Enter Buhari, on the wings of hope

In spite of the harsh economic climate, in spite of the interminable fuel queues, in spite of the gang rape we had suffered over the years, Nigerians took time out to engage in some back-slapping and dream positive dreams. The day took a long time coming; but thank God it eventually came. To have a […]

In spite of the harsh economic climate, in spite of the interminable fuel queues, in spite of the gang rape we had suffered over the years, Nigerians took time out to engage in some back-slapping and dream positive dreams. The day took a long time coming; but thank God it eventually came. To have a president you can truly be proud of is a thing of joy.
Now that the man we overwhelmingly voted for is in power, what are we to expect in the first 100 days and beyond?
The general philosophy that would underpin Buhari’s actions is the people-centred, welfarist ideological stance of his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. The mission statement of the party clearly envisions a society “where no one is above the law, where the culture of impunity is abolished and where there is level playing field”. President Buhari will focus on his party’s manifesto to deliver the following as promised during the campaigns: War Against Corruption; Food Security; Accelerated Power Supply; Integrated Transport Network; Free Education; Devolution of Power; Accelerated Economic Growth; and Affordable Health Care.
As promised, the anti-terror war will be taken to Boko Haram. First, the command headquarters relocates to Maiduguri as indicated in the president’s inaugural address. Within the first 100 days, the government will try to get to the root of the petroleum scam which has put the nation at the mercy of a few well-connected leeches. In aid of that goal, let me draw the attention of our president to a blistering revelation by a well-informed insider in the oil industry, one Citizen Onyebuchi who worked in the downstream sector and was greatly disturbed by the level of corruption that translated into untold suffering for millions of Nigerians:
“Due to weak regulatory regimes, the downstream sector became an all-comers’ affair. Every Tom, Dick and Harry entered the business. Companies with no verifiable addresses, no tank farms, no vessels, no financial structures, no bank guarantees all became fuel importers. It was a bazaar…   Emergency millionaires were made in days… Every top official of the federal government became an emergency fuel importer or middle man. Importation licenses were hawked openly. All you needed was for the PPPRA to give you a license to import. You could sell it for millions just outside the door.
“Now there is a complex web that links the Petroleum Ministry, the DPR, the Navy, the NPA, NIMASA,PPPRA, DMO, CBN and Commercial Banks in this fraud. Documents like the sovereign debt statements and the sovereign debt notes flew about and our money kept disappearing. From about 30 companies in the scheme, the number shot up to 300. Monthly, billions of naira were paid out to people who have never had any contact with a Jerry-can of fuel in their lives. No verification, no authentication, nothing. Money was being paid with reckless abandon. Dr Okonjo-Iweala and Mrs Alison-Madueke were all there watching!
“It got so bad that some people will arrange with ship owners……take a two day hire of an empty ship, move it to Lagos Port, and berth it there. Officials of the PPPRA, Petroleum Ministry, DPR will come there to inspect an empty vessel and certify that the empty vessel carried 10,000 metric tons of petrol, collect their money and walk away. The vessel simply sails away and three weeks later, close to 6 billion naira will be paid as subsidy when not even a single drop of petrol was brought in.”
Nigerians expect that the oil mafia will be busted within the first 100 days of the new government and a new transparent regime involving mainly the oil majors will take its place. We expect a leaner government than we have had in the past. As ministers are appointed to ministries and the government settles down, there is no doubt that they will discover so many instances of corrupt enrichment, corruption being the biggest industry under the former administration. Ministers are better advised to pass on all cases of corruption to the relevant agencies and concentrate on how they can make a difference in their given assignment with the little resources they have. The anti-corruption agencies should be strengthened in terms of funds and leadership so that they can expeditiously discharge their duties.
As will be found out from the Assets Management Company (AMCON) a good chunk of Nigeria’s wealth is in the hands of eminent debtors who play close to every government. The new government has to rein in all debtors, especially those in the oil and aviation sectors. Any of them incapable of settling their indebtedness should be taken over by government as provided in the law. We expect to see the beginnings of a new Nigeria Airways and a reduction of the planes in the presidential fleet from eleven to two – one for the president and the other for everybody else. Then we have to reclaim some of our assets criminally sold in sweetheart deals, especially in the telecommunication sector.
If creatively addressed, the issue of bad roads can be turned to a practical quick-win area by embarking on massive rehabilitation of Trunk B roads all over the federation by direct labour under the works ministry, which will entail employing hundreds of thousands of youths. At the same time, our police force and security agencies are poorly staffed. To achieve anything near effectiveness, the numerical strength of our police force ought to be increased to at least one million, meaning one policeman to 180 Nigerians. Where to find the money? If the system tackles corruption well, and the humongous entitlements of the executive and National Assembly are cut down to saner figures, the money will show up. There should be no apologies for enforcing discipline and chasing corruption out of town.
The journey of 1000 years starts with the crucial first step. We have taken the first step by electing Buhari as president. Thankfully, he has assured us that he will be his own man and will be president for all Nigerians. For a change, let’s have a president who is not scared of being in charge. The least we can do is to give him our backing every inch of the way. Welcome to the grind, PMB!