Beyond rhetoric

That inaugural speech by President Muhammadu Buhari was laden with the trilogy of poetry, history and promises. It signposted, at the rhetorical level at least, what Nigerians should expect from the Buhari presidency.

Perhaps the most obvious of the poetic component was the president’s declaration that “I belong to everybody, and I belong to nobody”. Certainly, this seductive assertion can be said to be reassuring in view of the rather dark suspicions, unfounded or otherwise, as well as palpable fears apparent in some quarters that the president may favour certain sections of the country against some others. But courtesy of this near-musical contention, Buhari succeeded in reaffirming his Nigerian credentials, a phenomenon which should never be taken for granted in a diverse nation like ours. This is certainly an attitude which we would like to recommend to other members of the Nigerian elite whose primordial sentiments are usually privileged over commitments to the Nigerian ideal.

Beyond the foregoing is Buhari’s preoccupation with history. This again was a very assuring dimension. In evoking the exploits of our founding fathers, he succeeded in reminding Nigerians that despite aspects of our history which are very unbecoming, ours is yet a nation with a glorious past in which our forefathers, despite their foibles, put in place a social formation called Nigeria. And here, one must commend the president’s pan-Nigerian focus. This was evident when he paid tributes to social forces like Azikiwe, Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello and the rest of that eminent crowd. It is equally noteworthy that the president even delved into the pre-colonial era to evoke other social formations that in their respective ways gave birth to modern Nigeria.

But in spite of this imaginative and justified evocation of a great Nigerian past, there was something seriously missing in this aspect of the speech. It was clearly a celebration of patriarchy with no regard for inclusiveness. Sure, Nigeria had founding fathers, yet it must be remembered that ours is a country with founding mothers too! In this respect, references which easily come to mind are Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, Laila Dongoyaro and the women of Aba who gave the colonial authorities a good run for their exploitative devices. Even as regards pre-colonial Nigeria, women also featured prominently.

It is with a similar strain of objection that we view with alarm the rather blanket amnesty which President Buhari appears to have given those who committed atrocities when they were in power. According to him, “There will be no paying off of old scores. The past is prologue.”

Well said, Mr. President. But even then, to quote a memorable phrase, amnesty is not amnesia. In other words, those who have wilfully plundered the nation’s resources should be brought to book. The past may be prologue, but again, the past, present and future make one mighty whole. In order to meaningfully advance into the future, therefore, due and judicial cognisance must be taken of the past and the present. Otherwise we will continue to wallow in the culture of impunity, a feature which is arguably the Achilles’ heel of contemporary Nigeria.

It is heartening to note that President Buhari is not in a dreamy world regarding some of the man-made problems facing this country: an economy in deep trouble, insurgencies in the North-East and the Niger Delta, as well as power shortages and unemployment among young people. And we agree with the president’s confident declaration that “we can fix our problems”.

In fixing our problems, however, the president needs to do two things which we consider urgent. First, he should not reinvent the wheel. Most of the problems facing Nigeria are not new; they have been addressed by previous governments by way of commissioned studies and fact-finding panels. So, there is really no shortage of suggestions as regards the way forward. What is really required is the political will to stay the course and, in the process, implement viable policies which will neutralise these problems. Second, in selecting his team, the president must appoint competent men and women who know their onions in their respective fields and so can be relied on to consummate the ideals and dreams of the present government.

Since Nigeria is not an island, we commend the president’s reference to the country’s relationship with the rest of the world. And in view of the inclement and current realities, it is just as well that sub-regional cooperation remains a high priority for Buhari. It is also good that Nigeria is currently basking in a reservoir of goodwill and high expectations from the international community. But even implicit in such positive attitudes is a ‘wait and see’ attitude on the part of the international community.

Incidentally, such a posture is also to be found within Nigeria itself. Indeed, the seemingly unspoken question is: will President Buhari deliver? This question can only be meaningfully answered in the fullness of time. For now, Buhari has spoken well. We can only hope that in due course, the president will live up to the rhetorical flourish in that seminal outing.