TO EAGLE SQUARE! (4)

Its Governors are on one side; the Presidency and its hangers-on on another; and the National Working Committee (NWC) in the centre of it all, taking all the flak. The fat bone of contention is not only the loss of the elections, but the fatter matter of some several billions of Naira the spending – […]

Its Governors are on one side; the Presidency and its hangers-on on another; and the National Working Committee (NWC) in the centre of it all, taking all the flak. The fat bone of contention is not only the loss of the elections, but the fatter matter of some several billions of Naira the spending – or pocketing – of which has not been fully explained. (And didn’t we always think PDP money was for ‘chopping’!)
And then the bad news, or the other side of the coin, in this matter. The PDP crisis should be a good lesson for the APC – in that they better ensure that that does NOT happen to them any time soon. APC wouldn’t want the PDP to be the beneficiary of the adage ‘He who laughs last laughs longest’. But if APC is not careful and it doesn’t carefully and diligently manage its internal party matters in apportioning and zoning of positions, the Senate and the House of Representatives are the battlefields where the proverbial ‘strange bedfellows’ matter will come to fore. And then birds of different feathers may hardly fly together, as indeed Cross-Carpeters may outnumber Legacy Owners.
And then with barely three weeks to our arrival at Eagle Square (it seems we are also slowly trekking…so long our journey) a lot of potential damage is being done by the outgoing president in sacking and appointing officers right, left and centre. This, to say the least, does not say well of someone who is being called a hero by some people on account of a few seconds of phone call. We wait to see whether, in the spirit of Ondo State, he may have his deputy impeached and replaced – that should be the ultimate!
Meanwhile, here we go with this week’s offerings:
ZANNA MAHDI ([email protected]): The incoming administration should investigate the last minute appointments and sackings of some Government officials. Some of the sackings were allegedly done to victimise people that refused to be cowed or used to conduct some dubious acts. The media is awash with reports that many of the sacked officers either refused to assist the PDP in rigging the elections by force or refused to allow their agencies to be used as conduit pipes to syphon monies to be used for the elections. Where these officials are found not culpable, the incoming administration should reconsider them for reinstatement.
PROF ALI UMAR DIKKO ([email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>;): We should all keep it in our minds that the slogan of ‘change’ and the President-Elect General Muhammad Buhari (GMB) are synonymous with positive advancement to be borne only out of honesty and integrity. It is therefore mandatory on the General to select persons similar to him who will help place our country in its rightful position as one of the best in the world. Whosoever is selected for appointment as Minister, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of Service, National Security Adviser, Special Advisers, etc., should undergo thorough scrutiny on the following: assets declaration, local and foreign, and their sources; bank accounts, local and foreign, amounts therein and their sources; investments and shares, local and foreign, and their sources. There must also be credible reports from the security agencies. Such would help relieve GMB of the tremendous pressure of politicians and ensure the selection of persons of the highest integrity and competence.
KAWU BALA ([email protected]): You should now present to us “The Great Inaugural Speech” that you drafted but never was in 2003, 2007 and 2011. Now that GMB is poised to climb the podium soon for 2015, a Draft Inaugural Speech can move the nation and even the President-Elect. By the way, I am yet to see concrete suggestions on security in all the comments so far sent to this Column.
ABDURRAHMAN ABDULLAH ([email protected]):  So Sambisa Forest is a Game Reserve? And I never knew! What a baffling revelation that our military are destroying bunker after bunker in this forest! How did the insurgents find the time, the expertise and the equipment to build all these bunkers? How come they were not bombarded all these years? I’m so shocked that with our so-called security and intelligence consciousness these rag-tag insurgents were able to construct bunkers and stockpile so much armament and wreak so much havoc on the nation. The incoming administration should monitor all other Game Reserves – Yankari, Rugu, Borgu, Kamuku, Birnin Gwari, Gumti-Gashaka, etc. – and flush out ALL undesirable elements, lest we fall victims again. Aerial surveillance should be the key!
USMAN ALIYU ([email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>;): The issues that GMB needs to give priority are Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Degradation. As a result of the dwindling oil price in the global market, the economy needs to be diversified and agriculture is the most promising sector which, if properly harnessed, can boost the economy, provide jobs and guarantee food security for the nation. It will also even go a long way in curtailing insecurity. Then the issue of desertification should be of paramount importance. Then welfare for the poor, that vast section of the Nigerian population that is neglected, rejected and forgotten! They need to enjoy the fruits of their votes with dividends of democracy. Good roads, functional schools, health facilities, potable water, electricity and recreational facilities need to be provided.
PROF S.E. ATAWODI ([email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>;): ‘Merit’ should be GMB’s watchword; merit should be the yardstick in MDAs’ recruitments, appointments and promotions, and even in admissions to universities and other schools. Sections of the country that could suffer any disadvantage from this arrangement should be encouraged to support their indigenes with remedial measures to upgrade the quality of their education and human resource within the shortest possible time. Patriotic local scholars who excel under our harsh conditions should be recognised and entrusted with running our country instead of hero-worshipping foreign-based scholars who may not be able to function under our situation. The reward system in educational establishments should attract best brains in basic arts and sciences as the quality of resulting professionals depends on them. Above all citizens should be encouraged to consider the Nigeria Project as theirs – this can be done by Government’s care for their welfare. GMB should leave prayers for Nigeria to the Imams and the pastors and concentrate on governance. If GMB and his team lead by example and with God on his side, he will be able to take us from a third world to a first world country.
RUQAYYAH SA’IDU ([email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>;):  My own contribution for now is that the incoming administration should abrogate Post-UME exam because universities are just using it as an avenue to make money out of students. Many students go through lots of hardship to even get accommodation for the night on the eve of the exam, then the stress of it all, and then some of them having to do so many despicable things just to get admission. It is just terrible. UME is suffering enough. In fact, WAEC and NECO are sufferings enough!
Alhamdu lilLah  hamdan katheeran dayyiban mubarakan feeh! Allahumma barik lanaa fi ma razaqtanaa (Thanks be to Allah, gratitude so plentiful and so pure and filled with blessings. May Allah bless for us what He has granted us) (from Aminatu Ali [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>😉
Alhamdu lilLah (Thanks be to God) and HasbunalLahu wa ni’imal Wakeel! (God is Sufficient for us and He is the Best Disposer of affairs).