Buhari: What the North expects

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, David Oyedepo and others prayed for him and thereafter declared that his quest for a second term at Aso Villa had been accepted by God. Jonathan’s last prayer was at a shrine in Ife in the palace of His Majesty, Oni Okunade Sijuawade Olubuse II. Muhammadu Buhari, the “Islamic fundamentalist” didn’t deign […]

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, David Oyedepo and others prayed for him and thereafter declared that his quest for a second term at Aso Villa had been accepted by God. Jonathan’s last prayer was at a shrine in Ife in the palace of His Majesty, Oni Okunade Sijuawade Olubuse II.
Muhammadu Buhari, the “Islamic fundamentalist” didn’t deign to go to Mecca. Rather, he stayed back home to commune with God, and nonetheless, won the presidency. There probably has been no time in the past when God decisively intervened in Nigeria’s affairs than in the 2015 election.
Now every part of the country expects something from Buhari. The North wants him to be everybody’s President; more importantly, northerners want Buhari to bring back to our country those receding virtues of accountability, integrity, justice and fear of God. People from the North expect Buhari to help minimise religious and tribal bigotry and to be fair to all manner of people. The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has declared that if Buhari conducts state affairs unfairly and singles out any group of Nigerians for preferential treatment, it will oppose him.
The North expects Buhari to restore people’s confidence in government, uphold the rule of law and re-establish security. The North had watched with horror how Jonathan scandalously mismanaged the Boko Haram insurgency, with mindboggling sleaze all around the so called fight against the terror group. The North is confident that Buhari will decisively tackle Boko Haram and at least minimise the country’s losses from its menace. Buhari will have to also move swiftly to dismantle military checkpoints dotted all across the highways in the North. Rather than providing any meaningful security, the soldiers manning the checkpoints are seen as part of Jonathan’s sinister motive to occupy and hold down the northern population for fear of popular uprising against his misguided, cabalistic, odious administration. In any case, the police duty assigned these soldiers has turned them into toll collectors and many of them could be seen extorting sums as low as N20 from motorists. Buhari must quickly order their return to the barracks and to training so they can regain their professionalism.
The triumph of Buhari has put paid to the burgeoning, dangerous and treacherous alliance between Jonathan and such Northerners like Attahiru Bafarawa, Sambo Dasuki, Tanko Yakasai, Aminu Wali, Ibrahim Shekarau, Bello Haliru Muhammed, Aliyu Muhammed Gusau, etc, who have played roles that are clearly inimical to the wellbeing of the North. The facade of political and security followership and expertise have fallen and these people are now on their way to a deserved oblivion.
Ultimately, the North would want Buhari to return the region to meaningful economic activity. The North would want Buhari to do everything possible to reactivate the textile industry in Kaduna, Kano, etc and also reinstate the value chain.
As he has repeatedly promised, people in the north also believe Buhari will provide fresh impetus for the development and revitalisation of mining. Research findings have shown that there are a lot of solid minerals all across the country, particularly the North; if Buhari can open up mining sites, a lot of our youths will find jobs.
More importantly, agriculture holds the key to a prosperous life for many of our citizens. If Buhari can give maximum support to farmers, we can produce surplus food and cash crops for industries as well as export to supplement the dwindling revenue from petroleum. With vast arable land from Birnin Kebbi to Maiduguri, Nigeria has no business with hunger.  For, as Malcolm X correctly observed, “land is the basis for freedom, justice and equality.” Flourishing agriculture provides the basis for shared prosperity being talked about by Buhari. The new President also needs to do something about desertification. Unless concerted efforts are made to reverse aridity in the North, the phenomenon’s relentless push will eat up our land.
Buhari will also insist that new schools are built; properly equipped and adequate number of teachers recruited so as to enrol our children therein and get them off the streets. As long as our youths remain illiterate, they shall remain available for Boko Haram recruitment and other evil plans.
Buhari must also keep an eye on his team, including those governors elected on the platform of his party. These public officials must eschew all forms of abuse of office and render selfless service to their constituencies. The All Progressives Congress (APC) must satisfy people’s yearnings for good governance. They must improve the lives of the people soonest. They must curb impunity. If anybody tramples on the law, he or she should be dealt with no matter their station in life.
The North will also love to see Buhari disgorge the mindless loot of top officials of the outgoing administration and its cheerleaders, even if he does not jail them. The scale of looting in the outgoing regime is intolerable and if nothing is done about their obscene wealth, they’ll (soon and) definitely use it to subvert the will of people.
Buhari will also need to rein in those with caustic tongues who continue to threaten the socioeconomic wellbeing of our country simply because things don’t accord with their personal wishes. If it requires that we make new laws to curb such hate rhetoric spewing from the mouths of bellicose persons like Asari Dokubo, so be it. Nigeria has been battered enough; it’s a miracle we still have a country.
The fallacy of a functioning number one economy in Africa is staring us in the face. Buhari must do something fast on the evils of inequality, unemployment and poverty