President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in yesterday for a second term. He did not unfold a new programme at the inauguration in Abuja. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the challenges Nigerians expect his administration to urgently tackle.
At 76, Muhammadu Buhari, president and Commander-in-Chief, was on Wednesday sworn in for a second term. His assets are his integrity, incorruptible nature and loyalty to Nigeria.
Unlike four years ago when he took the baton from former President Goodluck Jonathan, the inauguration was low-key. It was a solemn event. Contrary to popular expectation, the president did not give a speech. However, Nigerians expect him to continue to reposition the country and give them a new lease of life.
It is heartwarming that the president has said that the snail-like approach to governance will be a thing of the past. He said the perception of a go-slow leader was over. Nigerians expect him to live up to his personal and public projections.
The first task is for the president to set up a cabinet of talents. Nigeria is highly endowed with competent politicians and technocrats, whose talents can be harvested to fuel the fire of development. In a presidential democracy, it is not compulsory for the president to limit his search to the political class. A round peg in a round hole is required. The scorecards of some former ministers are in the public domain. It may be necessary to retain some of them while still injecting the Federal Executive Council (FEC) with new blood. Also, there is a need to maintain a clean break from the past. Federal appointments should be devoid of parochialism, ethnicity and religious preference. However, merit should not be sacrificed on the altar of the quota system.
It may now be necessary for the president to maintain an abiding interest in the election of the National Assembly principal officers. It is desirable that, in this second term, frictions between the legislature and the executive should be reduced to the barest minimum. Nigerians cannot afford the pains of budgetary delay, the denial of parliamentary approval for presidential nominees and the peculiar cat and mouse relationship. That does not mean that the doctrine of separation of powers should be trampled upon. It should be a relationship of mutual interdependence for the public good, and yet in an atmosphere of constitutional checks and balances.
Nigerians expect a more effective, efficient and cohesive administration, unlike the awful picture of the past where critical agencies of government will write to the National Assembly to thwart the approval for presidential nominations. Proper coordination and amity are very important. When an agency of government makes a pronouncement and another agency contradicts it, the impressions being conveyed are a gap in communication and adversarial relationship.
To many observers, Nigeria has become more divided. Identity crisis has continued to fester. There is despondency in the land. Cries of marginalisation still fill the air. President Buhari should rise to the occasion and project himself as the symbol of unity and cohesion. He can do this by always leading by example as the President of all Nigeria.
Despite the picture being painted by the government, the economy still appears to be on its knee. Nigeria has overcome a recession. But, recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reportedly warned that another is looming. To the governor, Godwin Emefiele, the baseline is the soaring unemployment. Nigeria is a non-producing, but largely consuming country. The home condition can hardly attract meaningful investment. The ease of doing business is doubtful. Manufacturers who have relocated are yet to return. The organised private sector is agonising over the un-conducive business environment.
The government should continue its diversification programme and encourage states that are yet to emulate it to do so. Reality has dawned on Nigeria that reliance on oil, a single source of income, is dangerous. The gains recorded in the solid minerals should be sustained. But, how the money is generated or distributed is not the major challenge, but how it is spent when it is distributed to states. Bailouts are good, but how are they spent?
The masses are assailed by poverty and hunger. The quality of life is declining. Social welfare is still at a low ebb, despite the over-advertised interventions in terms of cosmetic empowerment. Households are in pains. According to reports, some parents are now selling their children for tokens and vice versa.
Job creation should be a priority in the second term. The army of unemployed young Nigerians is a threat to security. The statistics on unemployment reeled out by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics is confounding. Universities and colleges are turning out graduates who are finding it hard to find jobs. The jobs are elusive. There is a correlation between mass unemployment and criminal tendencies which may have been ignored to national peril. Piecemeal job creation may not be the answer. The solution to unemployment may be the revival of the manufacturing sector. This can be done by a regular power supply, which Disco or Jenco may not be able to guarantee.
