Why no one should envy Buhari (II)

A nation’s future is hinged on the education of its youth. The past 16 years has seen the foundation of learning corroded to pave the way for educational buccaneers. Some of them are in APC clamouring for government to hands off education with a view to perpetuating the elitist culture that divides society between the […]

A nation’s future is hinged on the education of its youth. The past 16 years has seen the foundation of learning corroded to pave the way for educational buccaneers. Some of them are in APC clamouring for government to hands off education with a view to perpetuating the elitist culture that divides society between the elites and the low classed regarded as hewers of wood and drawers of water. Can Buhari smash this syndicate or would he simply massage the tentacles of the octopus?
A science-based education structure would put our country on the mark for global competition, while religious education might help nudge conscience. One is a requirement and the other is an option. The status quo favours those with the means to send their children abroad thereby increasing their job prospects the rest who are expected to serve them.
Electricity is the launching pad of any society courting advancement. Power and its potentials have been sold, like the conscience of the nation, to a cabal that places profit over performance. Can Buhari tame the shrew and fulfil the divine injunction – let there be light? Or would we continue deceiving ourselves that there is no alternative to the sustained morass? If Buhari fixes nothing but electricity and corruption, given the nation’s abundant hydro, solar and wind capacities he would have given the Jones type of change – worth only ten kobo.
Inquisitions are good and Naija needs it. The putrescence of sleaze has fouled the air so much that it numbs the conscience. For change to be meaningful, even the handing over process must be subject to intense scrutiny. Would the new government accept an open enquiry in which each ministry or agency faces the nation in televised inquisitions or would it be allowed to hush handing-over notes concealing the kind of information that helps the public understand the depth of depravity of those who plunged us this low? Indeed vaults of horror must be publicly opened, so should the hall of shame and the book of fame and infamy. Buhari must probe and probe well but he must never turn probes into excuses for laxity or non-performance. The czars of sleaze denied their victims’ pity, society must pay them back in sweet kind.
Gandhi was quoted as saying that India had enough to meet everybody’s need but not everyone’s greed; same with us. The serial presidential system we copied from America is the hugest drainpipe on our economy without commensurate impactful performance. Can Buhari tame these guys with throats like open sewers? Can any reform hit the legislature and adventurers in politics with the message of service and that those who want access to unquestioned wealth should read the biographies of Aliko Dangote, Otedola and Alakija? Can Buhari reduce the duplicitous cost of running governance?
When we say ‘Change’ we seem to point at Muhammadu Buhari? But real change is when we all play our parts. Are we ready to make the necessary sacrifice? Can we adapt the Rotary 4-Wheel test as a national creed? Is it good? Is it true and fair to all concerned? Would it build goodwill and national consciousness? Would it bring about the greatest happiness and benefit to the greatest number?
Sorry General, others may waste precious space on congratulatory messages, but you have both my prayers and my pity – only for a while, by Allah’s will, you will have my harsh words in due time because if you fail us, you have failed. If we fail you, we would have truly failed our generation and those unborn – the room for failure is the smallest room in our consciousness.
Finally, I know your predecessors have had to deal with monsters dubbed First Ladies. You have an incredibly beautiful wife that some think you don’t deserve. Sorry guys – she’s taken! But Mr. President-elect, we need you to share that lady with us – all of her – her time, her smiles, her wit and conceit, her intellect and her charity. We have been insulted, assaulted and abused for four years; we have forgotten what it means to be a lady. Hajiya Aisha Buhari’s little exposure to us gives us reason to hope, so sir, we demand an office of a First Lady, one funded by goodwill and not public till. One occupied by someone with milk of human kindness and eyes on national consciousness and unity. Best of luck, to the people’s general – the shoes are big, but so are your feet.