The deal is done

Source: Ezeani, Chukwunonso Elvis.

The deal is done; finally General Muhammadu Buhari has translated from a military head of state to a civilian president. Persons who choose not to recognize this truth may emerge the longest dwellers in fool’s paradise. As an individual, I have rehearsed and have fully adjusted my life to embrace the reality of having Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president for four years assuming he doesn’t play a fast one on Nigerians by asking for re-election having promised to lead for just one term. The consequences of having Muhammadu Buhari as president are in manifolds. To some, his emergence is the best thing after sliced bread while to others, he is a front for interests that seek to regain whatever grip they once had on Nigeria but lost during the administration of ex-president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. To some others, the comical siddon look approach has been activated as they are not looking forward to anything good from the new government.

In the course of a conversation I had with a member of the Presidential Campaign Council of the Peoples’ Democratic Party shortly after Muhammadu Buhari was announced president, reference was made to a “fact” that the new government was inheriting a messed up table. As if nudged to confirm details of that discussion, President Buhari have recanted a couple of blank cheque promises he made to Nigerians during campaigns; for those he could not out rightly recant, he transferred the liability of performance to the All Progressives’ Congress in what I perceive to be a way of denying ever making such promises.

President Buhari’s readiness for his new job is not a matter I wish to discuss because like often said, the chips are down and a head has to be made available on which burning coal shall be discharged by Nigerians who are impatient and expect to experience change from the 30th of May 2015. In this category of Nigerians are members of both the APC and the PDP. Prof. Yemi Osinbajo recently disclosed the details of a pep talk he had with his boss during their campaign trip to Zamfara. In the said chat, he admitted his boss confirmed to him that members of the APC exist in Nigeria who are under an illusion that the much talked about change would be an instant transfiguration. These Nigerians are members of the APC who may suddenly start having issues with the “Sai Baba” chant. Members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party on the other hand will expectedly fulfill their impression of what it means to be an opposition.

Faint as the chances of this administration to effectively implement its manifesto may appear, I am less concerned with what the top echelon of the APC would say in defense of their inability to change Nigeria as fast as expected. What is paramount to me is that this administration hits the ground running with very high speed. Already, the job function of Mr. Buhari is clearly spelt out. To me, he must fix the refineries, tame insurgency in the North without granting Boko Haram amnesty, and ensure the annihilation of corruption in our system. The new president must as a matter of speed strengthen our security apparatus as a means of forestalling the emergence of another Boko Haram. Beyond all this, he must be fair to every Nigerian because as a matter of fact he has effectively stopped being Mai Gaskiya of Daura or Baba Zarha.

The next few weeks will be quite busy as it is expected that major appointments will be made by the new administration. The social media will bear in it all forms of non-sense most of which have very little relevance in real life situations but I must point out that in the face of all these, the APC must wake up to the truth that it is now government in power and as such must talk less while doing more of working. The era of coasting as an alternative government is over and as such; rather than retain a defensive posture, that party should immediately imbibe in itself the patience that playing an explanatory role at all time requires. Nigerians are very inquisitive and that will not change now.

From the Peoples’ Democratic Party which got my support in the last elections, I honestly look forward to some form of radical reforms especially as they touch on information gathering and knowledge sharing and dissemination. Whatever structure is on ground currently must give way for an advanced procedure. New hands must be engaged to breathe some new air into the system, unless this is done, I doubt if the coat of an idle opposition will fit. The youth structures must be visited urgently; so many laid back persons abound who parade a knowledgeable people; these persons strive to match the structures of the APC when carving a niche is actually in vogue and easier to achieve. Being a copy-cat has long lost steam such that no one should be proud of being good at it. I trust Hussein Abdullahi Mai – Basira to lead this onslaught without “fearing face”.

Having said this little, I consider it imperative to wish the new administration well in its new business of leading Nigeria for we are a very tough people. For now, the PDP and APC have something in common - being government in power and government in waiting is no walk in the park.

#Godspeed………
Ezeani, Chukwunonso Elvis is grandly maverick; an avid thinker, reader and researcher. He tweets @NonsoEzeani1