GOVERNMENT OF CHANGE: THE NIGERIAN CHALLENGES
When some of us opposed the candidature of President Muhammadu Buhari sometime back, it was viewed by his perceived loyalists as either a disservice to our nation or outright support for the massive corruption that characterized the former regime.
Today, some of our fears are daily being justified. In just over 60 days of this government’s stay in power, so many actions and inactions have clearly shown the inept nature of the government! Signs of the government being lope sided is boldly written for everyone to see – is it the appointments that have so far been announced or is it the issue of sudden awakening of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the continued harassment of officials of the past government by staff of the Department for State Security (DSS)? One is not rooting that anyone who has abused power be allowed to continue to walk the streets free; but when the said anti corruption war is selective, it will not go far.
Supporters of the President had erroneously thought that a magic of some sort would be performed. True, the rot the country has suffered not only in the last 16years but all through the post-independence era need more than 100 days to be corrected; but the way and manner this government is being run today shows how clueless and out of touch with modern realities those at the helms of affairs are. They need to be reminded that we are in the 21st century and not in those eras of trial and error any longer.
Most times when governments are changed, the incoming governments have enough time to prepare themselves for the task that lies ahead of them. In fact, they know all of what is expected of them as well as what to expect from their campaign days. Unfortunately, the reverse is the case today. Some silly excuses that cannot hold water which the government keeps coming up with are laughable! It is sheer failure. For instance, did the president not know before he was elected, the nature of corruption and how difficult it would be for him to get honest and credible people to help govern the country? Did he not envisage that governing Nigeria came with its own pressures?
One reason why this is happening is the deceitful thought by the President that he alone can steer the ship of Nigeria to safety. It is not true that he can turn the country’s fortune as a single individual. All the talks of not finding honest and patriotic Nigerians is nothing more than a hoax. I stand to be corrected – there are 101 more credible individuals the country over who are better qualified than the president is. That they have opted to stay away from politics is not reason enough for anyone no matter who to go about misleading Nigerians. No one has monopoly of moral uprightness in our country with over 170 million people. The earlier he realizes that moving our country forward is a collaborative effort, the better!
The president and his party came to power using the mantra of “change”. That the said change is a failure already is no longer news – be it as a party or even from the President himself! The leadership of the 8th National Assembly is proof of the failure. The dust has not even settled to allow the legislators perform their constitutional roles! It has even made the party in power – the All Progressive Change to think their party constitution is greater than our constitution as a country. When they keep insisting party supremacy as against constitutional provisions for the independence of the legislature, they are already trying to go against the constitution they swore to protect! The constitution allows members of the legislature to pick its leaders from among themselves without any interference from whosoever…not even the Executive. The tussle is between those wanting to abide by our constitution and those who believe their party manifesto is greater than the constitution. This is what change represents to them! What change!
The President has also displayed the change we should look out for when government agencies say one thing and his image makers make a u-turn to say it never authorized such. Controversy over controversy! Fresh in our memories are instances of the President saying something and turning round to say he was either misquoted or God knows what! The military ego of not being wrong as the head is the cause of all this. For God’s sake, we are all humans and are bound to make mistakes; what is hard in accepting we erred and then do the needful? The decision to dismantle roadblocks nationwide and send soldiers back to the barracks was endorsed by the President only for his media assistants to deny such directives were ever given by the president. Who is deceiving who? If the permanent secretary in the ministry of defence gave the directives on his own, why was he not fired for using powers he did not have? The incident of the bailout to state governments provides another talking point. With this and so many denials, no sane person will take this government as being serious. It means they will be afraid of taking decisions that seem not to go well with the people based on face value! It is true that he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches! It is equally true that spectators are the best players – it is easy to sit down and as opposition and castigate other administrations. Now that the opportunity has been placed in your hand, it suddenly becomes an issue! Nigeria was not moving at all let alone moving in the right direction when you were not president. I hope Nigeria is moving – with what is witnessed daily! Easier said than done did I hear someone say!
At this point, one area that needs immediate coordination is that of the presidential spokespersons. There is a gap existing between the government and the people. An uneasy calm is what is seen today – because the change people voted for seems to be caught up somewhere! Thus, the image makers need to put government actions across to the people. They do not have to act as if they are paid to defend all government actions alone. Some criticisms put up by Nigerians are not necessarily done in bad light. It could be a clarion call for such government action to be reappraised. It could be a wakeup call. If people always praise all of governments’ actions, then they have become sycophants. Even President Barack Obama of the United States still has people criticizing his actions – it is a form of check!
As such, Garba Shehu, Femi Adeshina and all the other media aides of the president need to take the criticisms and ensure they use them to secure better days for Nigerians.
It is not too early to score this government – after all, “a chick that will become a cock is known from the datched!”
EmoticonEmoticon