Amidst the celebration and jubilation occasioned by the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari it is imperative that we do not lose sight of the enormous task ahead. The process of restoring Nigeria back on the path of peace and progress has started. Winning an election is an easier task when compared to what it takes to govern a ‘complex’ country like Nigeria.

The president-elect got an early taste of the tough road ahead when he survived an attempted assassination on the 22nd of July 2014 in Kaduna State. It is my very hope that the APC government will meet the yearnings and aspirations of most Nigerians who have suffered untold hardship for 16 years under the PDP. If they however fail to perform contrary to widely held beliefs the year 2019 is just around the corner- the same political tsunami that swept Goodluck Jonathan away might visit him too. Nigerian voters are now armed with the weapon to quietly remove a non performing government. It is therefore imperative that Nigerians guard the permanent voters card(PVC) jealously and keep it very safe. I do not envy anyone who is opportuned to govern this great nation at this time. The ship of the Nigerian state has been run aground by the outgoing government thus the incoming government has a lot of work to do . I would want the President-elect to pay close attention to some of the issues listed below.

Public Service Reform 
The public service is the life line of the government.As an institution the public service plays an important role in ensuring that government policies are effected to result in tangible services for the good of the population. In fact,without an effective public service the programmes of the government is useless.The Nigerian public service is already in a precarious situation.Today the service is enmeshed in myriads of problems including weak governance structures, waste, corruption and poor productivity. The public service must be earnestly turned into a gear box to drive wealth creation and development in Nigeria, it must also be transformed into one that no longer suffers from obsolescence, lethargy and lack of enthusiasm in carrying out government policies and programmes. The public service reform must be made to facilitate the much needed economic revolution where the organised private sector has access to the tools and amenities for regaining its position as an engine of economic growth.Nigeria at this point in time needs to introduce efficiency and effectiveness in managing its own affairs,including attending to the need of eliminating wastage and using resources prudently. Civil servants must now be rewarded, patronized  and promoted based on merit and not on their real or perceived political affiliations.The Buhari government should implement some of these recommendations in good faith bearing it in mind that no nation can develop beyond the capacity of its public service.

Prudent Spending 
Not every project initiated by government has a positive impact on the people.Most projects are executed based on ethnic or religious sentiments and as such does not improve the living standard of the masses.Even though majority of right thinking Nigerians have applauded the decision to make use of the biometric card reader(s) for the elections, but many will agree that we already have the biometric datas of most Nigerians for the national identity cards(ID) , the International passports, the drivers’ licences, bank verification numbers (BVN) , and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards. An effective harmonization of the datas collected in each of the cases outlined above would have saved the nation millions of dollars which can then be channeled into other productive ventures .The vast amount of tax payers money that has been spent to produce a National Identity card for Nigerians is not only mind boggling but it also brings to the fore the need for effective planning and prudent management of scare resources.The project first cost the nation $16 million during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria also lost another N115 Million during the tenure of Alhaji Shehu Shagari , fast forward to 2003 Nigeria yet again lost $214 Million (approximately N38 billion) when the contract was awarded to Sagem-a French company.Not done with their competition on who best can waste our oil money the government of Goodluck Jonathan appropriated a  whooping N30 billion in the 2012 budget for a new identity management system.This is the mess that our leaders make us go through  because of their seeming inability to see beyond their nose .The General Muhammadu Buhari government will do itself a lot of good if it can avoid some of these pit falls. Government should only execute programmes that have a direct bearing on we Nigerians-enough of white elephant projects.Governance is not rocket science;we only need common sense and effective foresight-but common sense seems not to be common in this 21st century.

Reform the Pension Industry 
It is the dream of every worker to achieve a secure and comfortable retirement. It is therefore important that the incoming government takes seriously the process of reforming the Nigerian pension industry and attending to issues that may have been identified.The guaranteed minimum pension must be implemented to the latter,states must also be encouraged to join the contributory pension scheme (CPS)  established by the Pension Reform Act 2004, Pension Fund administrators (PFAs) should also be made to massively invest in training of their employees.

Tackle Nigeria’s health care challenges 
The president-elect must as a matter of national urgency ensure that tertiary hospitals can adequately provide the desperately needed healthcare at the level expected of it.Over the years Nigerias health sector has been plagued with incessant strikes by professionals most especially the doctors who daily complain of lack of ample equipment,poor renumeration and manpower training that falls short of acceptable international standard.The country may be losing billions of naira yearly to Europe,South-Africa and India as Nigerians seek solutions to their medical problems in other countries.The national health bill which was passed by the National Assembly in 2014 has largely failed to address all the issues that are plauging the health sector in Nigeria.The National Health Insurance Scheme is one means through which government can incorporate individuals and families-especially people in the organised private sector so that majority of Nigerians can have access to better healthcare.No effort must be spared by the incoming government to salvage the situation.

@ola_dim

VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE SOLELY AUTHOR’S…