After four attempts, former military leader,
Muhammadu Buhari, will finally be getting the opportunity to rule Nigeria under
a civilian dispensation as the Independent National Electoral Commission
declared him the winner of the 2015 presidential poll held on March 28. It is
indeed a welcome development for all Nigerians, at least from the perspectives
of some of us that believe in his capacity and worked for his victory within
our capacity.
My passion for the Buhari project is based on my
conviction on the Daura General’s ability. I was a toddler when he ruled as a
military leader, but as a student of history and politics, I grew up reading a
lot about him, like other past leaders. I also took my time to study the man’s
lifestyle, and it appears to me he is indeed an honest man with the will to
make a difference. I threw my weight behind him in 2011.
Having been involved, voluntarily, in the project
in 2011, and failed, I was initially disillusioned in the chance of the general
this time round. It dawned on me that contesting against an incumbent in a
system like ours was like hitting the head against a rock. However, when one of
my friends in the struggle in 2011 sent me a strong message, two months ago, on
why I should not sit back this time round because of our experience in 2011, I
knew I had to come out of my shell for the man, yet again. That is how much
some of us have given to the man, Buhari, not for any pecuniary consideration,
but because of our belief in his ability.
Now that the opportunity has arisen, I don’t
think the general needs telling that the task at hand is gargantuan. Buhari
cannot afford to disappoint the millions of Nigerians that believe in his
ability. Like some commentators have noted, the problems of Nigeria of today
are far more complex than those of the Nigeria of 1984. Let me quote the words
of a former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Lamido Sanusi, now Emir of Kano,
who wrote in July 2002 ahead of Buhari’s first shot at the Presidency:
“Muhammadu Buhari as a military general had more room for manoeuvre than he can
ever hope for in Nigerian politics. I am not sure that sterling performance as
head of a military junta translates into the same level of competence in a
liberal environment where the tools are persuasion rather than coercion, and
negotiation rather than suppression.”
Sanusi could not have said it better. Yet, I
believe that with his will and sincerity of purpose, Buhari can make a huge
difference and set Nigeria on the path of renewed progress. The first thing I
will like to see from the new president is a national re-orientation strategy.
A sense of patriotism that is not driven by horse whips. This the general can
achieve by leading by personal example. From my reading, Nigerians appear ready
for this. To narrate an example, I saw some young men and women crossing a road
on Victoria Island on their way to work the morning after the presidential
election results were announced, and with some sense of pride, they marched
across the Zebra crossing reminding the oncoming car drivers that, “This is
Buhari era. Respect the Zebra crossing. No to indiscipline”. This may have been
a joke by these youths but it still sends a message: they are already
identifying with Buhari’s reputation for not tolerating indiscipline.
Like Simon Kolawole, columnist with Thisday
newspaper, wrote a few weeks ago, on Buhari and the burden of expectations,
Nigerians, having suffered from years of misrule, are impatient, and are only
ready to hear “food is ready”, not “food will be ready”. I hope Buhari knows
that. Nigerians will remind him of each of those promises he made during his
electioneering.
Let Buhari know that a lot of ground has to be
covered and he must hit the ground running. This is not the time for rhetoric.
I believe four years is enough to make huge impact, and all the promises he
made during the campaign period must be fulfilled without any excuse, which is
part of the bane of the outgoing administration which has a penchant for
blaming past administrations for our nagging problems, rather than making
visible efforts at tackling them.
I have always contended that Buhari’s party, the
All Progressives Congress, despite not being much different from the Peoples
Democratic Party that it just dislodged, has a better quality of personnel. It
is not a coincidence that a good percentage of the most performing public
officers (Babatunde Fashola, Adams Oshiomhole, Ibikunle Amosun, Abiola Ajimobi,
Rauf Aregbesola) in the current dispensation are members of the APC, and the
ones that defected from the PDP happened to be arguably the PDP’s best hands
(Aminu Tambuwal, Chibuike Amaechi, Rabiu Kwankwaso etc). Yet, I believe it is
the technocrats, who will do less of politics and more of administration, that
will lead the steering if Buhari wants to succeed. Fashola will be a great
asset to Buhari’s change dream. So are Kayode Fayemi, Oshiomhole (when he
completes his tenure as governor of Edo State), and a few other politicians.
Prof. Pat Utomi and Festus Keyamo are other already well known personalities
who may be useful to Buhari. It is soothing that the Buhari’s VP, Yemi
Osinbajo, is also a technocrat with reputation for performance.
Another bane of the Jonathan Presidency is
allowing himself to be cornered by some ethnic hawks and presenting him as an
Ijaw president. The shortest way to losing his goodwill is Buhari making the
same mistake. Buhari must wear a pan-Nigerian outlook, and should not be seen
as being a Fulani president as some people have predicted. Here, perception
also matters, so Buhari should not give any slight room for suspicion.
Having a good media team to drive a president’s
communication strategy is important, but Buhari’s media handlers should not
dwell on lies and cheap propaganda.
The economy currently totters and this is one
area that will make or break Buhari presidency. His economic management team
needs to be world-class. He should not go for less. The private sector share of
the economy has expanded since Buhari’s military regime. Despite the
challenges, majorly from high cost of doing business, the private sector has
continued to expand, especially since the return to civil rule in 1999. This
has to be sustained. The private sector has to be supported and provided
opportunities to thrive.
While the government redeems its pledge to
diversify the economy by focusing on agriculture and SMEs, very close attention
still needs to be given to the petroleum sector. Indigenous participation in the
oil and gas sector has improved significantly in the last 10 years, and the new
government should sustain the gains. Many investment decisions have been on
hold due to the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, I believe President
Buhari and the incoming National Assembly will do well to give this bill speedy
passage, and listening to the concerns of stakeholders. The
petroleum industry will remain critical to Nigeria and the new government must
focus on entrenching transparency in the sector.
My biggest fear for Buhari presidency, I must
confess, is the Boko Haram menace. The president has promised to put an end to
the insurgency that has claimed the lives of over 15,000 people, banking on his
military background and experience handling a mini-insurgency (Maitatsine) in
the past. This being one task which performance is easy to assess, Buhari
cannot afford to fail here. In fact, if after six months of his administration
and BH bombs still go off at will, then the honeymoon may end so soon. Buhari needs
to arrest the situation – and fast.
This is an opportunity for a fresh start. And
Nigerians have given the Daura general the chance he has sought, without
success, three prior times. Failure cannot be an option. To a man given this
rare opportunity, much is indeed expected.
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