It is imperative to note that Nigeria is a religious country. However, as a plural society with different religious inclinations, the president of Nigeria first allegiance is to the nation and it is believed that such an occasion as important as the reception of various presidents of Africa and international dignitaries should not be treated with levity. No wonder the superpowers and most other presidents in the international community shunned the inauguration as their advisers would have envisaged such a lacuna. As the most populous country in Africa, given the enterprising nature of Nigerians and our ability to be pacesetters, other sister African countries are looking up to us to be the rallying point and a big brother. Africa must have a leader and Nigeria is in a good position to take over as that leader. While some have insinuated that the president is a religious extremist based on his antecedents, his actions on daily basis confirms that assertion. In other not to draw the ire of Muslims, I would have expected the president to have excused his guest, held short prayers like 30 minutes and rejoined the reception to deliver a powerful message to African leaders that they have to get their acts together and emulate Nigeria, which is building a model of democracy for the continent.
Related to the foregoing, the President has started his international diplomatic shuttles in earnest and to the ire of many Nigerians, he has spent the first one week of his presidency outside, away from those who gave him the mandate. While international support and cooperation is imperative to moving Nigeria forward, the problems that burgeons the nation need to be tackled from the home front. For us to be respected worldwide, we have to show that we can lead in Africa. The president preferred to attend the G7 summit and ignored the World Economic Forum’s Africa summit holding in Cape Town. That was billed from 3-5 of June and I believe that Buhari should have been at that forum to outline his Economic agenda from the African perspective. As the author of the referenced article on Quartz noted, all eyes were on the man who would not be there. I do not want a president who will ignore things at the local and continental level and thinks that hobnobbing with the international community is the solution to our problems. We are no longer colonies, we are our own people and we should determine our lives.
Irrespective of this lacuna, the president has towed a good line to pay heed to the fact that we also need international support albeit incompletely. As he heads to the G7 summit which has taken Russia out of the equation, permit me to imagine Nigeria as a replacement for Russia in the G8. Is it possible for Nigeria to be in that group, yes, but it depends on our leaders and how well Nigeria's trajectory of development in the next 10-15 years moves. As the president heads to the G7, the happily returned prime minister of the United Kingdom has tasked Buhari on the expectation as he joins the world's most advanced and elite club in a summit. As I noted earlier on the comments section, the request from Cameron was met mostly by a backlash. However, in response to others opinion, I started below:
Most people don't get what Cameron is asking for. APC and Buhari got this presidency through unconventional ways of propaganda and rhetoric. Now that is not what you apply to solving the complex problems of a developing country. You need a policy thrust, a policy direction, an elegant plan which will be followed to rescue Nigeria from the purported decay. Now that is what the West want to see if they are to cooperate with Nigeria. Not all the aggression, covert and overt, and cooked up lies against PDP and Jonathan. We cannot exist in isolation, we need foreign direct investment (FDI), we are going to sell oil and we will borrow funds. They need a broad and detailed policy base of the Buhari's administration, not the kind of conference that was hurriedly put up the other day. You don't go to G7 to tell them you will fight corruption and BH, you need to tell them how you will use sophisticated method of economic development to tackle issues. You need to outline your foreign policy, now we have become a model of democracy in Africa, what role are we going to play and how? Africa needs us and I didn't hear Buhari mention anything like that. As one guy on Sahara Reporter said, that speech was 'vague' and 'illusory'.
As I noted earlier, some are averse to the foreign trips that have become the trademark of the Buhari presidency. Late Yardua was the opposite of Buhari as he rarely travelled. Goodluck was better, it seems Buhari wants to surpass them all. However as many such as Chief Olu Falae voiced out on Vanguard, the president would have stayed home with his primary constituency in the first week of his presidency to plan and ponder with various interest groups and with a broad spectrum of Nigerians from whom he will get inputs with which he will depart to meet with our friends to discuss issues of paramount importance to Nigerians. However, he is the president and he calls the shots.
As we continue to enjoy the peace with anxious outlook to know the direction the next four years will look like under this dispensation, activities and clues have been emerging slowly. On May 30th, we were greeted with the news that the president has declared his assets to the agency, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) responsible for such declarations in Nigeria. However, many were taken aback when the declaration was announced as an official secret. While some understood Buhari's promise of asset declaration as an open affair as chronicled here - Buharimeter- a website by group of civil society who wants to take the president to task over his promises, staunch supporters of the president came to his rescue saying that he has fulfilled his constitutional requirement. The news filtering in after the uproar is that the detials of the declaration will be made public after verification by the CCB. However, we have to wait for the expiration of the first 100 days which the president himself set as limits for his assets declaration. The next day, the high point was the appointment of spokesmen for the president, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu respectively as special adviser and senior special assistant respectively. My take on their appointments was:
I hope their first assignment today Monday 1st June 2015 will be to address the media on the president's declaration of assets. We need facts and figures, physical assets and liquid cash. Change is here. We need to start on a clean slate. No skeletons to hide. We are watching!
That did not happen.
We are still expectant as that will be done after the verification by CCB.
