Another glimps of restructuring

Policy re-orientation will bring about the change we need. Nigeria has been waiting for the messiah who will unite or reunite the nation for the past 46 years. There were speculations on who is the messiah. Consequently, in 2015 Muhammadu Buhari surfaced on the political scene. His integrity won him the hearts of all. When Buhari came into power, Nigeria expected him to start from where Jonathan stopped. Continuity is the epitome of good leadership. Surprisingly, Buhari jettisoned the 2014 National conference policy document which represents the general will of all Nigerians. He was expected to go ahead to validate it through a referendum or pass it to the legislature for validation.

By jettisoning the 2014 Conference documents, President Muhammadu Buhari has left Nigerians with an unfinished business in their hands. On account of this Nigeria has not moved even an inch away from where former President Goodluck Jonathan left it. What we see today is a state of disorder. The anti-graft war is slanted against the opposition. Instead of concentrating on governance, the government spends all its energy staging a lopsided anti-corruption war. But this political gimmick even if it means bringing all Nigerians in handcuff to refund the stolen money, replace restructuring. The more Buhari fights corruption, the more corrupt people surround him.

God gave Buhari the second chance to achieve what no Nigerian leader achieved. One might ask what is this chance. It is the chance to really restructure Nigeria. The parameters for restructuring were given to him ready-made by former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. President Buhari is a man of destiny. God threw him up as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to rebuild, reunite and restructure the nation by merely implementing the general will of the people, the 2014 confab policy document.

Two years have almost elapsed; he still has two years to go before he runs out his term and covenant with God. Failure to comply with the general will of the people this time, may affect his chances of being their shepherd for the third time. There is a biblical basis for this line of thought: when the people of Israel asked for a king, God gave them the man called Saul. When Saul ignored the will of God, he ran out of God’s favour. President Buhari should know that power comes from God. God watches how the leader uses the power vested in him by God. Buhari should know that the voice of the people is the voice of God. This is where the dictum of Patricia Sowell Harris comes in, that “None of us is greater than all of us. We can emphatically say that Nigeria cannot be united until the provision in the 2014 confab policy documents are implemented.” We can analyze consequential policy failures.

There will be restiveness among the youths on account of high and rising unemployment rate. Already there is stagnation in the economy. Businesses are not growing. We are facing foreign exchange crunch on account of slump in the oil prices in the international market.

Activities at the state level are comatose. Aside oil, every other segment of the economy is operating at a low level. This economic gloom, this dark cloud can be dispersed with restructuring.

Once the 2014 confab policy document becomes operationalized, Nigeria will bounce out of this ugly recession into a boom. Public expectations from the performance of the national currency and the national economy as a whole will be positive. If the 2014 confab policy is implemented, it wouldn’t be long before the states take full charge of their own economy, pay off arrears owed to staffers of the state bureaucracy, debts owed to foreign countries and the Central Bank of Nigeria will also be paid the monies it advanced the States. Industries across states and local governments will blossom and employment generation will be the consequential effect.

If I were Mr. President, I will implement the general will of the people so that God will bless me. Nigerians are still looking for the leader that will make the difference and that leader could be President Muhammadu Buhari.