The expectations of Nigerians are high as Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari assumes the mantle of
leadership. Nigerians yearn for change at all cost,
following the high campaign promises made by the
new president. They expect his government to bring
succour and put an end to the numerous problems the
country is presently facing. Against this background,
Saturday Vanguard went round to sample the opinions
of prominent as well as ordinary Nigerians on their
expectations 100 days from now.
Buhari must revive the energy sector – Ebun-Olu
Adegboruwa, lawyer
“Gen. Buhari should address the problems
surrounding energy in this country as a matter of
urgency. Power generation is critical to the
development of this nation. He should break the cabal
controlling the importation of fuel, diesel, candles,
rechargeable lamps and other imports that benefit
importers to the detriment of the Nigerian populace,
and revive the entire power sector so that the
generation, transmission and distribution companies
should be totally working. By this approach, generator
and diesel importers will also be encouraged to invest
in the power sector and become game changers
instead of frustrating his efforts.
“It’s a cross Buhari has to carry. He was at this for 12
years. He contested in 2003, 2007, 2011, so by now, he
should have a roadmap for the solutions to all the
problems in Nigeria. I believe it is not our business
how he will deliver.
“During his campaign, he promised Nigerians 20,000
megawatts in four years which means, in every one
year, we should have 5,000 megawatts. So, it is too late
to give excuses. Our business was to vote for him as
president, which we did; we are waiting for results.
“We want to enjoy adequate electricity as soon as
possible. There must be power in every home, office,
mosque, church, bank, school among others. We are
not interested in how he will do it. Power is critical to
the economy of this nation and it must be addressed.
Imagine the kind of hardship the country suffered
recently when the entire country was grounded. If
there is no power, it is difficult to survive. One is
practically incapacitated without power.
“He must also tackle corruption to a standstill by
sealing up available means by which our money is
being siphoned. Those who are milking Nigerians,
dipping their hands into the treasuries of the nation
should be exposed.
“The $20 billion that was allegedly missing should be
verified. He must look into the system and fight the
monster called corruption. Once the resources are
available and not being stolen, building industries,
roads, and reviving the power sector will be possible.
The resources of the nation can take Nigeria to the
next level.”
He should operate truly democratic government –
Tony Uranta, human rights activist
Gani Adams
“As a patriotic Nigerian living in Nigeria, it is in my
enlightened self interest for President Buhari to
succeed in keeping Nigeria a united, peaceful, justice-
based country that prospers holistically and ensures
the common good of all Nigerians. It is in the
foregoing light that I join millions of Nigerians in
welcoming President Buhari, even as I join millions
more in wishing now ex-President Jonathan even
greater heights.
“I will like to use this opportunity to remind the
incoming president of the many promises he made to
Nigerians, and what we eagerly expect within the first
100 days of his coming to office. We expect primarily
that he will be able to stop the insecurity in the North-
East once and for all. We also expect that he will
radically transform the economy such that we will not
have almahjiris in the North, beggars in the streets or
anywhere else in Nigeria. And crime rate must be
reduced generally, especially in the area of
kidnapping, armed robbery and 419.
“Finally, I will not appear to be wishing him ill or to
seem not to appreciate the enormous task ahead of
him; we would expect that he would really and truly
show us that this is a democratic civil regime coming
in, which will be fully tolerant of the rights of civil
society such as right of speech, right to information,
right to association and other rights without, in
anyway, becoming oppressive or intolerant.
“We wish him well. We hope that the press will still
be vibrant under him as it was under the outgoing
administration, and on that note, I say welcome
President Muhammadu Buhari and we wish President
Goodluck Jonathan the best and we look forward to
him transforming himself into the leader of the
African continent and black people worldwide.”
We expect transparency – Gani Adams, leader, Odua
Peoples Congress (OPC)
“Within three months, he needs to sanitize the system.
We expect transparency and he should shun
corruption. We expect him to solve the problem of
fuel scarcity and encourage private sectors to build
refineries. Right now, Nigeria is faced with abject
poverty due to lack of good infrastructure. He should
revive our societal values. President Buhari should
ensure that all the civil society groups are given 100
percent support. He should also look into the report
of the national confab.”
He should address fragile issues – Olisa Agbakoba
(SAN), lawyer
*Mr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN
“As soon as Buhari is sworn in, he should go to work.
He should tackle fragile issues in the national system
because there are so many fragile cracks that make
the Nigerian system to be very weak and I expect
these to be tackled by settling issues relating to
constitution amendment, which will help to amend
these cracks. He must reform our legal system.
