A law teacher at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and a leading prosecutor for the Federal Government Mr Wahab Shittu writes on how President Muhammadu Buhari can bring prosperity and greatness to Nigeria in his second term.
The Presidential and National Assembly Elections have come and gone; and the results are known (thanks to the
electoral umpire – INEC). President Muhammadu Buhari (GCON) has been declared the official winner of the presidential election.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar (GCON), his closest rival in the race, has challenged the results, informing the whole world that he intends to challenge the results in court.
This intervention is borne out of patriotic intentions, not necessarily out of professed loyalty to the President-elect but more out of patriotic concerns for the project Nigeria.
I had predicted before the elections that President Buhari is likely to emerge not because he is the best material available in our country, but given the circumstances, he represents the viable choice among the contending candidates largely on account of his strong moral authority and mass appeal.
The other compelling reason is his choice of running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who like the president-elect, is incorruptible.
In my view, the administration in the last three and half years has recorded modest achievements on anti-corruption, security and the economy. These achievements are not without numerous challenges plaguing the country presently. This is the thrust of this intervention.
May I recall that nearly a year ago, I wrote a piece in The Nation where I appealed to Nigerians to give President Buhari a chance for a second term.
My argument at the time was informed partly because of the modest achievements of his administration and more fundamentally, on account of the unity and cohesiveness of the country.
I had argued that there are presidential materials in all the six geo-political zones of the country and if power is to return more quickly to the South, it is better to allow President Buhari exhaust the Northern slot for another four years and subsequently pave way for a Southern President to emerge.
The reasoning is that any other northerner apart from President Buhari may have to insist on another eight-year tenure and this will delay the options available to other geopolitical zones of the country.
This in essence was the thrust of my thesis and I am happy that the results of the recent presidential election may have vindicated my position.
I have decided to write the president this public memo deliberately after the results of the presidential election has been announced and when it is clear to all at least, to majority of Nigerians that he is the president elect.
The first point to make to the president elect is that the elections having been fought and won, the president elect should institutionalise a policy of no victor no vanquished believing that the real winner of the election is neither the president elect or any of the contestants but Nigeria and fundamentally, Nigerians.
The president elect must now work the talk that he is the president of the entire country and not the president of a section of the country or a particular party or any such primordial sentiments. I look forward to see the president of Nigeria and Nigerians.
This is very important because in the build-up to the elections, Nigerians were sharply divided with many expressing strong reservations about this administration particularly the intentions of the president elect.
Please let me illustrate this position by several exchanges I had with some of my friends and colleagues across Nigeria on the positives and negatives of the current administration. In one of such exchanges on social media, one of the respondents (name withheld) volunteered this comment:
I long decided not to contend with anyone. None would shift from his, or her locked-in-position. Our arguments and pontifications, no matter how true, strong or vehement would not translate into a single vote on social media; nor would it alter results favour of any particular candidate.
I have always known that those initial unofficial results from polling units were not the final results. Recall, in the Second Republic, the UPN normally sweeps the entire Western States, while the NPP would sweep the East.
These results, for whatever reason are usually the first to be announced, by which time their respective party adherents go into a frenzy, believing that their party has won the federal elections across Nigeria, conveniently ignoring that the North and South South are yet to be announced.
Suddenly, when those results start trickling in, it is then realized that the NPN has won the centre.
I’m not sure in which order the results would be announced now. I’m also not unaware of the power of incumbency, or how the security forces, especially the Army has been used to frustrate elections in Rivers State, in particular.
But, you see, irrespective of how many times INEC cancels the elections in Rivers State, whenever it is held, PDP will win! you can take this to the bank!…My silence stems from the fact that it is not over until it is actually over!
Ultimately, I will live with whoever is declared President, not having much choice over the matter.
It would however not change my view, which I express, with due respect, to those who hold a contrary opinion, that PMB’s Presidency has been a monumental disaster – clannish, highly divisive, very pretentious in the fight against corruption, compromised in its fight against insurgency, bereft of ideas on how best to propel our economy to greater heights, just to mention these, which are altogether compounded by the illness our President suffers.”
In reply, I had said to my colleague:
Prof, you have raised serious issues that should not be ignored – reflecting a damning critique of the present administration. No one intends to wish these issues away as they impact on the unity and cohesiveness of Nigeria. However I plead with you to balance these negatives with other positives of this administration for a fair and balanced assessment. We all share in the dream of a better Nigeria.”
Not satisfied, I got a damning response from my colleague as follows:
Fair point, my learned friend and colleague, Viscount Shittu Esq. I agree with you that, I should try to be fair and balanced to a regime that is neither fair nor balanced to those, who hold a contrary view, especially of the Southeast and Southsouth (the 5 per centres)!
I should try to be fair, I agree, to a regime that justified its lopsided appointment into the Heads of security agencies and other federal parastatals and agencies from a particular region and religion on grounds of ‘competence’; and, by implication suggesting that there are no competent Nigerias from other parts of the country, especially in the Southeast and Southsouth.
No doubt, I should be fair, I agree, to a regime that absolves its party members of corruption, even when the EFCC has actually indicted them, while simultaneously and contemporaneously going after those of opposition party members with expeditious dispatch! I think it was the late Prof. Olaide Adigun of blessed memory, who taught us that “He who wants equity must do equity”!
