning proposition  for internet  companies like  Face  Book  which  for   now  is fighting for its corporate  life because information  and data  have  become weaponised  and have been  pilfered  cheekily  under  its watch.  Such  data  is now said to have been  used  to get the President of the US  elected  and the world  is reeling from that development   which    both  British  PM Theresa May  and defeated US presidential  candidate Hillary   Clinton  had  earlier   warned  the world  about  but were ignored at the time.

    In  spite  of this development  however  bad  news will  still  remain  bad news and  it is in that light that I look  at  today’s topic. It  is my  contention here that in an  age of  fake news and cyber  hacking, leaders especially  of democracies  must be on their  toes  in living up to the expectations of  those who  elected them  as well as those  such  leaders lead  in any  aspect  of leadership  especially  the political and religious. To  illustrate  my views  today  I  will  look perfunctorily  at  events in Nigeria, Poland, China, and  the US  and the role of some political  and   religious   leaders  in those nations and draw  conclusions  and lessons  from  the events I  will  highlight.

    On  Nigeria   I  wish  to  discuss  Nigerian  issues  on a comparative  basis with  Poland  not because  the Eagles  are playing with Poland in   a  friendly  soccer match this weekend  but because  of the issues  of patriotism,  and   national pride inherent  in the events   I  want   to discuss about  the two  nations. All   the events  look  like bad  news  but in the light  of expectations of leadership involved in them one  can still  see that all  hope for improvement  is not lost . In  Nigeria the news  that over  a hundred  of  the Nigerian  girls  seized  by Boko  Haram  had  been  returned  by their abductors  is good  news  but the abduction  and the   negligence   involved  in their being taken  and returned  by their captors is  dangerously  bad  news indeed. Where  is the power  and authority of the sovereign state, in the hands of the government  of the day, in all  these?  It  obviously  took  a   nap  while Nigerian  girls  were  taken  away by insurgents  that were  said to have been  defeated   but  who  resurrected  to show  their staying power  with  disdain  and impunity. As if to say  they can always  abduct  and return  Nigerian  citizens in their nation and there is nothing the Nigerian  government can  do  about it.  That  is bad news indeed  and certainly  worse  than the cyber  hacking   blamed on  Russia  and threatening western  democracies as  we  know  them  today. It  is poor  consolation  to assert  that the  DSS  negotiated  their return  and that  they will  be received in Abuja  by the president.  This  is because   the   DSS  and  government should  have  prevented  the abduction  in the first  instance  and giving  them  audience  in  Abuja is like giving  an  award  to   Boko  Haram for its   invincibility,  terrorist insolence  and murderous intents  and actions that have killed many  Nigerian with impunity in recent  times.  This  is  indeed  a very  sad  development  in our  fight against  Boko  Haram  insurgency.

    Similarly, a priest  in  Poland   recently  said  he hoped the present  Catholic  Pope  should  just  die  and go and meet  his father in heaven  because  he  asked Christians in Europe  to  accept  Muslim  migrants. The  priest  has been  admonished by  his superiors  in the Catholic  hierarchy  but  what  he has said seem  to  be the policy  of the government  of  Poland.  This is because  Poland, Hungary, Czech  and Slovak  Republics, all  members of the EU  have refused  to take their quota  of  migrants allotted  them   by the EU. Even  in the face  of threats  by the German Chancellor Angela  Merkel  that their structural  funds  for development from  the EU  will  depend on their readiness  to  accommodate migrants,  these four elected  governments who  have branded  themselves  as’ illiberal  democracies ‘ have refused to take in  Muslim  migrants  claiming  they will  undermine  their  security  and that  of  Europe at large.

    I  want  to compare  the frustration or  fallen  expectation of the Polish  priest with  the leadership  of the  Catholic  Pontiff   with  a worrying development  in the Anglican  Communion in Nigeria with  regard  to the election of a new Bishop of  Lagos whose   seat  is in the illustrious  Cathedral  on the Marina in  Lagos. Some  key  members of the Cathedral  had made  allegations   of bribery  in the election  of the new  Bishop    who  I understand  is a committed   prelate  in his own  right   and have  accused the outgoing Bishop   who  also is an Archbishop of railroading his succession   and taking the diocese  through  unnecessary  and extravagant  farewell  benefits and send  off  events. What  bothered  me however in a letter sent  to me on Whats App  was  the reply  to the accusations   of abuse  of office  and power  against  the outgoing prelate. The  man  of God  retorted  with  flourish    that  even  if  he was  being given  a 200m naira farewell  handshake  it  was not peculiar  to  him  because two  former  prelates  of his calibre  had  taken  50m naira  more  before  him.  In  addition  he wrote  that  the Chancellor  inspired  the benevolence  and there  was  nothing to it as  far  as he was concerned.  This was his reply on the social  media to a query  from the  spiritual  leader of the Anglican  Communion in  Nigeria.

