pocket their subordinates with nobody raising an eyebrow. They could choose what five star hotel to live in and what exotics to eat all year round, all at government expense, even when they have posh government quarters furnished for them. They could starve their workers for months by withholding their salaries without any being able to deliver from their hands. For short, they could do and undo, as they say. In all that, the people got poorer and poorer while they got richer and richer without any questioning their source of wealth. When once asked in an interview on public officers declaring their assets, the President went philosophical, saying that was left to the individual if they so wished to declare it. But we all believe declaration of assets, if not a statutory requirement, should be the acid test of probity and transparency for public officers. The President simply lost control of the ship of State, and those on board (Nigerians), knowing this, cried for change. They used the only power they had (their votes) and voted out Jonathan, and brought in a former military Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd).
Buhari is expected to take over
from Jonathan, Friday May 29, 2015. The expectations of Nigerians are high and
Buhari knowing this, admitted same recently in a meeting with Governors-elect
of All Progressives Congress (APC) who appealed for a bail-out to enable States
pay outstanding salaries. Buhari appealed for patience with, I believe, his
in-coming administration. He was short of saying our expectations were
unrealistic. But are they really? I doubt. Nigerians actually expect some
miracle of sorts from Buhari, the miracle that would rout corruption from the
land, that would check the excesses of highly placed public officers, that
would reclaim the wealth of Nigeria – oil wells and the like – from the hands
of cabals and turn same over to the nation’s treasury, that would drastically
cut the salaries and allowances of politicians while raising the minimum wage,
and so reducing the gap between the highest and the lowest paid in the land,
that would inject probity and transparency into public service, and indeed a
miracle that restores the fortunes of victims of corruption. These are people
denied their rights, dispossessed of their belongings, and cheated in their
entitlements. Pensioners, next-of-kin of deceased workers, and the common man
compelled to pay outrageous electricity bills for virtually no light supplied
are but few examples. Nigerians are also looking forward to the appreciation of
the naira and to further growth in the economy. This writer believes that,
whatever the failure of Jonathan, he actually did much to grow our economy, and
the international community acknowledged it. The incoming administration can do
more to strengthen it. The one flaw with Jonathan, I believe, was that as he
raked in the gains of a growing economy, he allowed it leak out just as much
through immoral channels.
In a developing democracy such as
ours, we do not call for heads to roll as we need peace and patience to further
grow it, but we call for a reclaiming of Nigeria’s stolen wealth from the high
and powerful. We want the incoming administration to address the social injustice
done the common man who cannot afford the cost of legal services, and who,
frustrated in not getting their problem solved, resorts to uncivil acts that
breach the peace of the society. This writer believes Buhari has the will to do
that. He is the very antithesis of Jonathan who was so good as not to want to offend
any. Someone recently said if Buhari does not step on toes, he will fail. I
believe that too, but I hasten to add that the stepping on toes be not a
witch-hunting of political opponents. If stolen wealth is to be reclaimed, it
should be from both friend and foe. And I would even suggest, beginning from
friends – the APC members. After all, God’s judgment is going to begin in God’s
house!
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