By Boma Nwuke
On Monday,May 29,2023, the baton of leadership at the centre of governance will leave from a former Military dictator turned civilian politician to a veteran civilian political juggernaut.
One thing that is remarkably spectacular about this year’s May 29 inauguration is that of the “cross” among the principal players of the cyclical game of politics- the game of interest,be it personal or group.
Cross- evident in clashes between principals of parties and their subordinates in the build up to the general elections.Cross- in the fall of the mighty and the weak during the elections. We are now seeing how attention has shifted from the mainly nocturnal game of the streets and field to the courts where, Who is who lawyers in the country, Senior Advocates and others, who have desire to climb the ladder are reeling out their best to win public sympathy for their clients.
We are very well sensitised as laymen or distinguished personalities on electoral matters as we can contribute to sane discourses to press our audience. We are also sensitive to what Nigerians still living in denial,home and abroad are saying about the outcome of the presidential election .
Our eyes have seen political clowns doing their best to impress their masters, relishing impressive and not so dignifying nuances to the public. We have also seen the gullible and the feeble in their undaunted struggle to make a mark in their chosen political trains.In making preferred choices before and after the election,we saw the twist and turn of faith based organisations, some media houses, regional and ethnic champions and chiefdoms. We saw it all.
Now,we are going to see what the future holds for Nigerians with the initiatior of “Hope has come, better life has come”Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is gearing up to direct another era of civilian leadership from May 29.
May 29 is barely 5 days away with preparation for swearing in in top gear. The Federal Government had announced security measures around the vicinity of the inauguration at the Federal Capital Territory. There has been a transition council to usher in smooth transfer of power from the outgoing to the incoming government. Indeed,all roads lead to the inauguration come next Monday.
May 29 this year has been interpreted to mean different things by different people living in and outside the country. Some Nigerians are of the opinion that
the day will come and go but without the swearing in of Tinubu ,the declared winner of the presidential election . They anchored their hope on a- yet ,-to- be delivered Supreme Court Judgement on alleged Kashim Shettima’s double nominations. Others believed that May 29 inauguration is sacrosanct and signified the dawn of a new era which has, in abundance,as unveiled, among others, human resources agenda and impacting infrastructures across the country
Those who believe in this school of thought are already predicting happy hours for Nigerians, though this kind of ” Happy Hour” runs contrary to the generally perceived outdoor expression of happiness by means of alcoholic drinks and what the menfolk call ” lodgings”- which refers to female partners.
Without contradiction of any kind,a believer of this school once said, ” We are going to see what will happen under two years of Asiwaju’s presidency.
We will see Change,real Change. This man has magical fingers to turn even worst situations around . He can even turn Copper to Diamond “
If what the fellow said is correct then, it’s just a few days to the inauguration where from day one, we shall start counting the days we will experience the Midas touch and have Happy Hours.
I’m not a politician neither am I a ” Man of God” a soothsayer nor belong to the community of Naysayers. I choose to remain watchful of what’s going on and release my big stick – The Pen, wielding it on straying government, criminals and the gullible public in the country iam part and proud of . After all, “The Pen” which is my weapon is”Mightier than the Sword’.
Lest we forget, we are the great ones, the unsung heroes of democracy who tolerate raining insults from leaders, suffer untold ill-treatment and heaps of uncouth kindness but we are the ones sought after during crisis and when massaging of deflated egos becomes critical.
Despite the negative returns,we are keen on seeing a positive change of baton from a government which has caused great pain to Nigerians to a government that desires to assuage the plight of the people and give them the much needed freedom from hunger and poverty.
It is no exaggeration to say that the outgoing government has literally made very poor those who prior to 2015 were economically buoyant. It is not the intention of this article to pick the failures of the Buhari government and deal extensively on them, but for the government to consciously divide the people along the wide gap of extremely rich and very poor, and offering no panache or empathy to suffering Nigerians, we see it a duty to recall such failures.
As a conscientious analyst,it would be wrong if I brought to the public domain,a wide spectrum of political naivety culminating in managerial and fiscal irresponsibility resulting in economic doldrums without being fair to a few strides achieved by the outgoing administration.
