As I asked him what he thought about the recent appointments made by President Buhari thus far, my barber glared at me with a cross between disdain and Fury. Boss, he said, I swear nothing concern me and appointments as you dey see me so(For me though, I know that in the end, we’d have federal character and competence as has been assured by Mr President- A win- win for Nigeria and Nigerians).
Baba , he continued, it is a giving that my daughter’s school fees would be paid with no hassles when they resume this September. You can’t imagine how much I have saved from not having to fuel my generator for the past three to four months. I have not had it this good! I pray this trend continues so life can be easy for me ,Otitan.
Believe it or not, this is the general feeling across the country. I have always said that with constant power supply, at least 50% of the problems facing this country would be solved. The effect the stability of electricity has brought to Nigeria has had a positive effect on both the rich and the poor.
Like it or not, we have the emergence of the no nonsense President Buhari to thank. This new honcho emerged, and everybody just whipped into line. You see in Nigeria, most people know what is right and have the capability to do same, but when impunity reigns from the top, when the body language of the honcho is uncircumspect, scoundrelism reigns, period. This new Honcho made it clear that malfeasance is a no no from the get go and everybody understood and conformed.
As regards the appointments, I’d say we have been too quick to judge. I’d appeal that we wait till all the appointments are made before we begin to make conclusions. This President I believe is putting the right pegs in the right holes. How I know? I had an issue with only one of the appointments, that of Hamid Ali as the head of customs because I thought it would discourage career officers until I had a discussion recently with a friend who is in that system.
The noisomeness that goes on there according to this fellow is killing. The stench starts right from the top and it is easier for a camel to pass through the eyes of a needle than finding an upright person in the rank and file of the honchos there. This is not me talking folks! Some of them like the fact that a no nonsense outsider has been brought to head that sector. It is believed Colonel Ali would come clean that stable in no time and leave.
Not long ago, the four refineries we had were on their knees and all of a sudden they are on the mend. Coincidence? I hear tales of turn around maintenance done by the previous administration being the reason for the sudden resurgence of our refineries. That, brethren is a lie from the pit of hell and here is why. With the sleaze around allocation of crude to these refineries as well as that around crude swap, there is nothing a million turn around maintenance could have done.
The feculence of the previous administration was legendary! Again, the no nonsense Honcho we have today has made everybody conform. Finally a president we can trust and believe.
At last, President Buhari has declared his assets and from what we’ve seen, there is no disputing the fact that we have a modest man at the helm. A man who is not greedy. This is a huge breakaway from the norm. Not long ago there were those who did not give a damn about asset declaration. Today we have been blessed with someone who not only gives a damn, but is determined to make those who do not , do.
This country has been milked dry over the years and we the people have been left for dead. No one gave a damn about you and me, but today just look at what’s going on ala blockage of leakages. On this the CBN governor had this to say, “It is true that Mr President, based on his insistence that leakages must be blocked, there have been serious attempts to block leakages both in Naira and in dollars. Some funds have been trapped in banks and that is the reason there is a vigorous effort to ensure that we all embrace the Single Treasury Account where all revenues collected must come to the centre and after all the revenues have come to the centre, then based on the budget that has been approved for any agency of government, whatever is due to them to meet their operational expenses would be given.
“But first point is that all revenues must come to the centre. In the course of these, yes, I can confirm that there were leakages that have been blocked and as a result we have seen some funds trapped in some areas now coming into the center and that is part of the reason you see the reserves build up.” Need I add more? It’s never happened in this clime!
When President Buhari moved the command center of the military to the base of the Infidels-Boko Haram, I along with so many others thought it was a good move and knew from then on that we, in the end, will win this war. If you take a closer look, you’d realize that today there is a renewed effort against Boko Haram. You’d notice that the capability of our soldiers have been enhanced. You’d realize that finally there is an “added impetus and renewed vigour”, what with the recall and re-instatement of over 2000 soldiers who I believe were dismissed because they spoke up against the impunity in the then run-of-the-mill Military.
It’s just a hundred days Nigeria and to be honest there is this renewed feeling of hope. It is evident Nigeria is in capable hands and is headed in the right direction. At this rate, something tells me that in the end we’d beg baba to run for presidency again after four years. Whether he accepts is matter of discussion for another day but for now, keep calm and let Baba.
Chiechefulam Ikebuiro
@thalynxis
Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its assocaites
