For Buhari, the Task Ahead is Daunting
For President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, the task of putting the country back on track is not child’s play, writes
ubilations float the air in a colorful and bleaching atmosphere after several months of political upheaval and brouhaha from the county’s general election. Now that the election has ended, and the winner is known, the paramount question on the lips of every Nigerians: what next? Not because the electorate preferred Buhari to Jonathan nor “change” to “continuity”, but for having peaceful elections and also disappointing our foes and negative soothsayers that trouble will erupt and the country will break after the 2015 general election.
However, this election has been tagged as the most expensive in the history of the country, where money exchanged hands as vulgar and violence-inciting words were easily rolled out without checks from the established authorities. It was also an election, where the electorate played wise by collecting peasantry from politicians and still voted for the candidate of their choice.
Meanwhile, it was an election full of both negative and positive intrigues that could either teach or anger you. But I must say I learnt a lot as a young man.
With this, analysts often time say Nigeria’s problem is caused by bad leadership and this can only be surmounted if only we have disciplined and selfless leaders, who are determined that the people come first and that service to humanity is key to modern democracy. Convincingly, I solely subscribe to this deduction.
I am also sure that what is now positioned in the heart of every Nigerian, especially the highly expectant youths is: what does the incoming government have for us? I must say after the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declarations – at that moment Nigeria’s needs arose and awaited the Buhari-led government. Reason being that over the years – both in military and civilian rule – our so called leaders have failed the country in many ways, which birthed corruption, insecurity and unemployment among others.
Factually, Nigerians cannot afford and continue to feel unconcerned and fold arms on a baobab tree about their own affairs, while its leaders loot night and day in millions, turning it into charade of opportunists. This Incoming government should bear in mind that Nigerians who voted them in power have placed an onerous task on them to deliver their mandate and not to fail because no more excuses will be tolerated.
To attest to Nigerians’ hope lost in governance, the just concluded presidential election is a prototype confidence lost by the electorate in our leaders. In a country of 170 million population, in the just concluded presidential election between General Muhammadu Buhari and President Ebele Goodluck Jonathan, the total votes counted did not equate 29.1 million not to even mention 30million votes.
Buhari polled 15,424,921 to the President who had 12,852,162. If these figures are put together, you will have total of 28, 277, 083, and when these figures are subtracted from 170 million of its population, you will have deficit of 141,722,917 and if number of voided votes still anything to go by, it can never measure same with the total votes counted for the contestants. In this case, it means the number of non-voters supersedes the voters in spite of electoral glitches.
Let’s not shy away from this truth, if not many, but one would agree with me that the electorate have totally lost their confidence in their leaders. One not many will also agree with me that Nigeria is in a pitiable sight and if re-institutionalisation is not urgently done, things may fall apart beyond remolding.
The best way to achieve this feat is to build strong institutions and strengthen the political will to focus more on the inevitable or essential needs of the people. Believe me, other less essential will take it shape automatically.
One would ask: what are Nigerians expecting from this present administration? Many to mention, but key is to first robustly strengthen institutions that would put this country to work. Basically, corruption has been more topical on the world index and this has dragged the name of this African giant in the mud. Public officials now steal with impunity without sanctions.
Even when indicted there is no strong court to try this corrupt individuals. And some judges play paddies by collecting money to avert justice.
According to the reports by Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index in 2014’, Nigeria was ranked 136th out 175 countries/territories surveyed. The country