    This  reply  in circulation in the social  media reminded  me of the arrogant  but unconvincing answer of former French  President Valery Giscard  d ‘Estang  to allegations that  he received  gifts from  former    blood   thirsty   dictator  Jean Bedel Bokassa of the Central African  Republic. Giscard    imperiously  replied  then  – ‘I issue  a categorical  denial  and a contemptuous one ‘.  

    But no one  believed him. Similarly  the prelate  on the Marina has a credibility problem  on his response.  This is not difficult  to see, given  the fact that  he did  not  accept   or see  that 200m  naira  is a lot  of money  to give  to  an outgoing priest  no  matter  his rank  or  the investments he made  for the progress  of the diocese  during his tenure. Indeed  to  see a   religious  legacy strictly  in terms of material  achievements  is a sign  of potent ecclesiastical   impoverishment and  lack  of  spiritual  commitment  and  leadership . Definitely  a 200m  naira  mansion  on earth   makes  it  extremely  difficult   for  a rich  man  to  seek  heaven  in   any hurry. Just  as the bible says it is easy   for  a camel  to pass through  the eye  of   a needle   than    for  a poor  man  to enter  the kingdom  of heaven. Surely  in this instance the hood  has not made  the monk   and the  probleam of  the laity  in the Cathedral  on  the Marina  is  clearly  understandable  in terms of  concern  over   failure  of leadership  by example, this time on the   spiritual   than the material  plain.

    Finally  let  me take both  the US  and  China  together  on  leadership,  values  and expectations  on  drugs  and intellectual  property  which  were  the issues  very  much  in the public  domain  this week.  On  drugs,  US  President Donald  Trump  has advocated  the death  penalty  and he  really  meant it  and I give  him  kudos for  that  even  though  he has gone on to link that  with his anti  migration policy   by stressing that drug  pushers come from the nations he wants their  citizens  kept  out of the US and build border  walls  against.  But   he is   behind China  in his death penalty stance  because China  has long ago prescribed the death penalty  for  corruption.  But    in  announcing a huge  tariff  against  Chinese  goods  on intellectual  property I  commend  the US president   because  China is the piracy  capital of the world  and there is no book, good or service that the  Chinese  cannot copy  and sell  globally   with   impunity   in  violation of international law.  China  may  bristle or   even  threaten  retaliation. That is the truth  and the Chinese    need   to  put  their  house in order  and respect copy rights and other intellectual  property  requirements  to  make the world  a civilized place  for all  of us to live in. Again   Long  live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • ‘Ambode has surpassed expectations of Lagosians’

    ‘Ambode has surpassed expectations of Lagosians’

    Adeniyi Adekunle is a public affairs analyst. He is also the President of Achievers Archive, a non-governmental organisation involved in youth empowerment, training and entrepreneurship. Adekunle fielded questions from reporters recently on the sidelines of a conference in Lagos. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI was there.

    How would you assess Lagos State in the last two and half years?

    Lagos State is evolving into a wonderful state, because of the rate it is being transformed under Governor Akinwumi Ambode. In fact, it would soon become the Dubai of Africa. I’m not a politician and I’m apolitical, but I’m an advocate of good governance. Sincerely speaking, Ambode’s performance in the last two and half years has been stellar. He has surprised everybody. You know there were initial doubts by some people, as to whether Ambode would be able to step or fit into the shoes of his predecessor. But, see how God works, Ambode has been performing brilliantly and the positive touch of his administration is being felt in every sector in Lagos State. Those initial doubting Thomases and other skeptics have now been forced to eat their words. Many of them are now showering encomiums on him.

    Why were people initially skeptical about Ambode?

    Ambode is not your archetypal politician and his name did not ring a bell then. But all along, he has been an accomplished professional – a chartered accountant who has distinguished himself in public service. Ambode rose to become the Lagos State Accountant-General before he retired from public service, but many people did not know him then, because he was not in active politics. But, what many people don’t know is that even while in public service, Ambode excelled. It was the period when he was the Accountant-General of Lagos State that former President Olusegun Obasanjo who was in office then withheld monthly statutory allocation to the state, following the creation of 37 new Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) by the Bola Tinubu administration. When that action was taken by Obasanjo, the belief by many was that Lagos State would be starved of funds and the Tinubu administration would be brought to its knees. During this critical period it was Ambode that God used to rescue Lagos State; as he was able to use his wealth of experience to increase the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR). This enabled the Tinubu administration to remain on course and for three years or more that Obasanjo refused to release the allocation, it was the IGR that the government depended on to survive. I believe that a man that deserves credit should not be denied his due; the success of the Tinubu administration cannot be divorced from Ambode’s ingenuity. This is why it didn’t come as a surprise to me when Ambode was announced as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). I knew that he would transform Lagos State beyond expectations. Truly, since he became governor of the state, he has proved his mettle. He hit the ground running and Lagos State has been better for it. It is only those who didn’t know about Ambode’s pedigree that initially doubted his ability to deliver. Today, Lagos State has been a success story under Ambode. But, I also believe that kudos should be given to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for discovering Ambode.

