Can Buhari Open New Dawn For Nigeria?

With the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari at the March 28 presidential poll, not a few Nigerians have predicted a new dawn for a nation that has been enmeshed in various crises. Apart from facing a murderous onslaught from the dreaded members of Boko Haram that has left several thousands dead, the poor handling of security challenges by the Goodluck Jonathan administration has attracted condemnation from both local and international commentators. Now that Nigerians have spoken in clear terms, chieftains of the All Progressives Congress ought to retrace to the trenches for a thorough analyses of the nation’s present predicament. Let the APC chieftains not deceive themselves that the incoming days will prove comforting as the rot left behind by the outgoing administration will prove a herculean task to manage without causing a political uproar. Most importantly, the performance profile of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party could pose an impediment if the incoming government does not know what it wants. I am not in the least too optimistic that the Buhari administration could walk its tough talk of navigating the thorny path of re-aligning our destiny and bringing the economy out of the wood without a probe of the past, starting from May 29, 1999. In advocating for a probe of the past, one is not calling for the incoming government to dwell its energy in going after political foes that made life difficult for them when they held forte as fiery opposition. There can be no going forward without understanding the issues of the past. If we must avoid a repeat of the mistakes of the past, we must understand what happened and the various roles played by some persons. The merger forces that led to the emergence of the Buhari phenomenon must resolve to work together for the common good. Ahead of the inauguration of the transition programme committee, it will not be out of place to have the rumour mills agog with news of disagreement over membership of who is to be what. Considering the fact that this is the first time the South-west is going into a political marriage with the North, the stakes are high and the only way to succeed is to ensure that both sides compromise in a bid to make the alliance work. The major task for the Buhari government is to keep to his promise of ensuring that the doors of opportunities are opened to all, irrespective of ethnic, religious and socio-political status. The grim realities of our existence portray us as a nation in crises on many fronts. Apart from giving a red card to a political party that has caused inequalities and rendered public institutions unable to perform their mandates, the cascading poverty among the citizenry seems unforgiveable. For a party that boasted that it would rule the country for 60 years, its defeat on March 28, signals the end of an era characterized by selfish greed and primitive acquisition of obscene wealth. In their glass houses, the PDP government refused to heed to reality, but rather chose to deceive themselves that all was well. The electoral process that brought in Buhari cannot be said to be flawless, nevertheless, it proved a more transparent process than that of 2007 and 2011. The greater challenge expected of Buhari therefore is to work further and make the electoral process more fool-proof than he met it.