President Muhammadu Buhari would have been receiving loads of congratulatory messages from all over the world as he becomes a year older on Thursday, December 17.
Buhari should know that a good number of Nigerians are praying for him to succeed as he continues to pilot the affairs of the nation. However, the president should know that there are some things Nigerians expect from him before the year runs out or right from the beginning of 2016.
Come Tuesday, December 29, President Muhammadu Buhari will be 7 months old in office. He assumed office with so much high expectations from the citizens. Nigerians are still eager to see what the nation’s number one citizen will bring to the table.
Although, there are speculations that Buhari will start paying the N5,000 he promised during the presidential campaign to unemployed youths as from next year. Apart from that, every one wants to see how he will turn over the fortune of the decadence in all facets of the Nigeria life for good.
In bringing about all these positive changes, there are some things Nigerians expect from Buhari if he wants more showers of encomium to be poured on him by this same time next year when he turns 74.
President Muhammadu Buhari
1. Corrupt Nigerians should be prosecuted, jailed and their properties confiscated
It is a pity that with all the human and natural resources Nigeria is endowed with, more than 75% of Nigerians live in abject poverty. The paradox of the country’s unpalatable condition is that some people embezzle the country’s coffers and at the end of the day, they go scot-free. Also, these heartless sets of Nigerians steal billions of Naira and Dollars and never care about the poor man who can not afford N500 drugs prescribed to him by the doctor.
President Buhari should not fold his arms and look at all these cases of embezzlement and corruption swept under the carpet as they have been in previous governments. Either in the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or any other political party, the torch of anti-corruption should be beamed everywhere.
The present case and revelations of Colonel Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser has opened different cans of worms Nigerians are yet to come in terms with. This case must be probed to its roots. All parties found guilty at the end of day should be served the required punitive measures.
2. Better electricity supply
The need for a stable and improved power supply is one of the most flogged issues in Nigeria. The need to have uninterrupted power supply should be the birthday cake Buhari should serve all Nigerians with. Even if he does not serve the cake this year, it should be served next year.
There are news in the air that electricity tariff would be increased by a few percent as from next year. This should be re-considered before it is implemented as Nigerians are not in the best financial situation currently.
3. Battered economy should be repaired
President Buhari is fortunate to have the likes of Udoma Udoma as his minister for National Planning. He should tap into the wealth of experience of Udoma with other economic experts to revitalise the nation’s poor economy.
4. Boko Haram and Chibok girls
Nigerians are not happy with the way in which the Chibok girls abduction has been handled since it happened. The Bring Back Our Girls Group (BBOG) led by Nigeria’s former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili and her group members did so much but nothing has been heard yet. The president should tell Nigerians the situation of things regarding the Chibok girls after over 500 days in captivity.
The Nigerian military has made in-roads regarding defeating the Boko Haram sect and meeting the December deadline set by President Buhari. This is encouraging and Nigerians should continue to support the soldiers in making the annihilation of terrorism a dream come true in the Northeastern part of the country.
5. Social welfare and drastically reducing unemployment
President Buhari should not be surprised that he is sitting on keg of gun powder called youths unemployment left by his predecessor. The immigration scandal in the last administration is still fresh in the minds of majority of youths who participated in the employment scam where some innocent youths met their untimely death. The president should ensure he probes all those involved.
As 2016 knocks at the door, massive youth employment and better living conditions are some of the things Nigerians expect from Buhari.
6. Fuel scarcity and subsidy issues should be resolved
No one is sure about what is happening regarding the subsidy of petroleum products. During the administration of Doctor Goodluck Jonathan, there were endless debates regarding this issue until the price of pure motor spirit (PMS), known as petrol was increased in January 2012. Since then, as Nigerians fared better in getting petrol with ease? The answer is No!
7. Healing old and fresh wounds
This is the issue of sectarianism and different ethnic groups agitating and protesting for various reasons. Nigerians are tired of news whereby the cases of one religious group attacking the military or the other way round. The recent agitation by some elements calling for a Biafran state is there. Likewise, there was a clash between the Shiites and the soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna state over the weekend. The president should be cautious with how he resolves all these and other issues amicably and sincerely.
8. Workers’ welfare and minimum wage
A few weeks ago, some state governors stated that they cannot afford to pay the minimum wage of N18,000 due to the present economic crunch the nation is witnessing. This is totally unacceptable because Nigerian workers are one of the most under-paid in the world. They should cut down on their own personal budgets to assist their states.
9. Corruption war should be all-encompassing
One of the challenges in Nigeria is that whoever becomes the president only fights his enemies when they are found wanting in terms of corrupt practices. Buhari should prove all his critics wrong that even if his party men are tried for corruption, he will not use the presidential fiat to kill such a case. By doing this, his next year birthday will be full of praises from the opposition party and his critics alike.
10. Women should be given a sense of belonging
There are allegations by some Nigerians that President Buhari is women-phobic. These sets of people believe that the president does not really like working with women. Buhari is being accused of not meeting the 35% affirmative action right for number of women in his administration. Time will tell if the president will disprove this or not, because presently there are only 5 women in Buhari’s ministerial cabinet.