    It is believed that other state governors and even the Federal Government have one or two to learn from Ambode’s governance style…

    I believe they have a lot to learn from his style of administration, because Ambode has clearly shown that you do not have to be a politician of 30, 40 years experience before you can get it right. Look at how the man has been doing a lot of things at the same time. New roads with fly-over bridges have been constructed in Abule-Egba and other places. A lot of projects are ongoing: look at the new BRT lanes from Abule-Egba to Oshodi. If you get to Ikeja, especially at night, you will think you are in New York City. Also take a trip to Oshodi; a lot of construction works ongoing there. Soon, Oshodi will be transformed into Disneyworld of Nigeria. However, one thing I admire in all these is that projects that are being currently undertaken by Lagos State government are of high standard, because they are being handled by reputable foreign and local contractors. You know there was a time that some of our leaders believe and trust only foreign firms for any construction work. Ambode is not one of such; his administration has been giving jobs to local contractors and they too in turn have been living up to expectation. With new projects and contracts going on in different parts of the state, Ambode has been creating job opportunities for the unemployed. He has been helping to tackle the problem of unemployment. I believe other state governors and even the Federal Government should emulate him.

    Which areas would you like the administration to accord top priority this year?

    Power is the key to everything. Efforts should be made to ensure that there is stable and steady supply of electricity. There was a time Lagos State government was even talking about Independent Power Projects (IPP). It is a good idea which I will want Governor Ambode to pursue to a logical conclusion. I will also like the Federal Government to make efforts to increase power generation. Look at a country like South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia where stable and electricity is being generated, all their industries are working, and their economy is vibrant. If there is steady power supply in Nigeria today a lot of things that have been moribund will come back to life. If there is steady power supply, industries will function optimally and in the process job opportunities will be created. Not only that, small-scale entrepreneurs like hairdressers, welders and barbers will have work to do. Steady power supply will engineer rapid socio-economic transformation of the country. I implore all stakeholders to do everything possible to ensure that in the coming year 2018 that steady power supply would become a reality.

  • Workers’expectations in 2018, by Wabba

    Workers’expectations in 2018, by Wabba

    To workers, the outgoing year is tough. Many lost their jobs; some were not paid salaries. On another front, the continued fall of the naira and the rise in inflation, among others, made life difficult for them. However, labour is optimistic that 2018 will be better, writes TOBA AGBOOLA.

    To organised labour, the outgoing year has been very challenging.

    The  economy, was troubled and the citizenry, workers particularly, feet the pains.

    The workers are, however, optimistic that the incoming year will be better. Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba, in this interview with The Nation, listed workers’expectations in 2018. He  said they expected the government to tackle unemployment, unpaid salaries and pension and introduce a new minimum wage.

    The NLC chief pledged that the sector would witness robust labour activities aimed at improving workers’welfare

    Wabba said the congress would recommit itself to leading the oppressed. In doing this, he said, the NLC leadership will conduct itself responsibly.

    The congress, he said, would liaise with her allies to engage the government and other critical stakeholders. Wabba asked for the support of workers and the masses for a better Nigeria.

    He said the outgoing year was  eventful and challenging for workers due to some developments in the polity, which tested their resilience.

     

    Job creation

    Following the thousands of jobs  lost last year, Wabba said the workers expected the government to invest in job creation initiatives in the new year.

    Wabba said: “Crisis of unemployment in the new year, and monumental unemployment will remain with us.”

    He said though the All Progressivess Congress (APC) government at the centre made clear its promise in its manifesto of delivering three million jobs yearly, he expressed sadness that after two years in the saddle, it is, perhaps, time to ask the government to give a scorecard to the Nigerians that went through a lot of odds to elect this government.

    He said: “How many jobs has the Federal Government and the 23 states controlled by the ruling party created in furtherance of its pledge to Nigerians during the electioneering campaign.

    “We had stated in our past new year’s messages, as well as other policy pronouncements, that we have some ideas on how we can create new and sustainable jobs.

    ‘’Unfortunately, no one in the government has thought it necessary to give us a hearing on what these ideas are, and what they entail.

    “At present, we are not even sure which ministry or agency of the government is the focal point on job creation.

    “What we have said of the ruling APC party, applies in large measures as well to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the states they control.

