2nd April, 2015
General Muhammed Buhari will, on 29 May, be sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria having been declared winner of the 28 March presidential election. As Nigerians and indeed the entire world anxiously await this historic hand over, it is gratifying that the incoming government knows the huge task before it.
After being subjected to several years of hardship occasioned by inept leadership, Nigerians are anxious for change and purposeful leadership. The over 15 million votes cast for the All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential Candidate, Gen Muhammed Buhari, against the ruling party’s 12 million votes, was a clear reflection of that yearning. With the elections concluded, the winning party must hit the ground running as quickly as possible.
While it is practically impossible to solve all the problems confronting the nation in a short time, there are certain urgent issues that the incoming government must tackle immediately. One of such issues is the security challenge facing the country. For years, the Boko Haram terrorist sect has unleashed untold mayhem on most parts of the north. Thousands of our compatriots have been killed by the sect. The outgoing government waited too late before routing the extremists on the eve of the general elections.
As the new government takes over in May , the expectation of Nigerians is that a full blown war will be declared against the Boko Haram insurgents. A review of past efforts to battle the insurgents must be carried out with a view of identifying their weakness and strength. The military must also be orverhauled to be able to defend the territorial integrity of our nation.
Aside security, the another top priority issue for Nigerians is electricity. The incoming government must immediately make power generation and distribution a top agenda on its list of programmes. Nigerians want electricity and anything short of that is unacceptable. In meeting this challenge, the new government must review all previous power generation and distribution contracts to ensure that companies awarded contracts are able to deliver the terms of such contract. The new government must know that the expectations of Nigerians are high and that if nothing positive is done about electricity within a short time, they will be disappointed.
Currently, our economy is in serious crisis. The exchange rate has sky-rocketed while the various sectors of the economy are in a state of comatose. The new government was voted in on the strength of its promise to bring about change in the economy. This promise must be kept to the letter. In revamping the economy, competent professionals must be appointed to the right offices to man the affairs of various sectors. Current policies which are anti-masses must also be quickly reviewed.
While there is no doubt that there is work to be done in other areas such as job creation, youth empowerment, health, manufacturing, education, agriculture, housing, insurance, banking, telecommunications, etc., the new government must first get its priority right. We as a people are faced with multiple challenges but any government that wants to succeed must concentrate on areas where we have the greatest shared needs. Above all, institutions must be strengthtened, there must be an end to corruption and impunity across the land.