My initial instinct was to ignore that thought and continue with my original article but as the night wore on the urge to revisit that serial article became stronger that I could no longer resist it. I then decided to re-publish the two articles here as a precursor to the main piece I was working on. The serial article is titled “NIGERIA: The way forward 1 & 2. This is because what I wrote then still resonates even now and I think it will serve to refresh our memory before I publish the main article tomorrow.

Please read on.

NIGERIA: The Way Forward (1)

Published on Facebook on May 24, 2015:

The elections have come and gone. The losers are licking their wounds and wondering where did it all go wrong while the winners are gearing up to take the mantle of leadership and begin to steer the ship of one of the most difficult and highly complex countries in the universe.

Nigeria my country, my fatherland which I hold so dear despite all its shortcomings is in dire straits at the moment. A situation brought upon it by many years of misrule and incompetent leadership that are not only bereft of ideas but are adept at raping it of its natural resources with relish and gusto so unheard of in the annals of any sane humanity.

The rot in my dear country Nigeria runs deeper than any ordinary person can fathom. Almost every institution in the country is riddled with corruption. From the Military to the Ministries, from the Federal to the Local Government, name it, corruption stares you in the face daily with a stench that stinks to high heavens.

The fact that this mess has been going on unabated for decades and the resultant effect that many Nigerians too have imbibed these corrupt tendencies in their psyche as the norm makes the task of redeeming the country so enormous that the in-coming government needs the prayer of every well-meaning Nigerians to succeed in salvaging it.

There’s no gain saying the fact that PDP and especially GEJ’s government has done monumental damage to our resources and the federal reserves. From the extravagance of Aso Rock (which are too numerous to mention here) to the insane salaries and allowances of the legislatures etc. to the judiciary and even the average common man on the street, no segment of the society is exempt from the scourge of corruption.

This reality, I believe, was what necessitated the clamour for change by all segments of the country during the electioneering campaign. We are all living witnesses to how the election was preceded by campaign of calumny against President-elect Buhari. Some even wished him dead. Thankfully the President-elect bestrode the campaign of calumny waged against him. This indefatigable character sets him apart as a man with a heart of steel-just what the doctors ordered for the leadership of Nigeria. It has showcased Buhari as THE MAN for the job.

The choice of President-elect Buhari by the electorate is predicated on his antecedent as a man of conviction and integrity. The electorate and many of us who supported him prior to the election (and are still doing so) are not supporting him because of financial inducement. Buhari simply doesn’t have that kind of money. Even if he has, I believe he wouldn’t dole it out like confetti as some people did during the electioneering campaign. Money did not give Buhari the massive support he had during and after the election, something greater than that did. We gave and continue to give Buhari our support because we are convinced that he is the man with the capacity to engender the much desired development that Nigeria desires at this moment in time.

The change that Nigerians yearned for has finally come through the elections and we have 5 days to the Presidential inauguration on May 29th 2015. The expectations are high and the job at hand for the in-coming government is next to impossible.

The President-elect needs to surround himself with people of integrity, people who are not yes men/women but those that will look him in the eyes and tell him when he is treading the wrong path. The President-elect needs people that will ensure he sticks to his mandate and stay in touch with the yearnings and aspirations of the populace for the delivery of the dividends of democracy to all. I know for a fact that he has some people with such character traits around him but he needs to have more of such close to him.

Because the country has been left in such a monumental mess by the out-going administration, there is no room for excuses. The in-coming administration has to hit the ground running. It has to and MUST succeed in its quest to salvage Nigeria. To do that it needs the support of all well-meaning Nigerians. And to get that support the administration needs to take some drastic steps in its first 100 days in office.

 

NIGERIA: The Way Forward (2)

Published on Facebook on May 25, 2015

Because the country has been left in such a monumental mess by the out-going administration, there is no room for excuses. The in-coming administration has to hit the ground running. It has to and MUST succeed in its quest to salvage Nigeria. To do that it needs the support of all well-meaning Nigerians. And to get that support the administration needs to take some drastic steps in its first 100 days in office.

The incoming administration must use the first 100 days in office to set the tone and showcase to Nigeria and the world at large the direction the administration will be heading in the next 4 years and beyond.

To succeed the new government should as a matter of urgency take some drastic steps in the short term to salvage Nigeria and place it on a sure footing to attaining its potential. Such drastic steps should be in key areas including:

•The in-coming administration must be prepared to step on the toes of the agents of darkness that has been stalling the progress of this country for decades. Some call them Cabals others call them Vested interests. Whichever name they are called, the fact remains that these Cabals and Vested interests (whether they are individuals or institutions) has to and must be curtailed to enable the in-coming administration to succeed. And succeed it must.

•Corruption which is the bane of the country and has continually stunted its growth for decades must be tackled headlong. Those perpetrating it as well as those condoning it must be brought to book and used as scapegoat to send a strong message to Nigerians and the outside world that it is not business as usual any more.

•A coherent national policy or strategic vision is needed to confront the rot in our basic national infrastructures. The power sector especially has to be sorted out. Adequate power generation is the bed rock of any economy. The reason Nigeria is yet to overcome its incessant power outages when other African countries with little natural resources have overcome theirs is not unconnected to corruption in high and low places. Billions of dollars has been claimed to have been spent by successive governments without any visible improvement in the power sector. If the power sector is sorted it out it will have positive ripples effect on other sectors of our economy.

•The new government must take positive steps to secure lives and property of Nigerians and most especially the Boko Haram menace must be stemmed. To do that, the entire security services must be overhauled and rid of the fifth columns that had continually sabotaged all its efforts regarding Boko Haram. Nigeria is in dire need of a strong and motivated security operatives and I believe that since the President-elect is a retired General in the Nigerian Army and a former Head of State he has a wealth of experience of how to go about reshuffling the security services and deploying it to tame the dreaded Boko Haram, flush them out of their hide out and exterminate them.

•The issue of lack of gainful employment for our youths must also be addressed. An idle mind they say is the devil’s workshop. Unemployed youths are dangerous species as they can be manipulated by unscrupulous elements and used to carry out nefarious acts. If the incoming government can provide gainful employment for our youth, it will in turn help our economy to grow.

•On the economy. We must begin to move away from our over-dependence on oil as our main source of revenue. We must begin the process of diversifying our revenue drive by encouraging states and local governments to develop the resources within their domain to generate alternative sources of revenue. They must be given a time frame within which to achieve this and have proper monitoring mechanism in place to ensure compliance with this policy.

J. K. Adebola is the CEO/MD of JK & Co Legal Consult, United Kingdom.