    “We will in the new year continue to knock on the doors of all organs of government and put on the agenda the massive unemployment situation the country is facing.”

    Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, appealed to the Federal Government to remember its “change mantra”, adding that it makes no sense accusing and condemning the previous administrations for corruption only for the recovered money to be re-looted.

    “Mere leaving a political party for the ruling party must not make anybody a saint. Anti-graft agencies and the judiciary must prosecute those who were caught with our money. We know corruption is fighting back but we are confident that the war over evil will always emerge victorious. The world is watching and waiting for the pride of Africa and most populated black nation to blossom. The Federal Government’s economic recovery plan must not fail.  No more excuses,” he said.

     

    Unpaid salaries and pensions/retrenchments

    The NLC president said in the preceding year, the union tackled some state governments over non-payment of outstanding wages and pension of workers and pensioners.

    He said one of the legacies of the misrule of the preceding years is the  irregular and non-payment of retired civil servants, which, he said amounted to 12 months’arrears in many states.

    Wabba said: “In fairness to the Federal Government, President Buhari had made consistent efforts to bail out state governments to pay workers’ wages in the states as 27 of the 36 states were in default at the inception of the administration in Mays 2015.

    “In the New Year, the Congress would work with state councils of the NLC to engage state governments to pay up pension arrears of their retired employees, and to conclude arrangements to join the Contributory Pension Scheme as provided for in the Pensions Reform Act of 2014.

    “In the same vein, we shall mobilise for all employers to pay the new pensions contribution of 18 per cent of total pay which came into effect with the signing of the new Pension Act into law in July 2014.”

    He also said the congress anti-casualisation campaigns would be intensified in the New Year.

    He said the NLC would continue its campaign against the incidence of non-payment of salaries.

     

    Struggle against increase in price of petrol

    Wabba lamented that petroleum products price increase has been a recurring decimal in the past two decades and the argument has been the same. He said: “We continue to wonder why we cannot refine our products locally for domestic use and even for export, which in the long-run would create a chain of benefits.

    “The full implementation of all the palliative measures to cushion the effect of the increase in fuel price as recommended by the Technical Committee is still being awaited. We call on the government to expedite action on the implementation of the recommendations”.

    Nigeria   Union   of   Petroleum   and   Natural   Gas   Workers   (NUPENG)   in a statement signed by its President, Comrade Igwe Achese, decried the pains caused by the fuel scarcity.

    The Union frowned  at  the  incessant fuel scarcity, which has resulted to long queues, loss of man-hours and endless search for products. NUPENG  said the scarcity  has   further worsened the  citizens’ standard of living through increased  fares and goods and services’ prices.

    The Union called on the government to address the situation instead of trading blames when the depots are dry. It, therefore, called on the Federal Government to urge the appropriate bodies to flood the market with petroleum products in 2018 as a stopgap. In the long run, it stressed that the nation’s four refineries should be revamped to reduce the pressure on foreign exchange for petroleum products import.

     

    Minimum wage increment

    Labour expressed optimism that the Federal Government would give workers a good living wage.

    President Buhari last month okayed the appointment of a 30-member tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee for the negotiation of a new National Minimum Wage.

    Wabba said:“Our expectation is that the demand of labour will be met.

    “We will discuss with an open mind to ensure that we achieve our aims and objectives.’’

    He said the meeting with the tripartite committee would be a social dialogue and that of collective bargaining.

    According to him, the inauguration is long overdue and that effort will be made to fast-track negotiations to ensure that workers and pensioners get their accrued benefits.

    He said labour would discuss issues relating to rate of Naira because the exchange rate had increased from when N56,000 was being proposed by labour.

    NLC General Secretary, Mr Peter Ozo-Eson, also said the committee would discuss many issues affecting the minimum wage.

    According to Ozo-Eson, it is over two years since labour proposed N56,000 as minimum wage to the government; and so will consider some socio-economic indices to take its action.

    He said the labour was looking forward to the inauguration because the committee was made up of a tripartite group that would discuss issues affecting the workers.

    “We look forward to the inauguration, which I believe will discuss the facts and realities when it starts the negotiation.”

     

    Fight against corruption and for good governance

    Wabba said in furtherance of the union campaign for good governance and struggle against corruption, the Congress in collaboration with the TUC would continue to  support the Federal Government in the fight against corruption.

    ‘’We have maintained our historic commitment to the fight against corruption in our country because we are clear that our lack of development is largely attributable to the level of corruption in our polity.

