…Okorie, Ojougboh, Sonibare, Udeogranya say the president still has a chance to succeed if he takes critical steps in the coming days
By Onyedika Agbedo
After months of inactivity on account of ill health, President Muhammadu Buhari is back on his feet once again and appears ready to run the affairs of government, as he ought to, from every indication. And even though he has less than two years to complete his first term in office, Nigerians believe that he still has ample opportunity to deliver on his electoral promises and write his name in gold in the history of the country. To some Nigerians, this is even more plausible in view of some of the decisions and steps taken by the President in the last few days, which they see as an acceptance that the government has had a foot of clay and needed strengthening.
It could be recalled that the President announced plans to reconstitute the boards of Federal Government parastatals and expand his cabinet while delivering his address at the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, last Tuesday.
“Last year I said we would re-constitute the Boards of Parastatals. I must regret the fact that we have not done so, for many reasons. Some of us in this meeting may know I had given instructions since October 2015 for this exercise to start. But there have been inordinate delays through several Committees in an attempt to get the balance right and to make sure all parts of the country are equitably represented. On the other hand I am keenly aware that our supporters are very eager for these appointments to be announced. By the grace of God these appointments will be announced soon. Especially now that the economy is improving, we will have the resources to cater for the appointees. By the same token the compressed Federal Executive Council will be expanded to bring in more supporters at federal level, with fresh ideas to be injected into the government,” the President had said.
Speaking with Sunday Sun on the development, National Chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP) and former presidential candidate, Chief Chekwas Okorie, said the plan was in order, noting the President has realised that his administration had been lethargic.
“I am happy for the President; everybody can notice that he has rejuvenated very well and it shows in everything he has done recently. Having said that, one would also say that he has now come to appreciate that his government has been largely lethargic. He has identified areas that require the injection of more capable hands. In the appointment of the new SGF, I can tell you that he made an appropriate choice; this is the kind of choice he ought to have made from the very beginning. The gentle man who occupies the office now is not only well educated, he is also widely traveled. He also has some political background. The SGF must be the face of the President and the person he has chosen now will definitely add tremendous value to his government for the remaining two years.
“The issue of expanding his cabinet is something that had been worrying Nigerians from the very beginning of his administration. This is because nobody can state for certainty what prompted the President to thrust three very powerful ministries on one hand; nobody can rationalise it. So, he now seems to want to un-bundle what has been given to one man and bring in people who are experienced in those technical areas and whose professionalism and competence are needed for the administration to be able to deliver. That would help him; he has barely two years to go and whatever he thinks he can do to change public perception and his performance rating will be welcome,” he noted.
Okorie, however, urged the President to show sincerity in the anti-corruption fight by making it holistic. “He has to be more sincere with his anti-corruption fight because that was the major thing I would say counted for him when he was campaigning. But as far as I am concerned, there is lack of sincerity in it; it is a very selective fight and very scandalous and embarrassing circumstances have occurred under him. And then on the issue of security, he has not shown the same type of determination he showed in fighting Boko Haram in the area of herdsmen menace. And as such, those people have become brazen and unscrupulous, believing that they have a godfather in him.
“Again, the issue of nepotism is one sore point that if he doesn’t take immediate steps to correct, Nigeria will remain divided under his watch. No government had divided Nigeria more than his own as far as my memory can recall. So, he has to give everybody a sense of belonging; and by giving people a sense of belonging, the spirit of patriotism will be enhanced and the result will increase productivity,” he added.
Speaking in the same vein, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said Buhari should not relent on the war against corruption even if it means leaving a corrupt-free nation as his only legacy.
“We need more fireworks in the area of anti-corruption. The structure is already on the ground. The President should oil the wheels and get the anti-corruption agencies moving. He should seek international cooperation and use technology to probe into the activities of the miscreants that are looting our nation blind.
“Take for instance, my state, Delta. Virtually all the money the state has so far received has been stolen. The President needs to concentrate on states like Delta where the economy has collapsed. Everything has totally collapsed in Delta. The Federal Government has a duty to find out how the bailout funds, Paris Fund refund and the monthly allocations so far released to the state were utilised,” Ojougboh said.
Ojougboh, who was former national deputy chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) under the quashed Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the party, stressed that the country would remain under-developed as long as corruption is condoned.
“Until the war on corruption succeeds, Nigeria will not move forward. This is because as along as the resources meant for the provision of goods, services and infrastructural development are misappropriated and stolen, the country cannot move forward. So, even if it is the only thing Buhari can do for Nigerians, let him do it. Once he stops corruption and stealing in government, the country will move forward on its own because there will now be money and materials to be channeled into education, infrastructure, agriculture, science and technology and housing.