The Buhari government somehow deserves kudos for transformation in the Aviation sector in terms of safety compliance and giving the airports a facelift.The government also made its mark in the Agriculture sector with focus on eating what you grow which aimed to cut down dependency on imports and increase export earnings. The government also constructed the second Niger Bridge,a near elephant project abandoned by past governments,
Under the Buhari government, we became acquainted more than before, states with all sorts of good mineral resources such as crude oil,gold, Paraiba tourmalines and other gemstones that should fetch us good money.
However,a crippling and nauseating problem associated with the outgoing administration is its inability to stop the recurring slaughter of innocent people and displacement of Nigerians from their ancestral homes.
Under the outgoing government, Nigerians also witnessed the worst kind of banditry and terrorism as though, Nigeria had become the centre of the most dreaded crimes in the world.
In the midst of all these, is the country’s disturbing debt profile. The outgoing administration has borrowed more money than previous governments according to financial experts. The government borrowed so much to construct railways,fix airports and pay salaries without corresponding returns.The debt which is external and domestic is reportedly inching close to N100 trillion
Honestly,,we pray that the illwind of despotism , the attitude of marginalisation, the callous deaths and forced tears from the eyes of terrorised and traumatized parents, children and well-wishers during the 8 years of the administration will dissapear by midnight of May 29.
Nigerians irrespective of political affiliation, ethnic grouping and faith, deserve better life. Collectively,In the past 8 years, what affected one part of the country affected the rest. The economic situation did not know tribe or religion. The kidnapping did not know face or where one comes from . It was simply a Nigerian problem. It was a leadership problem. What really went wrong for a government in 2015 that promised a great change for the people,we cannot tell. But we have heard allegations of people living or doing one thing or the other in Aso rock villa using demonic devices to direct the path of presidents. Those actions are considered lethal to the progressive re-engineering of the country.
However,for us,it is presumptuous that anyone would think that way in an age of diverse technological advancement. And, we are compelled to ask, what then is the use of security cameras and guards at the villa? It simply reminds us of the saying that “a bad workman quarrels with his tools ” Those who are telling such stories are bad workmen and supporters of bad government.A government with a clear focus and vision must rise above such sentiments and deliver to the people what they need.
As the encyclopedia of electioneering campaign promises and Agenda setters, We are determined every step of the way to remind new comers to the corridors of power that their contract with those who put them there should not in any way be toyed with.
This is because of our unflinching resolve to strengthen democracy and our commitment to advance good governance in the country.
It is necessary to advise that making life meaningful to the people by providing them with jobs, creating the enabling environment for businesses to thrive, ushering prosperity is worth doing to earn the goodwill of the people.
It is morally wrong for leaders to expect their followers to rush to eat from the crumbs under their table. Having this mindset might prove very dangerous at the end as the 2023 general revealed. We saw how incumbent governors failed in their bid to secure a future in the Senate. We saw how annointed candidates of some governors could not fly during the election . We saw things never imagined happened.. This goes to show that the order is changing very fast . And, if there is any lesson to learn at all, it is the expression of dissapointment, disenchantment,anger and frustration in the way people were treated by those whom they loved, and trusted defying scorching heat and drenching rains to elect.
Nigeria at the moment needs an individual, fearless and full of compassion to steer it. Our country needs one who fears God and puts love for the people and the country first.
As Tinubu takes the mantle of leadership on Monday,May 29 , the questions begging for answers are,can he live his hope campaign slogan? Can he wipe away the tears of downing Nigerians? Can he really fix the country in such a way that the “Japa” syndrome will dissapear or miserably minimised,? Can he outst banditry and terrorism? Can he genuinely fix our refineries so that our own country will no longer be seen as comical home and abroad as a producer of crude oil but imports its byproducts -Gasoline, Kerosene,Fuel oil etc,? Can he fix our roads? Can he create jobs for the teeming applicants? Can he turn our hospitals from being glorified cottage homes to hospitals with state of the art facilities? Can he fix our perennial electricity problem? Can he really fix Nigeria to sit among the world’s best as was the case in the good old days when our” Fatherland was the Giant of Africa?