    “For us, there is the need to strengthen the fight against corruption and make it holistic and speedy enough for Nigerians to reap the benefits by deploying the recovered looted funds into meaningful development ventures. We call on the National Assembly to expeditiously pass into law the two Executive Bills that we consider critical to make the fight against corruption effective, as follow “The Special Criminal Courts Bill”, which was submitted to the National Assembly last year; and the “Whistle Blowers and Witness Protection Bill”, meant to protest whistle blowers and witnesses from injury, death, economic sabotage, job termination, among others,” he said.

  • PHCN privatization and irony of expectations

    SIR: When the immediate past administration concluded the privatization project that began with 2005 power sector reform, many Nigerians were happy hoping that the era of darkness was finally over. These supposed halcyon days ending ugly dark past were to begin in 2013, with the formal handover of public power supply companies to private owners. Even though no one bothered to check the performance of other public corporations previously privatized, everyone was tired of the tyranny of government’s monopoly of inefficient electricity companies. The emergence of private managers was seen as the much needed panacea that would end the perennial darkness that was plaguing the country.

    But four years on, Nigerians feel short-changed. If the rationale for privatization is for increased efficiency and productivity, then those who foisted this scam on Nigerians did not mean well for the country. The unfolding electricity situation have left Nigerians wondering if the former regime of the defunct Power Holding Company was not better. In fact others have even clamoured for NEPA to return.

    It is now in the public domain that Goodluck Jonathan’s led government bequeathed the nation’s power assets to people who neither have expertise in the industry nor financial capacities, thus plunging the country into darkness. They were driven by greed to maximize profits; the desire to improve power supply situation was never in their agenda. They are opportunists who came to harvest and not to invest. Judging from the way they hurried to take over the business with no sufficient time for feasibility study, it was clear that they lacked what it takes to function in the electric power sector. They appeared desperate and hence always asking how much they were going to earn monthly and did not bother about what to inject into the system.

    To the extent that the sector is still bedevilled by obsolete power infrastructures, weak power lines, insufficient distribution transformers and myriads of other sundry inadequacies, the hope of stability of power supply remains a mirage. True investors are patient and would nurture the system until it matures. The new managers of this power regime lack experience, expertise, patience and patriotism needed in an electricity sector.

    Today, Nigerians are made to pay for inefficiency and inexperience of the new owners of the power industry. They pay for electricity which they did not consume and efforts to supply meters to electricity customers are frustrated by the so-called investors. They do this purposely so that crazy bills would continue to be issued to hapless customers. A cost reflective bill which is based on actual consumption means bad business to them, since estimated bill is what sustains their enterprise.

    Nigerians have justifiably concluded that the immediate past government sold off the nation’s power assets to themselves and their cronies. What is surprising is why President Buhari has not responded to the cries of the exploited and traumatized Nigerians.

    Nigerians continue to wonder if stable power supply would still form 2019 campaign promises again. Government should stop following the 2005 electricity road map as it leads to no way. With the present crop of electricity providers, whatever amount the government sinks into the sector would surely go down the drain. Government should realize that with this crop of electricity managers, the hope of a stable electricity supply may not be realized.

     

    • Itaobong Etim

    Calabar.

  • Great expectations in APC over National Caucus, NEC meetings

    Great expectations in APC over National Caucus, NEC meetings

    As the All Progressives Congress leaders prepare for this week’s National Caucus and the NEC meetings, there is increased expectation ahead the proposed National Convention, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu 

    Before the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from his last leave in the United Kingdom, where he had gone to attend to his medical condition, the inability of the ruling political party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), to hold its National Convention was a subject of intense controversy. While critics and the opposition parties described the development as concrete evidence that the ruling party had “serious cracks,” others said the party cannot hold its convention until Buhari returns to the country.

    So, since the president finally returned, informed observers have wondered why the party had further delayed crucial meetings like the National Caucus and National Executive Council (NEC) meetings that should precede the convention.

    Even when the party leadership, last week, announced that it has finally fixed its National Caucus meeting for October 30 and the NEC meeting for October 31, some observers expressed doubts if it would hold.

    Their doubt, The Nation learnt was because of previous postponements of the convention date. It would be recalled that the APC postponed the convention earlier fixed for April 29, 2017.

    But to assure concerned stakeholders that the party is ready now, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, had freely confirmed that the two very important preparatory meetings will hold.

    For example, when he was asked whether the party had fixed a date for its NEC meeting, he said, “Yes, we are looking at October the 31st.”

    The party’s Assistant Publicity Secretary, Edegbe Odewingie, not only corroborated what Abdullahi said, but also, according to a report, confirmed the venue of the two meetings. The National Caucus, according to him, will hold at the Presidential Villa, while the National Working Committee, NEC, will hold at the party’s national secretariat.

    Fresh confusion however set in early this week, when it was reported that the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) will be postponed by two days.

    The report, according to a source, came as a rude shock to many APC leaders who wondered what could be responsible for such a sudden postponement.

