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Buhari and the people

By Editorial board
06 May 2015   |   3:02 am
NIGERIA has just had a historic election in which the general will of the people prevailed and a new social pact has been signed with Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu, Buhari and Fashola

Tinubu, Buhari and Fashola

NIGERIA has just had a historic election in which the general will of the people prevailed and a new social pact has been signed with Muhammadu Buhari.

With their votes, the people have identified with his battle cry of change. It is now time for him to put politics aside, rally the people, roll up his sleeves and get the job done for Nigeria’s future.

Again, with their votes, the people have expressed their desire for a better quality of life and their expectations are now the heavy responsibility of the elected President. Nigeria must rise and Nigerians must live better. Muhammadu Buhari has his job cut out for him. And it is no tea party.

For 16 years, Nigerians have been at the receiving end of elite infamy manifested in misrule and a consequent pauperisation of the people, majority of whom live on less than $2 per day. It was in this dire circumstances that they yearned for change.

A warped political elite had stood in the way and mainstreamed their privileged for private interests to the detriment of the people. The result has been a people whose growth has been stunted by poor leadership.

For a change, Nigerians expect a more purposeful and honest leadership from Buhari.

His election is meant to give the people hope and liberate them from abject poverty.

The weight on Buhari’s shoulders is heavy and the hope is that he can carry it. Nigeria needs Buhari at this time and they voted for him because he is deemed a man of integrity with the gravitas of leadership whose mere presence should signal a shift in attitude. He stands on a firm and high moral ground to prosecute the much-desired war against corruption and bring about change in governance in ways fundamentally different.

To this job, he must recognize that he has been made by the people and he must be one with the people, make them his base. He must pay heed to the fact that he may be in power, but the legitimacy he enjoys will evaporate without the support of the people.

He should hit the ground running and lose no time with tardiness as though ignorant of his direction. The point must be made that Nigerians voted for his character not any programme, as there was little discernible, and certainly, not just his party.

While it could be taken for granted that Buhari has a vision or a direction in which he wants to take the country given his single-minded, tenacious run for the presidency a few times before securing this mandate, it is important to state that the new President must, first and foremost put Nigerians to work.

This does not necessarily mean pumping more barrels of oil into the international market, but investing in actual production, wealth creation through agriculture and manufacturing. It is a well-known fact that all industrialised nations of the world went from farms to factory.

Nigeria has the land and the crops and must feed herself, even prosper, by re-tooling agriculture in ways that can make it provide employment to many of the unemployed Nigerian youths.

This can be achieved through liberalisation of the Land Use Act, deployment of modern implements, building of more silos, establishment of produce banks and structured extension services. Basic infrastructural and energy problems must be solved in most fundamental ways.

The incessant fuel crisis must end and the hiccup in energy supply can be dealt with through a policy of energy democratisation in which the nation’s teeming population would not have to rely on a so-called national grid. Given the paucity of resources, Buhari must think through and act decisively on how to cut the cost of governance.

The bleeding of the country through corruption, of course, must stop in order to free resources for revamping the national economy.

It is unfortunate the incoming administration sometimes appears groping for policy direction after the elections when such ought to have been the basis upon which the electorate rallied in support of one candidate or the other. Nevertheless, Buhari must emerge with a central vision for Nigeria. And soon too.

A President Muhammadu Buhari must flow with the tide in a most creative way. His style must be different from that of a military president even as he goes about the job at hand in a hurry. Buhari needs to be reminded that he is now where Olusegun Obasanjo was in 1999 and Jonathan in 2011, riding a crest of popular will and support. Expectations are high and people are brimming with confidence.

It therefore bears repeating that with expectations so high, he must ponder where previous leaderships got it wrong with a view to avoiding their pitfalls.

Nigerians are deeply polarized now and are in need of a uniter. The Buhari Administration must not be a presidency imbued with the mentality that ‘this is our turn’. He is the leader of Nigeria, not a regional leader and must keep his door open to all. He must therefore, recognize and impute the diversity of Nigeria into his government.

He must be able to take responsibility for his actions and must connect with the people who voted him into power. The people of Nigeria have expressed faith in Buhari. They are his base, a base which he must guard jealously with genuine service delivery.

