Behold the 16th president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The President-elect, Senator Bola Tinubu, will today May 29, 2023, be inaugurated as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), beats 17 other candidates who took part in the 2023 presidential election, including the candidates of the major opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party (LP), candidate, Mr. Peter Obi to emerge, winner, at the keenly contested February 25th presidential election in Nigeria.
Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes, to emerge top, followed by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled a total of 6,984,520 votes. Labour Party’s (LP) Peter Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes, while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party came fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
He also scored over 25 per cent of the votes cast in 30 states, more than the 25 states constitutionally required.
Meanwhile, Tinubu’s journey to the most exalted position in the country was a turbulent one.
From the APC primaries, that produced Tinubu as its presidential candidate, to the general elections, where he eventually triumphed, it was all story of turbulent waters.
But as it said, calm water does not make a good sailor, political pundits said, the troubled waters have no doubt thrown up a good president for Nigeria.
*Economy, security should be his immediate challenge– Afenifere, Nwodo, others
ThisNigeria spoke to a cross-section of prominent Nigerians on their expectations of the new administration.
A professor of Political Science and researcher at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, Femi Otubanjo, said, “Always when we have an inauguration of a President, we are thinking of a new beginning, particularly when what obtains now are not the best that we expect from our government”.
“We have had a very rough time, in the past four years, particularly with the security situation, with armed Fulani roaming freely, killing and kidnapping. Nigeria was in a very bad state, so, we need a new beginning in that respect, we need to ensure that our new president focuses on security”.
The professor of Political Science noted that it is by creating a secure environment that we can begin to talk of investment, job creation, poverty alleviation, education, and all others.
A lot of people who got desperate to leave Nigeria, he said, were leaving because they were feeling insecure.
He said insecurity was a major factor Nigeria has always had joblessness, and young people have always not had jobs, but the situation was compounded by the security situation in the country.
Otubanjo noted that it appeared that President Buhari was not interested in doing anything about it until more recently, adding, “We are expecting the new President to focus on that, he has to reassure us that we are living in a safe country.”
He said, the new president has to reassure those who want to flee, to stay back, that Nigeria has a future, then of course he has to work on other issues of economy, job creation, infrastructure, people getting stuck on the road for 6 hours because they want to move from point A to B, should be a thing of the past.
“There is a lot to be done, In Nigeria, there is a deficit of governance, there had been a deficit of governance for decades, so we need to hopefully start moving forward inch by inch and we hope that the new president will help us to begin that forward movement.”
Also, a former Governor of Enugu State, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, said he was worried when Tinubu said he would continue with Buhari’s legacies.
He said, “I don’t know what is in that legacy that he wants to continue in. If he had said that he was going to continue with the legacies he left in Lagos State, I would have been more impressed,” the former governor said.
Nwodo, who was former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), added that the economy is in complete shamble and giving priorities become even more difficult.
He noted that what is number one in his view is restructuring Nigeria.
Nwodo said, the analogy is always made of how a drying feeding bottle is feeding 36 states, Federal Capital Territory, and the 774 local government areas, as well as the FG every month.
He disclosed that hydrocarbon is no longer fashionable as a source of revenue, saying, the income from crude oil is decreasing and the population is increasing.
“It can no longer sustain us but if you decentralise power, by devolving power to the federating units that form the federation, from the exclusive list, they will begin to generate their energy, they will begin to build their railway, and they will begin to do other things. They will begin to explore the natural resources in their domains to create money, so money would be created in the 36 locations and FCT, and that is the fastest way of growing the economy,” he said.
Again, he said the issue of electricity must be tackled, adding that successive administrations in the Fourth Republic had failed to get it right.
“They promise and I don’t know why they don’t deliver. Without power, we cannot build an economy, we need power and then, we need infrastructure, in terms of roads and railways to facilitate the movement of goods and services.
“In education, we have to emphasise ICT, we have to restructure our educational systems to create minds that are innovative, and creative, not just to read textbooks and vomit them at exams and score high marks.
“The world has taken a drastic change, it is either ICT, innovation, creativity, that is the way the world is moving now. We have to change our curriculum and prepare our children in that light because they have to compete with the world tomorrow. There are multifaceted ways that the incoming administration can grow the economy.”
In his views, the Head of Department, Political Science, Benue State University, Makurdi, Dr Atah Pine, said the greatest achievement the new administration can bequeath to the Nigerian people managing the diversity.
He noted that that was where the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari lost everything.
Pine said, “The greatest priority for this new government should be to manage the diversity of this country and by such management give Nigerians confidence in themselves as a people and then, that confidence can now translate into that government.
“We had a situation where almost all the service chiefs were Hausa/Fulani, and the National Security Adviser is a Muslim. We have a situation where all the Heads of the Paramilitary agencies are Muslims, everything is Muslim. Nigerians lost confidence in the outgoing administration because it was unable to manage our ethnic, religious, political, and regional diversity, which, should have been critical ingredients in the development of this country.”
Similarly, the Proprietor of Blessed Trinity Hospital, Mararaba, Dr Asogwa Chukwura, said that he does not expect anything different from what citizens have had in the last eight years.
He queried, “Is there any sector of the nation’s economy that is doing well, should any of the sector be left behind?”
Asogwa said it was not going to be easy because no aspect of Nigeria’s economy is doing well.
People, he said, have lost their jobs because of businesses not doing well, many people are leaving the country because of the bad economy and many more will go.
The Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Dr Solomon Arase, said he expects the Tinubu-led administration to consolidate and improve on the good legacies of the Buhari administration.
The former IGP also tasked the incoming administration to initiate policies that would create jobs.
He said every sector of the nation’s economy is very important for development, adding that the new administration should revamp the economy to touch the lives of a larger percentage of the population.
