The impending Buhari presidency (1)

We are in the much-awaited month of May. Predictably, expectations are high, if only because on May 29 to be precise, General Muhammadu Buhari will formally take over the reins of power. There are expectations on the part of the Nigerian populace. This is normal, in view of the fact that Buhari coasted home to victory on the mantra of change.

By now, however, the euphoria of victory will be wearing out. It will be replaced by sobering responsibility which ought to be the hallmark of governance. On this note, our first observation is that time is not really on the General’s side. Sure, he has a four-year tenure. Still, it must be realised that in terms of the substantive time at his disposal, in reality, the General has only about 24 months. This is because the first year will presumably be used in settling down, while the last one will largely be consumed by another round of campaign and elections.

Therefore, the General must hit the ground running. One feature that will impede or facilitate the Buhari presidency is the quality of his team. If he decides to pack his cabinet with party hacks and free-loaders, then his presidency is doomed. On the other hand, if he brings on board tested and competent technocrats, then the General would be on his way to taking Nigeria through the portals of the much-desired change.

Beyond the immediate foregoing is the critical issue of the cost of governance. In this respect, one wise man has averred that Nigeria, though rich, does not have enough for everyone’s greed but only enough for everyone’s need.

There is a lot of validity to this particular contention. This is particularly in view of the fact that the cost of governance is so huge that very little is left for development purposes.

We therefore advise the General to look into the various areas of financial waste which continue to weigh down the country. Perhaps the most obvious is the stratospheric salaries and allowances of the legislature. It was authoritatively revealed by The Economist of London that our legislators are the highest paid in the world. It is pertinent to note here that these salaries and allowances do not even have the backing of any statutory provision. The Buhari presidency must therefore step in very urgently to stop this illegality.

Another area of waste has to do with the size of the presidential fleet. It has been revealed that the presidential fleet has a record at 10 aircraft, making it the largest in the world. The in-coming president should take a cue from the best practices in other countries. For instance, the British prime minister, like so many other world leaders, is reported to have no presidential aircraft but travels on chartered British Airways or Virgin Atlantic flights. Therefore, the General, in consonance with his ascetic image, must do away with this bloated presidential fleet.

Meanwhile, a number of other issues should urgently occupy the General’s attention. The first of these is security. The insurgency in the North East continues to be a menace. Even though it appears to be waning, eternal vigilance should be the watchword until the insurgency is effectively contained. Even then, in a plural society like ours, there is no knowing where the next flashpoint will come from. From the look of things, one place that should be watched is the Niger Delta.