 

 

 

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7 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    I use this medium to
    plead and request with due respect to Gen M. Buhari, to drop the “Army
    General” title and choose a simple civil & social title ( Mallam ,
    Alhaji, Sheik , etc) to his name. This will make a “CHANGE” in the
    attitude of military and para-military men under his leadership, from military
    to a more civil & social follower-ship starting May29, 2015. Other former
    “Military Men” in present and past leadership Executive and
    Legislative positions have changed from the military titles to a more simple
    and civil/social titles. This is just an advice to make him the first case of
    CHANGE and Nigerians will know that all OLD THINGS & WAYS HAVE PASSED AWAY,
    AND A NEW WINE IN “OLD & EXPERIENCED CALABASH” is in town, to
    give us it’s (his) taste of GOODNESS in “SELFLESS & TRANSFORMATIONAL
    LEADERSHIP qualities .

    Please if you know him or knows any one that
    knows him, kindly let them direct his attention to this advice. I pray almighty
    God protect him and give him good and honest people to work with as MANAGERS,
    IJN.amen.

    Please be BOLD, join
    and support the OSGG Movement to stop

    Corruption & Stealing in Nigeria. Goto our website and be a member – www osggnigeria com

  • Author’s gravatar

    GOODLUCK JONATHAN AND HIS OUT GOING ADMINISTRATION, HAVE NOT ONLY MASSIVELY LOOTED AND DEVASTATINGLY DESTROYED THE ECONOMY, WITH VERY RECKLESS ABANDON, BUT HAVE LEFT THE TREASURY VERY EMPTY AND THEY HAVE PUT NIGERIA AND NIGERIANS AND GENERATION YET UNBORN IN UNTOLD DEBT. THIS GOOD FOR NOTHING AND VERY SHAMELESS OUT GOING GOODLUCK JONATHAN ADMINISTRATION HAVE THE TEMERITY, THE AUDACITY AND I DO NOT CARE TYPE OF BEHAVIOUR TO SHARE 30 MILLION NAIRA TO EVERY PERSON IN THE PDP NATIONAL WORKING COMMITTEE, IN THE FACE OF THE VERY GLOOMY ECONOMIC POSITION THEY PUT NIGERIA. THEY SAME WICKED OUT GOING ADMINISTRATION STOLE 20 BILLION DOLLARS FROM THE ACCOUNT OF THE NNPC THEY ALSO EMPTIED THE EXCESS CRUDE OIL ACCOUNT AND IT NOW LESS THAN ONE BILLION DOLLARS, DEPLETED OUR FOREIGN RESERVE AND IT IS NOW 19 BILLION DOLLARS AND T NIGERIA TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL COMMUNITY, OUR FOREIGN RESERVE MUST BE ABOVE 68 BILLION DOLLARS FOR NIGERIA TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR SIX MONTHS IMPORTS. NOW THERE IS NO MONEY TO PAY THE BASIC SALARIES OF OUR WORKERS AND MEET UP WITH OUR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS. IF GOODLUCK JONATHAN AND HIS OUT GOING ADMINISTRATION THINK THAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH ALL THESE LOOTING, STEALING AND MURDER, THEN THEY ARE NOT IN THIS PLANET. THEY HAVE GREATLY POLLUTED NIGERIA AND THE POLLUTER MUST BE MADE TO CLEAN UP HIS OR HER MESS. THERE WILL BE NO HIDING PLACE OR PLACES FOR THOSE WHO INTENTIONALLY DESTROYED AND RUINED NIGERIA AND OUR ECONOMY. THOSE WHO HAVE EARS TO HEAR LET THEM HEAR.

    • Author’s gravatar

      To survive in nija politics you must no know how to share. ..do not be surprised that you shall soon see another sharing formula. ..in nija it has always been..poor man dey suffer. .monkey dey work. .baboon dey shop. .do you think this will change in the next 4 years? ?? The first 100 days of GMT shall tell!

  • Author’s gravatar

    This is my message .CAN BUHARI DROP THIS GENERAL AND LET HIM BE HIS REAL NAME?

  • Author’s gravatar

    Retired General Buhari earned his title,”General”, by virtue of his millitary training and career. No one should deprive him of that. His title is authentic versus the ones given to musicians like Ayinde “Barrister”, KWAM 1 (“King” Wasiu Ayinde Marshall), or “Commander” Ebenezer Obey or “King” Sunny Ade that are just social and artistic appellations. In my opinion he does not need to drop his career title.