He appealed to the new administration to initiate reforms that will place Nigeria on better footing to provide leadership, not only to the African continent but the entire black race in the world.
*Afenifere
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has expressed the hope that the inauguration of a new government in Nigeria under the leadership of Tinubu would herald a new lease of life in the country.
This was contained in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Jare Ajayi, yesterday.
According to Afenifere, the President-elect, by his antecedents, has what it takes to take Nigeria to a greater height.
“We are confident that he will assemble a goals-getting team that will enable him to translate his dreams for a new and better Nigeria into reality.
“These dreams include calming the fray nerves among various sections of the country, restoring security and safety of lives and properties, shoring up the economy, revamping our collapsed educational system, and overhauling the dilapidated infrastructure.
“Others include job creation, and restoring the dashed hopes of youths in the country, setting Nigeria on the path of industrialisation and bringing her into the comity of most advanced countries in the world in social, economic, and political terms within the shortest time possible.”
The spokesman then submitted that for the above to be achieved, the new President needs to consider some key areas which deserve urgent and critical attention.
These areas are insecurity, economy, rekindling a sense of unity and patriotism among Nigerians, and revamping agriculture, power, health, and infrastructure.
“Cutting down the cost of governance is one of the ways to start with. Doing so, without favouritism will make resources available for critical sectors, block cesspools for corruption and make public officials more productive.
“Incidentally, both Asiwaju and his Vice, Senator Kashim Shettima are well suited in this respect going by their experiences as former governors, former senators and equally importantly, their educational backgrounds. Asiwaju studied Accountancy at Chicago State University in America while Senator Shettima studied Agricultural Economics at the University of Maiduguri.”
Ajayi observed that the suggestion just made might not be easy given the tradition here in which many look for patronage or ‘reward’ from political office-holders, especially after a hotly contested election like that of February 25.
“Yet, it is possible. And we are hopeful that Asiwaju will be able to do it, especially going by his knack to scout for round pegs to be put in round holes as he did when he called the shots as Governor of Lagos State.
“There is a way to balance political exigencies with the dire needs of the country such as smoothening the ethnic, political, and religious divides and getting every hand to be on deck to move the nation forward,” the statement stressed.
He added that Tinubu seems to be conscious of this when he asserted that “Our nation’s progress rests on the inclusivity, unity and not leaving any citizen behind and ensuring (that) every citizen enjoys the dividends of good governance.”
Afenifere spokesman tasked the incoming President to live up to his words of dedicating his “entire being to the service of our great nation and the African continent.”
*Be fair, just in your appointments, Senate urges new President
The 9th Senate has congratulated the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and his vice, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, who would be sworn in as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Senate, in a statement by its spokesperson, Ajibola Basiru, yesterday also congratulated all Nigerians who participated in the electioneering process, whether as voters, policymakers, umpires, politicians, commentators, or legislators.
The red chamber urged Tinubu to “make his appointments based on justice, merit, competence, and balancing by all means.”
The Senate said, “While we rejoice with your Excellency we are not oblivious of the arduous tasks of state before your incoming administration.
“We are rejoicing with your Excellency and we pray it will be your Excellency that God will use to move this nation to where it should be among the comity of nations and take the nation to greater heights in all spheres.
“Nigerians will hold your Excellency responsible for your promises of food security, power generation, and supply, massive job creation, and youth employment, among the myriads of needs confronting our nation.
“Nigerians will not be bothered about ethnicity, religiosity, or any other sentimental colouration, of any kind if they see genuine hope of transformation.
“Nigerians are hungry and crying, as never before for hope, and we pray, they may see hope in your slogan of ‘Renewed hope’.
“While commending you to the hands of the Almighty God, we also say you should take heed in your appointments so that you can put in place those who will key into your set out agenda and work for Nigerians.”
*Start by declaring your assets, SERAP charges
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Sunday told the President-Elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu to start his administration with a clean slate by promptly making public details of his assets, income, investments, liabilities, and interests, as well as encouraging his Vice-President-Elect to do the same.
The group also urged him to prioritise the full and effective respect for human rights, media freedom, the rule of law, and the country’s judiciary including by promptly obeying countless court judgments which the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly treated with utter contempt and disdain.
SERAP Deputy Director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, in an open letter to Bola Tinubu, dated 27 May 2023, reminded the President-elect of his recent promise to kill corruption.
He noted that rhetoric was not new to Nigerians, adding that the outgoing President, Muhammadu Buhari, used a similar hollow anti-corruption phrase in 2015.
SERAP urged the President-elect to emulate the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua, who consistently published his asset declaration forms as president and governor of Katsina State.
Yar’Adua also planned legislative reform to make it mandatory for all public officers to declare their assets publicly, with the belief that publishing his assets would put pressure on other public officers to do so.
The Open letter reads in part, “As Nigerians have witnessed for eight years, Buhari has neither ‘killed corruption’ nor obeyed court judgments on transparency and accountability.
“Widely publishing details of your assets, income, investments, and liabilities and encouraging your Vice-President-Elect and others to do the same would allow Nigerians to know your worth and the worth of other public officials.
“If your election is upheld by the judiciary, your government can use transparency in asset declarations as a means of promoting public accountability and ending systemic corruption in the country.”
The letter, added, “Buhari’s broken promises to make specific details of his assets public and to ‘kill corruption’ have opened up the country’s political and electoral processes to a money free-for-all, discouraged political participation and contributed to impunity for corruption.
“Although President Buhari’s march to Aso Rock was predicated, in large part, on his campaign rhetoric to ‘kill corruption’, corruption remains widespread among high-ranking public officials and in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).”
Oluwadare said making public details of assets, liabilities, and interests would reduce unjust enrichment of public officials, ensure integrity in public offices and promote transparency and accountability as well as good governance.