“These are the essential needs of the people. And the success of every country is measured based on the availability of three basic needs — housing and accommodation, agriculture (making sure there is food for the people to eat) and education. Basically, the people don’t need more than these and we don’t need rocket science to be able to achieve that. The only way to achieve these needs is to stop corruption. If we don’t stop corruption, the country cannot develop; that is the truth,” he noted.
The Lagos State chairman of a Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Supo Sonibare, however, told Sunday Sun that all that Buhari needs to do at the moment to put Nigeria back on track is to restructure the country.
He said: “President Buhari has tried his best to steer the ship of the nation in spite of his health challenges. We thank God he is able to run the affairs of the nation again. He has focused on combating corruption but as noble as that cause is, if the very structure one is operating is incurably defective, as we maintain it is, then all other efforts will pale into insignificant, ineffective policies.
“Former president Obasanjo even had his Ministers and the Inspector General of Police arraigned and had some convictions. Even former president Jonathan had some senior officials of his government arraigned and convicted. Once you set up strong institutions to combat corruption, you focus on running government and meeting economic and social needs.
“So, the structure of the country is what the president needs to address. We are operating a defective constitution with an expensive bi-cameral National Assembly. We need to revert to a unicameral National Assembly. Several countries have realised the need to conserve expenditure and have abandoned the presidential system. It is impossible to achieve any meaningful development and growth using the existing structure with several states hardly able to meet their salaries obligations not to talk of infrastructure deficit needs.”
A 2019 presidential aspirant on the platform of the APC, Chief Charles Udo Udeogaranya, on his part, does not believe that even with an expanded cabinet, the administration would make the change mantra of the party a reality. He rather sees the plan to bring more people into the government as part of preparations for the President’s re-election bid.
“His plan to expand his cabinet is all about his second term ambition. What is he going to do with an expanded cabinet and what has he been doing with a compressed cabinet? What success has he achieved with his present cabinet? The plan to expand his cabinet is simply to bring people on board, people that will help him to woo voters; it’s all part of his attempt to run again. And obviously, Nigerians have said it overwhelmingly that it’s over for Mr. President and it’s over. He is due for retirement,” he said.
Udeogaranya added: “Nigeria at the moment needs a new, young and dynamic leader with creative skills to create a better Nigeria for all Nigerians. Nigeria needs a president who understands and holds means and ways of solving basic problems. Nigeria needs a president who knows the strategies of wealth creation instead of borrowings. Nigeria needs a truly civil president who will run Nigeria with a full sense of civility and sees the whole of the country as his constituency.”
He urged the President to focus on ensuring that the 2019 election is credible, maintaining that what the President could not do in two and a half years, he would not be able to achieve in 18 months.
“What Mr. President should be doing now is to focus on making sure that the 2019 election is credible. He should focus on making sure that the election is one-man, one-vote so that we do not have a repeat of nearly two million votes with none voided in Kano. We do not want a situation where Borno State, which is war-torn by Boko Haram, was competing with Lagos State in the number of voter turnout.
“The thing is that what Mr. President could not do in two and a half years, why do you think it will happen in one year. I don’t know whether some people expect him to do miracles in one year that he couldn’t do in two and a half years. As far as I am concerned, his tenure is at the door. So, he should use the remaining time to focus on delivering a credible election to Nigerians in 2019. That one thing he can still focus on and achieve if he wants to. And to do so, he must not participate in that election. That is the only way he can be a little bit fair and credible in the process. He has a right to participate but personal interest will have an effect on the process if he wants to give Nigerians a credible election. So, the thing for him to do is not to re-contest.
“He now has the time to sit up and check all the loopholes that were experienced in the 2015 election and ensure that with the aid of technology, Nigerians will have a fair and credible election in 2019. I have been saying that people who don’t have a Bank Verification Number (BVN) should not be allowed to vote and that people should vote with their BVN. With the BVN, we can correctly verify each voter through the banks. If he can give Nigerians a credible election in 2019, then he would have written his name in gold. So, these are some of the things he should apply his mind to now,” he said.
Interestingly, recent events and decisions of the President suggest that his ears are now on the ground. For instance, following the outcry that greeted the reinstatement of former Chairman of the presidential Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, who was on the list of persons wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged corruption, into the Federal Civil Service, he gave a directive that he should be immediately dismissed from service. He has also acted on the report of the panel headed by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, which investigated allegations against the former SGF, Babachir Lawal, and the Director General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke, by sacking them. Prior to their sack, there was widespread insinuation that a cabal in the Presidency had prevented him from implementing the report. Also, the tone of his address at the recent NEC meeting of his party indicated that he was feeling the pulse of the members. But would he take the above suggestions proffered by Nigerians into consideration as he continues to pull the strings of power? The answer would soon be in public glare.