When we gleefully tag every Nigerian, who insist on the most basic constitutional rights and procedures a “Looter”, or “thief”, it is not difficult to see why the victims of such erroneous categorisation react in equal measure to those whom they perceive as being unfair to them!
Mr. President, the above exchanges may have shown the extent of deep seated grievances by some Nigerians across the land and if you ask me, these concerns ought to be addressed and taken very seriously.
I agree that Nigeria is a very difficult country to govern. Niyi Osundare in his book ‘Dialogue with my Country’captures this scenario vividly when he wrote:
“Nigeria is both a large country and a huge problem: the world’s number seven producer of oil, yet its citizens rank among the poorest on earth; boasting one of the highest church/mosque per person ratios in the world, yet rated the world’s second most corrupt country; blessed with abundant rivers and minerals, yet unable to generate enough electric power for its own use, even in this first decade of the 21st century; the country of a Nobel Laureate for literature, yet a land of resurgent illiteracy…
“But it is also a country full of bounce and bravado, brain and brawn, science and insight; a country capable of the fanciest and loftiest, but whose dreams hardly go beyond the slumbering stage. It is a country which permits a window of laughter on its dungeon of tears. Which is why some of the pieces here were written to tease and taunt, driven by a mission to ridicule us out of our bad ways. In seasons of anomy, satire comes in handy as an excoriative.”
This is the country our President-elect has been presiding over and in respect of which he has been offered a second term to govern.
It is important that the President elect changes this narrative and position our country to prosperity and greatness. How can the President elect achieve this objective?
First, he needs to deliver on his promises of anti-corruption, security, economy much more effectively and efficiently, far more than he has previously achieved in these areas.
Secondly, as the President elect has indicated, he must form an all-inclusive government drawing to his cabinet and other sensitive areas of his administration men and women of great talents across board.
These excellent materials must be sourced across parties, across ethnicities, across religions with the intention of attracting only the best for our country.
It should not matter to the president who voted for who with the only agenda being to serve Nigeria with its best eleven. T
hirdly, the President must spread even development across the country based on a carefully reviewed needs assessment strategies to meet expectations.
Fourthly, the security of our country should be treated with utmost priority and all without exception should be whipped into line in the objective to secure the country.
There should be no sacred cow and no group or individuals should be allowed to take the country to ransom. The President elect must be firm, resolute and determined in applying the law without discrimination.
Fifthly, it is important to respect the rule of law in the conduct of governmental affairs. The truth is that to act otherwise is also tantamount to corruption.
Mr. President-elect, I think I speak the minds of most Nigerians if I say, majority of Nigerians are hungry as poverty ravages the land. This is the time to change the narrative.
People are no longer comfortable with the slogan of fight against corruption in the midst of empty stomachs.
Food should be made available everywhere; jobs should be created for majority of Nigerians. Nigerians generally are yearning for better living standards.
Stolen wealth recovered must be deployed for the provisions of critical infrastructures. Nigeria deserves good governance. This the President-elect must ensure if his name is to be engraved in letters of gold.
Mr. President, I believe that you have won the popular votes in the last election. Many of those who voted for you did so out of great sacrifices and patriotism believing that you stand on a higher moral ground than many of the other contestants.
In doing so, many of the voters rejected attractive and tempting offers choosing instead to pitch their tent with your seemingly altruistic intentions.
These Nigerians must not be disappointed and your second coming offers this majority of Nigerians an opportunity to be happy as you deliver development oriented policies.
I urge you to seize the moment and bring happiness to the faces of majority of Nigerians.
Mr. President-elect, I believe you stand a shoulder high above some of your co-contestants in the Presidential race. First, you had the opportunity of governing this country as a Military Head of State, secondly, you returned as a democratic president years after you had left office.
Thirdly, before all of these, you were part of those who fought a bloody civil war to keep this country as a single entity and fifthly you have just been given another mandate to run this country for another four years.
Sixthly, more than fifteen million voters lined up in polling booths across the country to ensure you were re-elected.
This was achieved without you spending one kobo from the federal treasury to execute your campaigns. Nigerians simply voted for your discipline and integrity.
Mr. President how will you pay back this uncommon goodwill, love and affection shown to you by Nigerians?
The answer is good governance. The answer is justice and fair play to all segments of Nigerians.
The answer is equal opportunity to all Nigerians. The answer is reflecting public appointments across the geopolitical entities that make up Nigeria.
The answer is making the entire Nigeria your constituency. The answer is listening to Nigerians and meeting their expectations.
The answer is being tolerant of constructive criticisms. The answer is putting a stop to needless killings of Nigerians.
The answer is uniting the entire country around government policies. The answer is winning the trust of every segment of the Nigerian society.
The answer is building solid and permanent legacies that would engrave your name in letters of gold.
The answer is protecting the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians at all times.
The answer is putting food on the tables of majority of Nigerians, putting roof above the heads of Nigerians, creating jobs and employment opportunities for Nigerians. The answer is taking Nigerians to the next level of happiness and prosperity.
I am positive that Mr. President elect will deliver on all of these expectations.
In summary, this is my memo to the President-elect as I offer my congratulations!
