Shape of things to come

So alarmed were presidential aides last week that they accused the government-in-waiting of attempting to form a parallel government. Not used to being prepared for anything, the PDP do-nothings can’t believe the seriousness with which the president-elect and his party are taking the mandate Nigerians have just handed over to them. If the PDP moaners […]

So alarmed were presidential aides last week that they accused the government-in-waiting of attempting to form a parallel government. Not used to being prepared for anything, the PDP do-nothings can’t believe the seriousness with which the president-elect and his party are taking the mandate Nigerians have just handed over to them. If the PDP moaners had their way, the next government would be more incompetent that it, assuming that was possible.
The irresponsible way this lame duck government has been rushing out new appointments and policy decisions shows the discerning that the only time the outgoing government gathers any kind of momentum to do anything decisive is when it is trying to set a trap as it did before the last elections and became a victim of its own snare.
There is no secret about what Nigerians expect of General Buhari. Nothing short of a comprehensive clearing of the Augean stables and an enthronement of an accountable government based on justice and fairness. Buhari himself has made it clear to all and sundry that though he may be of Fulani extraction, he does not intend to be a Fulani president. There is simply too much to do that there is no time for such a luxury as ethnic fancies.
To get our country to where it deserves to be, the incoming president needs all capable hands. The beginning of the rebuilding process is the empanelling of a transition committee which would review the handover notes of the outgoing government, ask the necessary questions and advise the president-elect accordingly. PDP doesn’t want that. A party that is still embroiled in recriminations over its incompetent handling of its last presidential campaign in spite of the trillions of naira thrown at the project, now wants to bluff its way out of an orderly handover. Typical.
It is an open secret that many of the operatives of this government have tons of questions to answer. If what is happening now is to delay details of their stewardship to the last minute so that the new government will be railroaded into just accepting it all as fait accompli, I suspect that there are a lot of surprises waiting for them post-29th May. For, while most Nigerians don’t want governance to be reduced to witch-hunting, they would still not forgive the incoming government if it does not bring the big rats that have dug holes in our national pie to justice.
All the Buhari administration will have to do is strengthen existing anti-crime structures and encourage whistle-blowers. We must recover as much of our patrimony as we can possibly trace.
If not that our current government has gone beyond shame, the scandalous state of fuel supply in the last couple of weeks would have prompted somebody of consequence to address the nation and marshal out a plan for ensuring adequate supply. But do the citizens really matter? Nigerians have got used to seeing the chubby face of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala pop out of the tube, promising to pay those it was supposed to have paid a long time ago so that fuel supply could continue. This is a circus. Nigerians can’t wait to get rid of this bunch of incompetent liars.
As regards the raging argument that the Jonathan administration is creating hurdles for its successor, I think it is all a storm in a tea cup. Nothing stops the incoming government from undoing anything this government is doing at this 99th hour. If the strategy is to remove those whose dirty links to the high-ups in this government can be easily traced and replace them with those who don’t know the history of transactions entered into, then the strategy is flawed and doomed to fail. Those who have cases to answer will be recalled to give account. As simple as that! Square pegs hurriedly forced into round holes will be removed. It is when a government is incompetent or clueless that it wonders what to do with misfits.
The beauty of being predictable as Buhari has been over the years is that you know what he will not tolerate. Buhari is not your usual wheeler-dealer in government to whom subordinates would dribble bribes. He will not count among his friends the very same people who have stolen Nigeria blind and made the job of the Asset Management Company, AMCON, such a nightmare.
Nigerians voted for Buhari because they trust him. It is gratifying to see that he is not treating that trust with levity. He knows he has to be a Nigerian president for all Nigerians. And, as he promised in his acceptance speech, he also knows that his administration has to accommodate even those zones that didn’t vote for him.
So far, the APC has refused to be stampeded into filling legislative and executive positions. Just like the issue of choosing a presidential candidate several months ago, the APC is taking its time and consulting widely, which I think is how it ought to be. Hopefully, the issue will be settled in the next couple of weeks before the handover date so that the government can hit the ground running.
Meanwhile the tears have already started rolling even before the handover date. Ifeanyi Ubah of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) fame, who claimed to have secured 12 million voters’ signatures for President Jonathan even before the unopposed presidential primary coronation, was reduced to tears the other day when the review of the activities of the presidential campaign council was done. Jonathan scored 12,853,162 against General Buhari’s 15,424,921. If Ubah is to be believed, then Jonathan only managed to persuade 853,162 voters to add to the 12 million whose signatures Ubah already had.
A liar is like a masquerade that farts in his hooded garment; he has to pretend that all is well while struggling to breathe. There are many more tears to shed by those who made Nigerians shed tears in the last five years. Brace up, son of Adam, thy lachrymal hour cometh!

Mayweather/ Pacquaio
Congratulations to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao for doing the sport of boxing proud through their superlative display early yesterday morning. Mayweather was declared winner. But the biggest winner was the sweet science of boxing.