(Adapted from an opinion piece titled, ‘Tinubu’s unread Inauguration Speech’, written May 25 before the Inauguration of the President Tinubu administration)
MANY citizens have witnessed a change of power more than once, which has led me as well as many others to believe in the power that lies in new beginnings. There are great powers in shifting paradigms that often lead to massive development and change across the world, and it can still happen in Nigeria. In those days, I saw quite a few things for which I felt obligated to offer advice and admonish to a certain level. So because of my age and the love I have for this country, Nigeria, I would love to offer my opinion to the President-elect on how best to speak to his citizens in the upcoming inauguration. This is quite essential because every great reform is started by words. As the adage goes words are powerful.
So please start like this:
“Fellow Nigerians, I greet you all. For those of you who voted for me, I thank you all. For those of you who didn’t vote for me, please don’t fight me. To those of you that competed with me, all I can say is that the journeys we have all made thus far are nothing compared to the journeys ahead, and that is Project Nigeria, which cannot be addressed by one man or political party. We must all put aside our differences and find a way of harmonising those things that unite us so that we can begin to rebuild the country once again. Therefore, in making this journey together, I must humble myself as the servant of the people before I can become the No. 1 citizen because the project ahead is immense, and those on whose shoulders I stand don’t give up on me.
“As I become your President, I will do everything in my power to become a listening leader. I will for the time being overlook those few things that divide us and in my first 100 days, I will put together a team of 12 eminent men and women of integrity from each geopolitical zone to deliberate on three issues that have unsettled the nation for a long time. One such issue is the structural or sovereign national Conference, the second will be the issue of State Police, and the third, State control of its resources. The 12 men and women will be chaired by a notable foreign national like was done with the Good Friday Agreement in Britain that settled the Northern Ireland crisis after 27 years of war. The committee will need three and a half years to produce a report of recommendation to the country.”
*****
Dear Mr. President-Elect,
I HAVE come a long way from someone that voted in 1969. I didn’t vote for the party that produced the Prime Minister of Nigeria but I became a recipient of a scholarship scheme that was introduced by the Prime Minister that I did not vote for. A scholarship scheme that was established for those classified as underprivileged because there was so much HOPE, and that hope stayed with me for a long time.
At the time I finished my studies and was about to return to Nigeria, the drums of the Civil War were beating, but I decided to ignore them and return to Nigeria because of that hope. I need you at this stage to give the people of Nigeria some hope by addressing the monumental problem facing us. And here I have said, give the country a timeline for every stage of our development. I have suggested some for you which may differ from your options. Always remember, you cannot be a master until you have become a servant.
Facilitators of Timelines
- A strategy To Fight Corruption
Therefore, you must tell the country how you will address corruption because we are all involved in it. We know the previous attempts to fight corruption ended in defeat, and corruption continued to win. If Nigeria has to stop and recover all that corruption has destroyed and stolen, now will be a good time. It is a dangerous vice because it gradually eats up the progress made. Corruption has made elections almost useless in some parts of Nigeria and killed the industries that would have eradicated high unemployment rates. This has made the management of structures and resources impossible. It has led to insecurity in every side of the country birthed from the anger of the masses. Every agenda from every President has been hampered by the streak. The corruption survey of 2019 prepared by UNODC identified how your predecessors’ tenure from 2015 failed to hold water in finding progress against this force. The survey shows the bitterness of corruption in the life of citizens and their desire to become all the more corrupt if the government stops corruption in government places head-on.
In one of my articles ‘Akalakam- The Palm’, I wrote that if we must become part of the emerging nations of the world, it’s time we seek out our truth and live it and not let the governance be the same in a span of almost seven decades from today, yesterday and tomorrow. This has reduced the country to a laughing stock before the rest of the developed world. In the genesis of the crisis in Nigeria, I said; The partnership of our military and political leaders that defeats democratic government, makes nonsense of the word accountability because no one is accountable to anyone and everyone does what s/he wants and gets away with it and this is very evidently portrayed by the existence of several anti-corruption institutions and agencies that have lost their savour and are without even one convicted case. Nigerians need to hear timely solutions to this problem.
- Your Strategy to Fight Insecurity
Tell the country how you will address insecurity so that the formal and informal sectors of the economy can grow. Plans should be anti-insecurity and non-anti-insecurity alike. The rumoured Fulani herdsmen are no longer Fulani indigenous anymore. A network across tribes has formed and must be nullified. Nigeria as of August 2020 has about 13.9 million youths unemployed. The insecurity of the nation has become the current means of employment in the south and north.
Nigerians are commuters, and Nigeria’s economy rest on the movement of financial activities across the country. People who can’t engage in any monetary activities remain on the increase as commuters are exploited, killing what is left of commerce. Our armed forces need to be tightened up majorly and not just in increase in number but weaponry, mental assets, and plans. Let’s not forget that insecurity has already driven and reclined the activities of foreign investors. Solving the unemployment stance in the nation will reduce insecurity and could be one of the non-anti-corruption tactics.
In this write-up, the word “strategies” is repeated for a reason. By Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “strategy is defined as amongst other definitions as a careful plan or method”. It is not a desire but a fail-proof plan at various sections that anticipates possible attacks against the agenda, has adequate tools to counter, and makes systems unproductive for oppositions to counterattack. The bane of many government agendas is the failure to anticipate how the actors of corruption and insecurity will evolve to stop the end of corruption. Many bodies and movements that will tackle this issue may and should be flagged off on your inauguration day.
I am a big solicitor for environmental sense in tackling climate change. In this column some years ago with the title, ‘The Sahara and the Global Economy’, I made glaring that there is no time better than now to tackle the decline in the quality of our forest and desert encroachment. There is no apparent political future, no security, no blueprint or workable plan for the future, making it seem we are on a free fall. It’s time to create workable bodies and initiatives towards environmental degradation and climate change with an emphasis on desertification and desert encroachment, reforestation, and healthy agricultural activities that aim to rid the community of their most devastating, societal ills stemming from desertification, displacement, illiteracy, poverty, tribal conflicts, food shortage, and environmental degradation.
Other points will be to give the country your plan for the development of our insufficient dams, other infrastructure; power, water, roads, and bridges, also bearing in mind that corruption will fight those developments. Proper consideration should be given to our children the youths to believe in themselves and the word of the elder that the youths must grow. Give the nation a plan on how to move millions out of poverty and a plan that is verifiable. Keep reminding Nigerians that you have always carried with you some progressive ideology in handling political matters. Once as a senator before Abacha and later as a governor during Obasanjo’s presidency, acknowledging the truths and the like, noting due to the support you have received from the conservative north during your journey as Presidential Candidate saying ‘I may not be able to be 100% progressive.’ I am saying this because we Nigerians love the truth and someone who can say it the way it is. You may also highlight your reasons for believing they will eventually lead to non-partisan results if you can. End by saying thus,
“Therefore, I make the solemn declaration that at every stage, I will remain accountable to people.‘
*Popularly called the ‘Desert Warrior’, Dr Jibunoh, founder and chairman of Fight Against Desert Encroachment(FADE), and DIDI Museum, is former Chairman of Costain West Africa, and an author
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