Buharinomics and the post-election euphoria

“there is nothing more touching than the sight of a Nation in search of its great men, nothing more beautiful than its readiness to accept a hero on trust.”   Definitely the unprecedented political tsunami that exited the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Parties (PDP) candidate in the March 28, 2015 presidential election in Nigeria must redefine political […]

“there is nothing more touching than the sight of a Nation in search of its great men, nothing more beautiful than its readiness to accept a hero on trust.”   Definitely the unprecedented political tsunami that exited the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Parties (PDP) candidate in the March 28, 2015 presidential election in Nigeria must redefine political science lecture notes at various universities, at least with African context. Weeks after the election, two scenarios are on the front burner:
1. Massive decampees of fair-weather politicians to president Buhari’s political party- All Progressives Congress (APC). These decampees are also of two folds. One fold is made up of political and economic criminals who want to save their faces from General Buhari sending them to the gallows. Another fold is the notorious AGIP party members (Any Government In Power)
2. The second scenario is the majority of articulate Nigerians in the same vein of union of thought that sang “Hosanna Hosanna” and voted massively for General Buhari ruminating one to another in the question “will the euphoria we see now translate into performance in due course as the general assumes power?” This golden question is being muted within the thought-realm of the Nigerian populace.  To an economic and political pundit, pondering and rumination capable of causing high-blood pressure is too early in time especially when the man in question has not even mounted the saddle of authority. In a very short while exactly on the 29th of May 2015, the administration of Goodluck Jonathan which many have scorned by their votes will be history for posterity and divinity to judge with no opportunity under the sun for him to right his wrongs or wrong his rights. Some of the early positive signs of things to come in General Buhari’s administration I have now termed as ‘Buhariconomics’. The joy of Buhariconomics appears to have been responsible for the low turnout of voters in the last Governorship and State assembly elections. Most Nigerians who refused to come out to vote seem to have concluded that with Buhariconomics they are done. The question is can Buhariconomics like Obamacare become a springboard for Nigeria to rise to a new economic glory? Or could Buhariconomics turn General Buhari into the Lee Kwan Yu of Nigeria to turn Nigeria into the Singapore of Africa? Some economic-analysts have argued that the moderate gains recorded at the unofficial foreign exchange market and the Nation’s stock market were just positive sentiments etc and that the economy is still in bad shape as the real situation of the ordinary Nigerian and many businesses have not changed. That the moderate gain through Buhariconomics might not be sustainable. This arguments states that nothing fundamentally has changed in the system and that the stock market re-bounce and the threshold in the Naira value were all driven by market sentiments in favour of the change in leadership in the country. An online platform ‘Nairametrics’ tends to hold the same view. I do not here contest the truism or postulations and analysis of Nairametrics but I believe in signs and effects. While dry weather signals drought, rain signals a season of planting and harvest. So buhariconomics can never be whisked away by economic theories as a sign of apparent good things to come to Nigeria if explored.
But what should be the concrete main thrust of General Muhammed Buhari’s economic policies to translate Nigeria into the Singapore of Africa? They are briefly summarised below:
1. To achieve 24/7 electric power supply; all over the world steady power supply is the foundation of economic development of a Nation. The inability to achieve this was the beginning of the trouble of the 16 years civilian government of the People Democratic Party (PDP). Achieving this therefore is achieving major bedrock for economic boom in Nigeria.
2. Security; absence of peace and security where human life has no value and can be taken at will by hoodlums and hooligans with any name called means a state where there is no leadership. And where there is no leadership, no sane investor would put his hard-sourced, bank-financed business into the geography.
3. Nigerians’ populace driven government policies; in the past policies of government have been foreigner-driven, selective oligarchy’s interest driven and hugely driven by political patronage. Countries that have made it to the top are not run in this manner; for example, every investment in Dubai is citizen-driven, that is to say, an investor coming to Dubai for business must have a Dubai citizen on his board with free share allocation; American government policies are driven by the interests of their citizens. This is explained in their health care policies, education policies, infrastructural policies and general business policies so that quackery products and quackery execution of infrastructural projects are not allowed in the United States of America (USA). Furthermore, in the United Kingdom (UK), their policies are akin to that of America. This has recently been extended to include the policies that any foreigner coming to the UK to study must return to his country after his education except his area of study warrants his employment in the country and there is no UK citizen with his qualification. Therefore the quackery project execution in Nigeria must stop. The use of trailers to convey Nigerian citizens to their construction site by some expatriate companies running businesses worth billions of naira in Nigerian is an affront to purposeful leadership; this point could go on and on.
4. Corruption; corruption is an enemy to national development and purposeful governance must shun it totally and completely as the sign of it will always show up in governance at the end of the day.
5. Unbiased legal and judicial system; any country that has no sound legal and judicial system with no selectivity in enforcement will fail.  In UK and US, law rules the country and not mere humans but in Africa human beings rule and law is relegated to the background or they are selectively enforced for the purposes of oppression.
6. Religion must be made a private affair; in developed world and indeed by God’s expectation, every man is expected to give account of himself to God not the government helping a man to give account of himself to God. In America and UK, Singapore, Turkey, China and other civilised world, government does not sponsor pilgrimage or find itself tangled in the web of religion. Therefore if Buhari-government must continue in the euphoria that welcomed its coming, it must run free of religious snares.
7. Nigeria is overdue for industrialisation; good and quality education is a driving force for industrialisation. Rather than pursuing deceptive projects that was common with most state governments in the past 16years, Buhari must face the industrialisation quest squarely for Nigeria. Since Nigeria’s independence no leader has sought to write his name in gold like Lee Kwan Yu and Nelson Mandela.
The question is will Buhariconomics propel our brand new President to be the first to seat on this golden seat? And second in Africa after Nelson Mandela? Would Buhariconomics already seen as a good omen for Nigeria be fired up to transform Nigeria into the Singapore of Africa? These important questions could only be answered by the man himself who seats on the saddle as we continue to pray for him.

Aimuan, a legal practitio-ner, wrote from Abuja <[email protected]>;