Why is it difficult for Nigeria to experience regular power supply? Why has the country become a dumping site for generators? Are the cartels behind the importation of generators frustrating the bid to reposition the power sector? Can Nigeria become an industrial giant without electricity?
Also, why can’t President Buhari make a final decision on the refineries? Should they continue to be in a state of disrepair? Why are other private sector operators not emulating Dangote? Why should Nigeria, an oil-producing country, continue to import fuel for domestic consumption?
President Buhari deserves kudos for fighting the anti-terror war with determination and vigour. Many areas have been reclaimed from the dreadful Boko Haram sect by gallant and patriotic soldiers. But, the battle has not been won. The terrorists are still on the prowl attacking soft targets. Chibok girls in captivity create a national nightmare. What is the fate of the 112 girls? Where are they? Alive or dead? Nigerians want them to be released to end the suspense. Also, when will Leah Sharibu regain her freedom?
Churches, mosques, schools and highways and other public places are not safe. Also, herdsmen are on the prowl, killing and maiming. Armed robbers are tormenting many villages and cities. Across the country, the fear of kidnappers is the beginning of wisdom. Nobody is insulated. Women, company executives, the aged, and children are targets. Not all the people kidnapped have returned alive. Recently, opinion leaders in the Southwest cried out about the invasion of unidentified kidnappers terrorising towns and villages, seizing people on the road and demanding for ransom from their families. There are puzzles: are these commercial kidnappers Nigerians? Why is it difficult for security agents to nail them? A failure of intelligent gathering?
Security was one of the cardinal promises made to Nigerians by the president in 2015. The first priority of the government is the security of life and property. Much may have been accomplished in this area. Definitely, much more needs to be accomplished. However, security is a collective enterprise involving the participation of all stakeholders, government and the governed.
If the national question is resolved, and policing is decentralised, will it reduce crime? Many have argued that state police will herald a new dawn in the fight against crime. Why, for example, should a policeman, a Kanuri from Borno, should be posted to Ondo State? He will be in a strange land. When a Yoruba from the Southwest is posted to Sokoto, Enugu or Rivers state, he faces predictable impediments and limitations. He is not conversant with the language, tradition, geography and sociology of the environment. He is not emotionally attached to the environment, his skill and competence notwithstanding. Therefore, intelligence gathering will be a herculean task. It may slow down the pace of policing.
Besides, the police should be adequately funded. If policemen receive good salaries, they will reduce the tendency to take a bribe. They will show more dedication and patriotism. They will be alive to their responsibilities, reminiscent of when they performed excellently in during peace-keeping outside the country and won laurels. Also, bad eggs who give the police command a bad name should be flushed out.
The anti-graft war is on course, although corruption is seriously fighting back. The acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, is not relenting. It is a difficult war. But, it is inevitable. It is non-negotiable. Looters appear wiser than the government as they hide under the loopholes in the laws to delay or prolong the cause and course of justice through frivolous injunctions. The judicial process is long and, to some observers, boring. Yet, due process must be followed. What is the way out?
Many experts have suggested the setting up of special courts for the trial of corrupt public officials. This will increase the speed of trial and convictions. But, prevention is better than cure. There should be a mechanism that will make it difficult for people to steal from government coffers. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) is commendable. More of such innovations will be welcomed. Public officials who have immunity should also shelve corruption in the national interest.
The giant strides of the government in the areas of transportation and other infrastructural development are worthy of commendation. The achievement should be sustained. The rail projects should not be abandoned. It will reduce the damage done to roads by trucks.
Buhari still has a major hurdle to cross. His victory is being challenged by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at the Supreme Court.
In four years’ time, the president will be confronted by the challenge of democratic succession. The process will start from his party, which is expected to make a decision on zoning. The Commander-In-Chief is the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He should always try to put his house-the party-in order. During the governorship elections, the party ran into turbulence in some states. APC needs a strong crisis resolution mechanism to always weather the nomination storm and foster post-primary reconciliation.
Buhari must also perform for his party to remain attractive to Nigerians beyond his tenure. If he succeeds in handing over to another progressive president in 2023, it will be his greatest achievement.