“Secondly, he must tackle the economy agenda of the
country that has given credence to unemployment and
poverty. He must do that by blocking all the leakages.
25 percent of our budget goes into the National
Assembly. People should live on low profile. These
will safe funds which will be used on meaningful
things.
“Thirdly, he must remove oil subsidy, which has led
to corruption, then introduce modular refineries so as
to have it across the country. He should block all the
loopholes in the power sector. He should also diversify
the economy. Right now, we are solely dependent on
petroleum and that was clearly shown in the recent
fuel scarcity. We need new energy policy that does not
depend on petroleum. The maritime sector is another
area which needs attention. There are a lot of
expectations by Nigerians and we hope that the
president will live up to them. He needs to re-define
the education policy, especially in the area of
university and vocational qualifications. We should
look into solar energy. Another problem is to
decentralize the affairs of the country.”
We need light, petrol and good cabinet – Declan
Okpalaeke, journalist
“There should be long term course but short term
measures. He is taking over power at a period when
the country is perhaps at his lowest ebb. Everything
seems to be collapsing. Petroleum has a huge effect on
the economy; there is no fuel, no gas, no kerosene.
There is crisis in the country. His first 100 days should
concentrate on finding immediate solution to the
immediate problems in the country. He should ensure
that there is free flow of essential things that will
make life bearable for Nigerians; ensure that there is
adequate petrol in the filling stations; ensure that
even though we are not generating enough power, that
what we produce is adequately distributed whilst he
plans to find permanent solution to it.
“He should ensure that he gets the right people into
his cabinet. People whose integrity and credibility are
not in doubt. If the right people are not in place, his
noble ideas will be rubbished.”
He should keep all his promises – Martin Onovo,
Action Congress (AC) presidential candidate
Mr Martin Onovo
“As a matter of integrity, President Buhari needs to
keep the promises made during his campaign. He
needs to control corruption and that is not done in
one night or 100 days but the direction can be set in
one month.
“We need to get power, otherwise the economy will
not survive. He must not give us excuses that we have
heard in the past. There must be fuel. Security must
be in place. The Nigeria Police, which is the first point
of security, is in a terrible mess. These are
underlining critical requirement for national
productivity. The idea of depending on other people to
feed ourselves is one indication that no matter the
number of private jets we buy, we are still very poor.
We need to contribute significantly to feeding
ourselves. The country needs the right education for
brighter future. The fact is that there are a lot of
emergencies in all the sectors.”
The structure of change must be defined – Ladipo
Johnson, legal practitioner
“The type of leadership he will be providing will
dictate the level of his success. He needs to stabilize
the country as quickly as possible. The structure of the
real change we are clamouring for should be
established. People must be accountable. Although it
is usually very difficult to get result in the first 100
days, he can set good examples. Once that is done,
Nigerians’ orientation will change; civil servants and
politicians will know that it is not business as usual.
But until he gets there, he wouldn’t know those
priorities begging for attention.”
Expose the rot in governance – Paul Okoroafor, lawyer
“We believe President Buhari is highly disciplined.
Now is the time to prove it. As a democratic
president, we are looking forward to having a
transparent government. There must be enforcement
and implementation of policies. We expect that he will
be able to expose some of the rot in the power sector.
We pay so much yet we don’t have light. He should
check why there is total darkness in the country.”
We need good road network – Foster Nwosu,
businessman
“I am afraid that the Nigerian system may discourage
him from being transparent. I will like him to work
on electricity. I believe that if there is light, Nigerians
will survive. He should also create an environment
where our young people can explore different job
opportunities. We need good road network as well.”
End fuel problem – Emma Okechukwu, trader
“We are hoping that as soon as he is sworn-in, fuel
problem will be a thing of the past, hopefully paying
for fuel at the rate of N87 per litre. And we also hope
there will be constant light.”
Change must manifest – Emmanuel Anyebe, scientist
“Change must manifest in every facet of the country,
especially power. We need light and it must be
permanent.”
He should end corruption – John Paul, surveyor
“He is the sixth democratically elected president since
1960 and we thank God for having a man like him at
this time. He is a man we all know for his zero
tolerance for corruption and he also has a very good
military experience. Right now, he is the right man
both for his experience and also for his fight against
corruption. I want him to end corruption and
insurgency. The incoming government should draw up
policies that would alleviate poverty in the country.
Buhari should cut down the cost of governance
because it is killing this country.”
My expectations are high – Ugochukwu Alaeto,
motorist
“My expectations are high. I expect that fuel scarcity
and epileptic power supply will be addressed. We are
waiting for the change he promised during his
campaign.”
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[VANGUARD]
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