    But as stakeholders were considering the implication of such a development, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, however denied the report on Thursday. He was quoted as saying, “I am really surprised because there is no such thing. The caucus meeting is still holding on the 30th and NEC on the 31st.”

    Commenting on the development and the resultant apprehension within and outside APC, Dr. Ismaila Kadiri said, “The uneasiness is because of the numerous postponements of the same meetings and the fact that so many critical issues must be resolved in the proposed National Convention of the party.” Kadiri also alleged that “some forces in the party may be afraid of a successful convention and as such are determined to frustrate attempts to hold the crucial meetings that will set the stage for a convention.

    “Is it not worrisome to you that APC, a party that won presidential election with such an overwhelming support, has failed to hold another NEC meeting since 2015 when it held it last. Apart from this, the party has failed to properly constitute its Board of Trustees since its 2015 victory. I agree with some of our people who attribute this to division within the party’s ranks,” he said.

    Another respondent, Chief Ndubuisi Onuoha, a community leader said the ripples over the doubts raised concerning APC’s crucial national meetings “could be traced to the current tension growing within the party’s rank and file over the management of the party’s affairs.”

    As he puts it: “Any careful observer will understand why all stakeholders in APC are reacting the way they are reacting over the party’s convention. You know that a National Convention means a change of leadership in the ruling party. Coming before the 2019 Presidential, National Assembly and governorship elections, no one is ready to joke with it. Also, utterances and signals from the leaders of the party, suggest that this convention will serve as the defining moment for the control of the party ahead 2019. We have seen most of the leaders, including Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, openly voicing out, at one time or the other, their misgivings on the way the party was run in recent time.”

    Besides the issue of leadership of the party, sources said the outcome of the week’s meetings and the convention will go a long way to determine the fortunes of APC in the 2019 presidential election. It would be recalled that there was murmuring recently when APC’s former Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, was quoted as saying that the party’s presidential ticket for the 2019 poll was open to all who wish to contest.

    Considering the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari will still be eligible to contest the plum seat in 2019, the party’s current leadership dismissed the pronouncement as a personal opinion.

    A stakeholder, who pleaded not to be named, said on Friday that such confusion could be blamed on the fact that the party had not held such important meetings for a long time. “I believe our leaders will speak as one after this week’s meetings,” the source said.

    Issues that may be resolved at the meetings

    Our correspondent learnt that among the major issues that would be discussed at the National Caucus meeting and at the NEC meeting is the party’s inaugural bi-annual national convention. This, said our source, “will most likely top the agenda of the NEC meeting.”

    He also informed that the leaders may use the opportunity to discuss the report of the different fact-finding and reconciliation committees in states where crises exist. Since the party came to power, her critics have always made references to the state chapters, where some leaders have not been able to work together.

    Other important issues that may be discussed at the caucus meeting, according to a source, is the report of Dr. Muiz Banire Constitution Review Committee, which is expected to be presented by the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC.

    Besides these, we gathered that the nature and constitution of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) may be presented for discussion at the National Caucus meeting.

    Explaining the hopes of most APC stakeholders, Kadiri said, “The anxiety within the party over the proposed meetings next week is because of the people’s expectations. We believe that most of the minor issues that have tended to separate and divide our leaders would be resolved in these meetings so that by the time we go for the convention, we would go there as a more united family. That is why we do not want to hear about any more postponement or problem.”

  • Badaru: APC has lived up to masses’ expectations

    Badaru: APC has lived up to masses’ expectations

    Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Muhammad Badaru, in this interview with Adetutu Audu, explains that Nigeria’s greatness lies in its leadership which must be based on merit and politics devoid of tribal and religious sentiments. Excerpts

    Has the Federal Government controlled by APC lived up to the masses expectations in the last two years?

    I would emphatically say yes, and I am glad you mentioned the masses, because for some elites, their only expectation is that the government of the day should fail and nothing short of that will satisfy them. President Buhari’s campaign promises can be summarised into three: provision of security, economic diversification and a zero tolerance for corruption. Since assuming power, the nation’s biggest security challenge has been tackled; the siege situation in three states has been lifted and 17 local governments areas have effectively been liberated, 12,000 hostages, including 107 of the Chibok girls have been rescued, and you no longer have to endure a 10 hour journey encountering 11 military checkpoints to travel from Kano to Abuja; there are several flights a day into Maiduguri and Yola airports and we have had several Christmas and Sallah celebrations without a single terrorist incident; the dignity of our armed forces has been restored as they are no longer scampering to neighboring countries to take refuge. I shudder to think where this country would have been if the insurgents had maintained their rampage at the pace they were progressing under the previous administration.

    Apart from the decimation of the capacity of the Boko Haram insurgents, are there other visible achievements of the federal government in more than two years?

