Tasks before Buhari-

By Bisi Olominu
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The celebration is now ended the drums lay quiet,silent,waiting.

And the dancers disperse ,walking with feet that have known many dances waiting for the next; walking with their hearts climbing up their feet”, Gabriel Okara

The apprehension and tension that enveloped Nigeria as a nation over the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections seem to have died dying down. Now, President Mohammadu Buhari had been given his letter of returns as the president-elect of the country.

The dust of the election has settled down, the euphoria of the election has gone, it is now time for real action.

The second term syndrome has become a public discourse in the country as some believe that most people elected don’t perform again to the optimum during this period.

But president Buhari has promised in his acceptance speech to focus more on corruption, the economy and in security. These are good but Buhari should do more for the fifteen million people that voted for him on February 23,2019.

The country is sharply divided along the ethnic line, and it is of note that it was not like this before. As a father figure in the country and as the president of Nigeria, he should concentrate more on things that divide the country, try as much as possible to bring all the ethnic groups together and let all Nigerians see themselves as one.

It was so glaring in the last presidential election that people voted along ethnic line, this portend grave danger for the country. All Nigerians must see themselves as Nigerians before mentioning being Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa. The president elect should urgently see to this issue and unite the entire country.

Adding to this is the issue of insecurity. Yes, the president has done his bit on this, but it is not enough. Spilling of innocent blood continues in the country on daily basis, the president should see this as a main priority that should be stopped during his second term. Killings are going on in the North east and pocket of killings in most states, this is the time to synergize with the state governors and put an end to this barbaric behaviours.

The issue of Book Haram and herdsmen menace that was causing untold hardship and wanton destruction in the land must be pursued with great vigour. The case of those girls kidnapped by the book haram must be a priority to the president. This has become a dent on the image of the country, the military must be fortified with the latest military wares to confront this evil plot against the country. The president is doing much on security, but he can do more to subdue this holocaust against Nigeria.’

President Mohammadu Buhari has been accused of shielding the Fulani herdsmen killing people in the country, this is the time for him to be decisive and deal with the menace posed by this marauders sniffing out lives our of innocent Nigerians.

He has said that we must kill corruption in the country before it kills us. The president should intensify all his effort to tackle this menace in the country. The way money is being frittered away in the country is alarming, this he must tackle to serve as deterrent to others. He should concentrate on the civil service this time around and tackle the menace where some privileged civil servants balkanised our Commonwealth for their selfish reasons. The process whereby a civil servant  earning #500,000 monthly having #500million or more than that in the account and fleet of cars and several estates to his name should be investigated and anyone of them caught should be prosecuted. Civil service is rotten and the time has come to sanitize the system.

The President has expressed his view to give priority to women and youths in his government. This is a good vision, for it is a known fact that youths and women constitute about 80percent of the population and we have an intelligent, adept and people who can turn the fortune of this country around within them. It is high time for the president to look for the best within this group and appoint them to change the fortune of the country. All the old guards in the government should be dispensed. This is ICT period, most of the old guards don’t know much about the trend in ICT, so those with the knowledge should be given the opportunity to transform the country.

Adding to this is that the president has said that only intelligent people will be his ministers in his second term. They should be search out within and outside the country to turn around the country’s economy and fortune. Many Nigerians are really shaking the world, the best out of them should be invited to help in this trying period.

Indiscipline within the All Progressives Congress, APC, must be looked into by the president during his second term in office. The process whereby some within the party are working against the party’s interest is worrisome and demeaning. There should be party loyalty and discipline should be maintained. Lack of unity nearly killed the party as it could not move the country forward. While the president is trying to stir the ship of the country in one direction, those members in the National Assembly are going in another direction. This should not be allowed to happen in the 9th assembly, members of the party must work in the right direction to move the country forward.

The country electoral law should be looked into critically and remodified. We have gone from snatching of ballots, thuggery and manipulation of results to vote buying. The country’s election is now see and buy, this must be eliminated, the electoral law must now include electronic voting. There should be a device in which the electorates can vote secretly without being molested, harassed and monitored by party agents during election.

The electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should be made really independent in the country. As the body is completing one election, it should start for the next one. The process where an election would be slated and postponed does not give good image to the country. The electoral body should be reformed and all necessary support to make the election umpire independent should be provided by the president.

INEC should be supported to conduct free, fair and credible election in the country and this president Mohammadu Buhari should look into in his second term in office.

This is the time for real action, reason the 15million Nigerians voted for President Buhari.