Buhari: What the North expects (II)
Other times, the Jonathan government pretended that only the United States of America had the weapons it needed to defeat Boko Haram, which that country had refused to sell to us. And so like the argument on stealing and corruption during which public officers mindlessly looted the country, the insurgency festered because the Nigerian government […]
Other times, the Jonathan government pretended that only the United States of America had the weapons it needed to defeat Boko Haram, which that country had refused to sell to us. And so like the argument on stealing and corruption during which public officers mindlessly looted the country, the insurgency festered because the Nigerian government insisted on using only American weapons to fight it.
As part of a long term strategy for achieving peace, Buhari must revisit the Department of State Security’s unconscionable exoneration of Ali Modu Sheriff and General Azubuike Ihejirika, despite being fingered as sponsors of Boko Haram; the agency’s irresponsible ‘pardon’ for Ombatse militia of Nasarawa after they had murdered about a hundred members of the secret service and police personnel; the cold blooded murder in Zaria of over a dozen followers of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakyzaky, including three of his promising children, under the instructions of a well known trigger happy Nigerian Army Colonel as well as the murder of a Fulani milkmaid after she was raped by a soldier at Deidei. The new government should also review the clumsy and disjointed story behind the slaughter of defenceless migrant workers in Apo, Abuja. This is the time to expose the faceless general alleged to be the owner of the house where this murderous raid took place. All the criminals involved in these heinous crimes must be brought to book, if we are to stamp out impunity and restore law and order in our weather-beaten country.
The new administration also needs to make credible efforts to deal with banditry and other criminality in central Nigeria. For the past two years, the area has been boiling over alleged Fulani fight against Berom, Tiv, Idoma and other communities that had hitherto lived in peace. All eyes are on the new government to see whether it can take genuine steps involving traditional leaders, Police, farmers, youths and community leaders to help restore peace in Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau and Taraba. Blaming one group or the other will be unhelpful; everybody must make the necessary sacrifice to end the daily bloodshed among the people.
The North wants Buhari to begin to tackle energy shortage from day one. Buhari should make the country less dependent on the so-called gas powered plants of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company and pay much attention to the good old hydroelectricity. To this end, the Buhari regime should immediately launch the Mambilla hydroelectricity project from which it is said over 3000MW can be generated. The North also expects the administration to seriously consider the timely completion of the Zungeru hydroelectricity scheme and the Kudendan power plant in Kaduna in order to accelerate the provision of reliable energy to Nigerians. The Niger Delta power plants will be sabotaged for the foreseeable future simply because those involved in the nefarious act see it as a way of making cheap money. Buhari should also re-examine the privatisation processes of NEPA/PHCN and weed out charlatans who’ve failed to deliver on their promises.
The North also expects the Buhari regime to take another hard look at the exploration of oil and gas in the North. For too long, it has been bandied about that there is petroleum in Benue, Bornu, Gombe, Niger and Sokoto states and now is the time to ascertain whether it is true. If oil is found in these places in commercial quantities, it will shore up and diversify the location of the country’s oil resources and enhance our economic security.
Elsewhere, the North wants Buhari to fulfil his pledge to publish all revenues from oil export as this will promote transparency and accountability and rekindle citizens’ confidence in government. If Buhari does this, it will be a practical step at curbing corruption and will place a moral burden on whoever succeeds him to do the same.
In addition, many roads in this part of the country are in a deplorable state. Even the flagship Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway is barely motorable. Besides, there is the urgent need to add one or two lanes to this all important road in order to cope with increasing vehicular traffic. Nigeria possesses the resources to upgrade all roads linking state capitals to dual carriageways but for mismanagement. The Minna-Kontagora-Yauri-Jega road is a disgrace to Nigeria. Despite the financial resources at their disposal the Federal, Niger and Kebbi State governments have refused to repair it. I know of a vehicle owner who lost four tyres to the road the last time he plied it.
In terms of foreign policy, the North expects Buhari to restore the confidence and trust of the international community in Nigeria. It’s a shame that Jonathan went to Ethiopia and Turkey and said he wouldn’t contest the 2015 election and then reneged on that. It’s doubly dishonourable for the outgoing President to tell CNN, in broad daylight, that increased power supply was one of the things for which his government had been commended at a time the entire city of Lagos was buzzing with the deafening noise and harmful fumes from small electricity generators, a reminder of the stark failure of the government to provide power. Henceforth, Buhari must make sure that whatever he does abroad will accord respect to Nigeria and dignity to its citizens wherever they find themselves.