    Well I hope you realise that President Buhari inherited a comatose economy, characterised by a depleted treasury and oil prices that had crashed 70% in 8 months. As I talk to you, our foreign reserves stand at about $32 billion, a buildup of $7 Billion in 24 months of a recessed economy and unprecedented speculative pressure on the Naira. You can extrapolate and imagine where we would be if the same sense of prudence and fiscal responsibility had been applied in a $140 a barrel oil price regime. $500 million has been paid into the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the first inflow since it was set up in 2012; over N5 trillion has been captured by TSA with a saving of N4.7 B in MDA bank charges monthly. Critical infrastructure projects, some of which have been at a standstill for 8 years due to lack of funding, have been remobilised, over N1 trillion was released for capital projects in the 2016 budget, the highest ever in the history of this country, dead construction companies have been brought back to life, thousands of jobs created and the trickledown effect has affected the economy and helped end a recession.

    The SIP initiative is another campaign promise fulfilled with over 1 million beneficiaries spread out across the various programs, N-power, School feeding, GEEP and the conditional cash transfer program. Agriculture has seen the largest and most focused national attention in the nation’s history with billions of naira in various programs, ANCHOR, CACS, NIRSAL and others being availed to farmers with dramatic results. Our rice import has fallen from about 600,000 MT per annum to just 58,000 MT by end of 2016 and a presidential committee on fertilizer, which I chair, has eliminated N260 Billion in fertilizer subsidy and foreign exchange. We have brought back to life over 12 dead fertilizer blending plants and plan to revive another 8 by end of 2017 and created over 60,000 jobs in the process, all the while providing excellent quality fertilizer at N5, 500 a bag with zero subsidy, instead of almost N10, 000. Fuel importation has been liberalised and subsidies withdrawn and the government is supporting the establishment of the largest single train refinery in the world, freeing up about $8 Billion in forex by the time it becomes operational in 2019.

    Corruption was a major campaign issue, with President Buhari/APC saying they would fight it to the finish. However, the government is being bogged down by the same virus-the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) money laundering scandal, the Dubai property scandal involving the Chief of Army Staff; is it a case of the hunter becoming the hunted now?

    Hardly the case, corruption was institutionalised and ingrained into our national psyche to a point where a public servant that refuses to partake is regarded as a fool by the very citizens he’s supposed to be stealing from. You can’t erase it overnight; there is no magic wand, especially under a democratic dispensation with a judicial system that presupposes innocence until proven otherwise. The first and most important step is leadership by example and a strict adherence to the rule of law. Even Gen Buhari’s worst critic can never accuse him of being a “do as I say and not as I do” leader. He exemplifies integrity and incorruptibility, but the man can only do as much as the system allows within the ambit of the law. When you hear of conviction statistics being reeled out by the EFCC, get the number of cases under investigation and those in the judicial system and work out the conviction ratio, some cases have been at pre-trial level for 10 years. There are attempts to speed up the process through judicial reform and international treaties, but bear in mind that corruption fights back and it doesn’t fight fair. As I am sure you are aware, amount recovered from one case can fund the budget of the judiciary for two electoral terms.

    Different separatist groups are clamouring for independence of their own republics, Would you say these agitations are legitimate?

    Anything done outside the ambit of or in contravention of the law is illegitimate, so the question I believe is whether there is any justification in these agitations. My counter question is why now? Where were the agitators before the advent of this administration? Was the previous government so repressive and brutal that they couldn’t voice out their aspirations? Some of them were active players in the politics of yore, some contested elections and lost; I have seen some that were advocates of tenure elongation at some point in time; my take is that it’s all a case of sour grapes and bad sportsmanship. Instead of heating up the polity, let them get their act together and participate in the political dispensation, and then they can articulate their position within the ambit of the law and the constitution.

    The PDP appears to be getting its bearing right, opening the space for a more formidable opposition. With many unfulfilled campaign promises, its appears APC may find it tough returning to power in 2019?

    I just listed out our three strong campaign agenda and what we have been able to achieve under an extremely difficult economic and political environment, which is unarguably the result of PDP’s misrule. As for getting their bearing right, I think the real test is yet to come; there are a few political surprises still in the offing, I am sure you’re already aware that their 2019 zoning arrangement has been thrown to the dogs.

    What do you think Nigeria can do to be great again?

    We should focus on what we have in common rather than our differences. We should sanitise the political space and do away with politics of ethnicity and religion and focus on issues not sentiment.

    We must evolve a system that ensures quality leadership is appreciated and respected so that meritocracy takes root and we can begin to celebrate leaders with national outlook and exemplary vision and capacity. Today, no matter how good you are, political and ethnic considerations will be used to denigrate you and pull you down. You can imagine a situation where a leader’s illness is being celebrated in the name of politics. This is sad.

