FIVE months from now, the present government would clock a year in office. Nigerians had expected a lot on the change promised by the Buhari administration, and people are beginning to ask if it will ever materialise.

The Guardian was on the street of Abuja to feel the pulse of residents on what they expect from the government in the New Year with regards to the promise. And while a majority is still hopeful, some people might have resigned themselves to fate.

A general inclination of people is that the sitting government must do away with ‘democratic finesse’ and the ‘rule of law’ if it must make headway. They reasoned that a situation where a country’s people know what’s right but always choose wrong could clog the government’s wheel of change.

Citing the recent $2bn arms procurement scandal, Sir Ekene Ebuzeme said had the man at the centre of the matter been allowed to travel abroad, under the pretext of seeking medical treatment, revelations now in the public domain may have never surfaced. He described as unfortunate a situation where lawyers in a compromised judiciary seek injunctions to stay the actions of anti-corruption agencies.

The President needs to be firm and decisive in the implementation of policies, especially the budget that was just released. The power sector is a key area. I believe the new Minister, Fashola, will be able to deliver on this mandate, considering his track records in Lagos. Who could have believed that Lagos would become a saner society during his time as governor? Look at Lagos now; people have started to complain that things are deteriorating again. So, it takes strong hands to rule this country.

Ebuzeme said the Buhari administration should take decisive steps to curtail the excesses of people; not minding whose ox is gored. He said: “The President needs to be firm and decisive in the implementation of policies, especially the budget that was just presented. The power sector is a key area. I believe the new Minister, Babatunde Fashola, will be able to deliver on this mandate, considering his track records in Lagos.
“The President should also look at insecurity. Thank God, the Army is having an upper hand. But then, all those who are indicted in the scandal should be jailed. Since this anti-corruption war started, we have not seen anyone sent to jail. Let things begin to happen in this direction. I am sure, everyone will sit up and know that this government is not a joker.”

Mrs. Obiageli Saviour wants government to ensure peaceful co-existence. She said security should be given priority and the economy improved. At the same time, the issue of electricity supply should be on the top burner. She also wants priority attention given to roads, water, hospital services and other issues affecting the poor.

She said: “I want the economy to be stable, so that money would be in circulation. Jobs should be made available, so that more youths would be engaged. You will notice that some able-bodied youths are roaming the streets; this is not healthy for the nation.”

Taiwo Adetifa said government should assist small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). He described SMEs as the bedrock of economies all over the world, adding that if government is serious about industrialisation and shift from over dependence on oil, then SMEs must be given a leeway.

Adetifa said: “Government should ensure that Nigerians are not over burdened by the cost of production. Locally made products are usually more expensive than items brought in from Asia. This is because SMEs load all their cost of production on the finished goods. If electricity supply is constant, we wouldn’t have to rely on petrol or diesel to run generators all day. If the roads are good, we would be able to move our finished products to markets easily. Also, situations where different government agencies collect taxes should be stopped. This is fraud. Since the money is still going into the same government coffers, why should we pay multiple taxes? These are the reasons people choose to evade tax.”

Adetifa, who is an entrepreneur, said banks should stop begging big multinationals to take loans from them; rather they should give such loans to SMEs, in order to drive the economy.

Other respondents said unless government agencies saddled with enforcing law and order upped their game, nothing meaningful would be achieved.
Citing the yearly occurrence of flooding in the FCT, Jacob Adepoju wants the Abuja Environmental Protection Agency to provide refuse bins before compliance can be enforced, and that the agency must ensure prompt refuse collection.

Chukwuemeka Godwin wants the present administration to implement the Oronsanye Report by merging existing agencies with similar roles in order to cut cost of running government. He praised Buhari’s courage in reducing the number of federal ministries and urged him to also trim the number of agencies. Godwin said government should be ready to downsize, and hands off subsidising the oil sector.
“What we should be talking about is reviving dead industries and encouraging new ones. That is the only way to get people employed, not this usual way of keeping people who are not doing anything in government offices. It is a waste. How many civil servants have schedules? The opposition Peoples Democratic Party should also stop unnecessary distraction.”

At the IDPs camp at New Kuchingoro, the cry of the displaced persons was: “We want to go home!” They appreciated the good gestures of Nigerians and faith-based organisations that visited them and made donations, but wished to return to their ancestral homes.

In the words of Adamu Aliyu: “All we require is government to assure us that we would be safe in our homes. We are living a life of uncertainty in this place; we cannot plan for the future and we are just hanging around. If President Buhari can assure us that we would not be attacked again in our villages, we are good to go.”

Nireti Ola prayed that the Abuja/Lagos road dualisation project would be completed in record time. She lamented the loss of innocent lives on the road, as a result of delay in construction. She hoped that persons who may have soiled their hands in the project would be brought to justice.
Ola cautioned government not to treat issues of national interest with kid gloves, stressing that there should be no sacred cows, if the government wants a successful tenure.