While the president is relishing his ascendency to the topmost position of the federation, issues of national and economic importance have continued to pervade the polity. I will not have done justice to this review if I don't mention the nagging issue of fuel scarcity that has become the albatross of the first week of Buhari's presidency. However, as usual we will overcome. Again, the contentious issue of fuel scarcity, a seemingly easy problem to solve given that the raw material needed to arrive at all the finished products we require as fuel for all kinds of land moving and flying machines is abundant in the Niger Delta. I will not dig deep into this issue but I will mention the request from some professional organisation in the oil and gas sector who have lend their voice on how the president can handle this issue and save Nigerians the recurring scourge of incessant fuel scarcity. Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in support of a Civil Society organisation, Conscience Nigeria, has urged the president to work at increasing local capacity before removing fuel subsidy. My thoughts on this are as follows:
This is the problem with Nigeria. Removing fuel subsidy is a strategic decision whereby the government would decide to remove the subsidy under the parlance of elaborate plan and policy thrust to contain the resulting vagaries. What is required is a framework and timeline which will be based on consultations and extensive planning over a period of time - at least 3 years- to ensure that adequate measures are put in place to cushion the effects on the masses, deal with increasing local production to a certain level, putting down a legal framework to overhaul the petroleum sector because we are dealing with a system and their is interrelationship existing amongst the various components. You don't just remove fuel subsidy, you will create problems that may eclipse fuel subsidy. This is why many of us show disdain at the Buhari's presidency because of the lack of sound policy frameworks that he intends to employ in tackling the complex hydra like problems bedevilling Nigeria.
The president is still outside the country for the first 9 days of his presidency. The fuel situation has been diffused a little bit, queues are still visible at the fuel stations. It was the patriotism of Ifeany Ubah,a hard-line supporter of the immediate past president that saved Nigeria from consternation and anarchy. While some have praised his love for country, others have labelled him a sycophant who is jostling to curry favour or avoid being prosecuted by the present administration for yet to be known wrong doings in the past administration. If not for anything, he was the leader of Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, the flagship support group of former President Jonathan's re-election bid. Be it as it may, he saved Nigerians so much pains and hard life. Just as he is vilified for doing good, the former president has been on the receiving end. The beginning of the many travails which may be the norm in response to Buhari stance on corruption. Even Buhari acknowledged the benevolence and magnanimity of Goodluck's behaviour as crucial to the sustenance of our democratic institutions, some ignoramus have been been yelling at others who dare to call Goodluck Jonathan a hero. Among those who have magnified these calls are the beautiful singer, Adokiye and Sylva, former governor of Bayelsa State. While one cannot place the context and reasoning and would choose to ignore the girl who should have concentrated on her beauty and what she knows best and be sensible before commenting on national issues, I have strong words of caution for Sylva as I responded on Vangurd thus:
Its understandable coming from Sylva, however, you cannot change the obvious. Goodluck's benevolence and magnanimity is why you can open your nonsense month and talk in a peaceful Nigeria today. The crisis would have swallowed loud mouthed hypocrites like you.
Within the week, what most of knew since the emergence of APC was confirmed in an interview with the Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmad Coomasie, a former Inspector General of Police, that what was branded change is a northern agenda to grab power. I stated further that, Coomasie are actually right. Many of us in the know have echoed the same sentiments. Many were hoodwinked into believing the 'change' mantra. However, the former president's men, his party and including himself were complacent. The south has never been united. The south is a tripartite union. The north have never been sincere about Nigeria's leadership, they always have hidden ambition, to grab power. As the House of Representatives and Senate are preparing to elect their leaders, the former governor of Delta had for seen a scenario where the President, Senate Presidency and Speaker are all from the north. This he unequivocally submitted as untenable as a nation.
Many in the South South, including Asari have echoed similar sentiments as is unfolding. In fact, he made it known that Goodluck Jonathan was his own waterloo as he refused to listen to their pleas. However, I believe Nigeria is better for the present situation. Even though the truth must be told, however we have to move on. If not for anything, the South South would have realised that the North have always cherished their friendship because of what they are endowed with. They have realised that it is good to be at peace with your neighbours. The animosity that existed between Prof Eyo Itah and Nnamdi Azikiwe have been resolved. It is South Versus North, the way it was originally before the amalgamation. That is the fault line. I hope the SW will realise themselves soon. It's only a matter of time. Because the North have never been sincere about Nigeria's leadership. Of all mighty men, a weak man was selected to lead a war made for men of valour, just like weak men, he chickened out. He opted for peace, he loved his life so much, it's a lesson for future politics, being a good man does not equal good leadership. You need people with very strong resolve, those who can even make a government ungovernable to grab power.
In conclusion, the first week of Buhari's presidency has been inundated with violence and death caused by fuel tankers plunging into markets, houses and passers-by and continued attacks by BH. As the presidency has started off with international diplomatic shuttles, he hasn't completely ignored the home front, he sent and have gotten approval for 15 advisers, 3 short of the number his predecessor had from both arms of the National Assembly. As he returns to take over fully the reins of power, he has huge challenges to surmount and Nigerians and the international community are waiting in earnest for breath of positive change.
I wish President Buhari will succeed. However, our wishes do not determine the future all the time, its our actions and inactions that shape the future and cause the forces of nature to obey us. As Buhari echoed in his inaugural address, "We have an opportunity, let us take it"
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