Buhari: The Task Ahead
If I were to choose again, I will still wish to be called a Nigerian. But I will frankly request that certain things which make life meaningful be put in place. These include: serious and genuine leadership, security of lives and property, infrastructure, sound educational programmes, one digit rate of unemployment status, stable power supply and prompt reactionary attitude to emergency, among others.
The absence of the above makes life unpalatable. It makes one to give a re-think to what exactly is the essence of being a Nigerian when there is nothing to show for it.
This underscores the task ahead of the incoming government and buttresses the depth of expectation of majority of the citizenry.
Our girls had been taken away from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok,Borno State for over a year with no concrete proof of their whereabouts. Report has it that about seven parents of the over 200 kidnapped girls had gone to the great beyond as a result of anguish and hopelessness .
The victory of Major General Muhammadu Buhari at the polls as much as it is widely celebrated should not be exaggerated. We should not take the risk of shouting hurray when it is not yet uhuru. Because the tasks before the coming administration are enormous.
Besides, the business of governance is not a child’s play. It is very tasking, demanding and requires high level of tact, patience and intelligence. These cannot in no way be an exception for the Nigeria’s President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.
It is noteworthy that countless congratulatory messages have been trickling in since he was announced the winner of the highly contested March 28 Presidential election. Such scenario is normal for a feat of this magnitude, especially for a person who had made three attempts in the past.
The President-elect, who is now fondly called the people’s General should endeavour to celebrate less and get set for the herculean tasks ahead of him given the state of disrepair which the country has been plunged into.
To a large extent, General Buhari’s experience as a former Head of State and outstanding public servant who had manned various positions in the past should help in his new calling. And his waiting years must have given him better clues on approaches to building a virile nation. As such, the passion for a better Nigeria which continued to burn like fire in his bones should now be made public for the world to see through his transparent government which, according to him would give zero tolerance to corruption.
The General Buhari of the 1980s we knew would definitely not renege on this. His integrity which is the major hallmark of his personality convinced many Nigerians to prefer him ahead of other contestants at the polls. This general turned democrat should live up to his words without suddenly becoming selective and sentimental in his anti-corruption crusade which has bedevilled this country over the years.