Buhari was contesting for the nation’s number one seat against a familiar opponent at the 2015 presidential election, that is former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who defeated him at the 2011 presidential poll.
The 2015 elections came and went, and Buhari had the last laugh.
Fast-forward to almost a year in office now, Buhari could have received accolades regarding decimating the Boko Haram insurgents, the former terror in the Northeastern part of the country, but there are some other urgent national issues he has not handled to the satisfaction of many Nigerians.
Solving some of the issues highlighted below are germane to the growth and development of Nigeria.
1. Calming the frayed nerves of Biafra agitators
Ever since the director of Radio Biafra, and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu was arrested by the federal government for charges bordering on threat to the nation’s existence, the South-East have been boiling. Although, no president, who was popularly elected by his citizens, will folds his arms or stand at akimbo, and let the country disintegrate under his belt.
President Buhari should know that lack of basic infrastructure and poor leadership are some of the reasons for the agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra.
2. Holistically tackling corruption and corrupt practices
The fear factor in Buhari’s name seems to be fizzling out at a fast rate. When Buhari was sworn in, many civil servants sat up and were afraid to perpetrate corrupt practices. However presently, Buhari being the president has not stopped civil servants from collecting kickbacks and bribes, when someone goes to the ministries, departments and agencies for something important. Even the law enforcement agencies like the police, FRSC, still collect tips from motorists.
3. Arresting the incessant fuel scarcity
It is really sickening for a nation like Nigeria to suffer in the midst of abundance. Nigeria’s case is about suffering and smiling, as the late Fela Anikulapo sang in one of his hit songs.
What’s really wrong with the downstream sector of the petroleum industry? The current fuel scarcity is now more than three months. Nigeria is one of the top 10 producers of crude oil in the world. In spite of all these, Nigerians pass through the furnace to get what is theirs.
4. Ensuring foreign exchange policies favour stability of naira against the dollar at the parallel market
When Buhari was the military Head of State between December 30, 1983 and August 26, 1985, he ensured the naira and the dollar were exchanged at almost the same rate. However, the exchange rate for the dollar at the parallel exchange market now is nothing to write home about. This has made the prices of almost all goods and commodities hit the roof. A sachet of pure water, which was N5before is now sold at N10, due to the increase in prices of all materials used to produce the water.
5. Rescuing the Chibok girls
April 14 of this year made it exactly two years that the Chibok girls were reportedly kidnapped by Boko Haram sect. Rescuing the innocent girls was one of the things President Buhari promised Nigerians. It is now more than 11 months that Buhari became president, yet no sign that the girls will be rescued alive by the present government.
President Buhari said he will not be discouraged to rescue the
future of the children, who are victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in
Northern Nigeria, despite their huge numbers. He said this necessitated
the need for data collation on the internally displaced children. The
future of the rescued children from the pangs of the terrorists should
be well secured.
6. Stemming the tide of kidnapping/abductionMany high profile abductions have occurred since last year. It was just on Wednesday, May 4 that Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, a former minister of education was rescued by the Nigerian police after spending some days in the hands of her abductors.
It should be recalled that the national leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and one time presidential candidate, Chief Olu Falae, was also kidnapped before he was reportedly to have paid some ransom running into millions of naira to his abductors.
So many people have been kidnapped, with some hostages losing their life before help came their way. This is one of the things that made the Senate to pass a law of death sentence on whoever is culpable of abducting another person.
7. Sending those found to be corrupt to prison and confiscating their stolen assets
So many politicians have been indicted of stealing from the nation’s coffer, but none has really been made to face the full wrath of the law. It is so sad to see an allegedly corrupt individual going to places of worship to give thanks. From Dasukigate to Ekitigate to Panama Paper, and so many other corruption issues, nothing has really happened to the corrupt individuals under Buhari’s tenure.
8. Providing a practicable solution to epileptic power supply
A country like Ghana has celebrated a whole year of uninterrupted electricity before. But this is not the case in Nigeria, where almost every household has a generating set, even if it is the popular ‘I better pass my neighbour’ generator. Pollution is everywhere killing the people and nothing is being done about this. Babatunde Raji Fashola, minister of powers, works and housing, take note of this and do something to arrest the ugly situation now.
9. Drawing a clear cut road-map to revive the economy
So much concerns have been raised by experts regarding the economy. It is believed that the economy is not heading in the right direction. As of February this year, Nigeria’s economy recorded one of the highest inflation rate of over 11% in recent years. This does not augur well at all for the common man. The simple multiplier effect is hike in prices of goods and services.
10. Reducing hunger/employment/poverty
Jobs are being created, but will these jobs assuage the hunger in the land? There should be mass employment, not just asking millions of the teeming youths to apply for jobs meant for only 10,000 people.
Source:Naij
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