  • Buhari’s return and expectations

    President Muhammadu Buhari returned home last week after spending 103 days in his second medical leave in the United Kingdom. His return effortlessly put gaping holes on the prophecies of some dooms day prophets, who had emerged in the chaotic scene created by his absence to provoke fear over his health. For a moment, the frenzy that greeted his arrival made the atmosphere seem like the day he was declared winner of the presidential election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress party (APC), two years ago.

    From the ever-increasing and vociferous political pressure groups that took turns jostling for attention at the reception organized for him to state governors, many of whom are of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); and the seemingly sudden quietude that veiled over a venomous social media that simmered with unbridled hate, dissent and disappointment, one could see that Muhammadu Buhari was a rare politician with some form of cult followership.

    Indeed, no matter the prism through which one ogles or dissects his personality, there can be few doubts over what he represents from across ethnic or religious divides. That he could have such an eclipsing and levelling grip on people after more than three months absence, and, at a time tempers were corrosively boisterous further points to the huge trust and enormous expectations from Nigerians, and how desperately they wanted him back. One broadcaster in a private radio station was so enthralled that he described him as the ‘Lion King,’ a powerful character in an epic animal movie. But President Buhari is much more, in reality.

    The mood, Saturday, August 19, coincidentally my wife’s birthday, in the country, especially the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, aptly captured how upbeat Nigerians were and how much they believed his presence can add momentum and give leadership direction to the country. Even more, perhaps, was how his presence could tweak the incredibly discouraging state of the nation. It is not a subject of conjecture that security of lives and properties wore a spectre of gloom while the president was away.

    Today, with his return after such a long absence has much more shored up enthusiasm as also expectations. Now, it would seem it is all coming afresh. As the binge stops, Nigerians expect President Buhari to hit the ground running by quickly attending to serious national issues and concerns that nearly drove the nation to the edge in his absence. Chief among them is to cover lost grounds through instinctive leadership in line with the APC programmes as enunciated in the party manifesto.

    As a matter of emergency, too, expectations are that the president would reshuffle his cabinet to inject new blood, as not much other than politics, has changed in most  ministries in the last two years and reason for which hunger, poverty and unemployment have had negative effects on the nation as against  campaign promises to address them head-on. It is high time performance of cabinet ministers are audited to know who is delivering in accordance with party programmes or set a fresh performance benchmark needed to keep them steadily on their toes. Governors and party leaders must be adequately consulted in the choices of their representatives, especially at cabinet level.

    Equally exerting huge concern is the growing worry over the state of the economy, which has levied most states with huge burden in the shades of months of unpaid civil servants’ salaries, rising crime, dearth of job opportunities, as well as, poor infrastructure, among others. In the face of daily reports about successful loots recovery running into hundreds of millions and sometimes, billions, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the government’s anti-graft agency, not a few had wondered what use government is putting the recovered loots, where and who, is managing such infused funds so it will yield maximum returns on investment for good of nation. As common in all democracies, the people deserve to know as in so doing, they will build trust with the understanding that those enjoying the trust are accountable and understand the value placed on it.

    Perhaps, sensitive as it is important and critically contributing to the increasing distrust and disunity in the nation, is the issue of restructuring as canvassed by major regions across the country. For decades, sections of the country have decried the level of development in the regions, attributing it to what they say is a sloppy design that left those everyone at the mercy of whoever controls the central government.

    It is high time the president liaised with the National Assembly (NASS) to address with finality the subject matter of restructuring in the interest of Nigeria’s unity which is currently threatened by the emergence of some secession-seeking ethnic-based groups like the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and Niger Delta militants. The president should put necessary initiatives in motion towards uniting as well as healing perceived wounds that have continued to have chiselling effects on national unity.

    For President Buhari, there is scarcely any better time to reciprocate the peoples’ undiluted love and solidarity than now, and doing so radically by providing far-reaching solutions to the plethora of problems besetting the nation at the moment. As a statesman, one expects that he would resist the temptation of trying to court Nigerians with the 2019 election in mind. All the nation needs is healing and bold initiatives that will dispel doubts as to his preparedness mentally and physically to fight on the side of the people and work for the majority in national interest as opposed to policy initiatives targeting the interests of a select few.

    There is no gain emphasizing fact that having waited patiently for his return, Nigerians are understandably desperate to discover some remarkable differences or, better still,  an infusion of wisdom and experience of a 74-year old that will separate between what was before his medical trip and his return. To do otherwise is to put the nation on edge.

    Enough of mudslinging between the executive and the legislative; it is time to unite the party and position it to deliver on its promises. Let the work begin.

     

    • Oba writes from Ilorin, Kwara State.