The incoming president-elect’s administration faces an uphill task of reuniting a divided Nigeria after further dividing it. There is a general belief among the populace that Nigeria has never been so divided as it is under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President in his nearly 8 years in office seems to have ignored the diversity of the country. The country comprises multi-ethnic groups in the North and the South. The division also goes against the Constitution which recognised this diversity and enacted the Federal Character Commission Act.
According to public records, the Southeast and South-South have marginal representation in the Buhari government, while the North takes the majority of the appointments. Statistics available show that the North West, the zone of the President, had the highest number of appointments in the outgoing government.
The outgoing administration also appeared to have taken sides. It turned a blind eye or sympathised with a section of the elements who go about killing, raping, maiming innocent citizens and destroying the farmlands of their victims.
Buhari once said that had he not joined the armed forces, he would have simply settled as a cattle rearer. This could be interpreted differently by anybody. Nigerians have begun to question the ability of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to unite a system that has been so highly polarized. Largely to the scary extent that citizens could boldly stop their fellow citizens from voting during elections because they belong to one ethnic group or another.
There is a lot the incoming administration of Ahmed Tinubu could do to unite the country.
To reunite Nigeria and correct some of the damaging mistakes of the Buhari administration, DAILY POST considers six (7) things the President-elect should be willing to do.
Support South-East Senate Presidency
Tinubu should support the South East to produce the President of the 10th Senate. Tinubu ran and won the election on a platform that did not see anything wrong in the same faith ticket.
Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba Muslim and Kashim Shettima, a Muslim from the North East, will be pioneering the affairs of the country from May 29. For equity and fairness, a Christian from the South East should be supported to become the country’s number 3 citizen. This will give the South East a sense of belonging in the incoming administration.
Reconciliation
In order to fulfil his campaign promise of being the President of all Nigerians no matter their political affiliations, religion or ethnicity, the president-elect should, through words and actions, reconcile the aggrieved section of the society, especially the youths, who are large of the opinion that their mandate was stolen.
Immediately after the February 25 elections, Tinubu was reported to have set up committees to reconcile his camp with his challengers who lost to him in the presidential election, such as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
The committees, comprising elders of the APC, are meant to begin to meet with co-contestants of the President-elect in a bid to assuage feelings. Tinubu should be able to go ahead with the reconciliation even after the Supreme Court might have ruled in his favour in cases filed by the other contestants.
In the speech he delivered shortly after he was declared the winner of the presidential election, Tinubu extended a hand of fellowship to the supporters of his opponents in the election.
Shed-off Baggages
Some of the aides of the president-elect are not helping matters in terms of calming the situation after the presidential election. Nigeria cannot be united in a situation some of the president-elect’s aides continue to generate unnecessary tension. At this point, there should be people trying to douse the situation and bring calmness. People who express their opinions about the election should not automatically become enemies. They shouldn’t called all sorts of foul and disparaging names. This country afterall operates a democracy.
The activities of some of the aides on social media have only added insult on top of injury. For instance, the likes of former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode and the current Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo. They have turned themselves into attack dogs for the incoming administration, as opposed to doing their actual duties. Their antics have not helped matters since the Presidential election. Furthermore, their constant clashes with the Obidients and supporters of the Labour Party are generating undue tension. Notably, Fani-Kayode and Keyamo are not alone in this as Bayo Onanuga also needs to act presidentially.
Spread Major Works of Development
The Buhari administration has been heavily criticized for being sectional the incoming administration should not toe such a path. All the infrastructural development plans of the president-elect, as contained in his manifesto, should include every part of Nigeria. They should be equally distributed be it the places he received just 5% of votes or in those places he got more votes. This will make the people see him as the unifier he has promised to be. So, it behoves the president-elect, to spread his major works of development across the country. It would spell national doom if he focuses on only the places he won the election.
Balanced Appointment
The outgoing administration that allegedly sees some sections of Nigeria as better than others. Especially in terms of appointments into key positions including positions in security services and management. The incoming government can try toi rectify this anomaly. They give every part of the country a sense of belonging. The Presidency has maintained that the decision to appoint or sack Service Chiefs and other officials was the President’s prerogative. Nigerians however, will feel more secure in their country knowing that their interests are well protected.
Youth-Friendly Policies
The incoming government should put in place youth-friendly policies that could help solve the ‘japa syndrome’. The incoming government should make Nigerians stay in their country and bridge the divide.
There has been a significant increase in the number of Nigerians migrating to the global West. When given the opportunity, 7 out of 10 Nigerians would leave the country in search of a better living. Among the youths, the number is higher. This data is according to a survey by the Africa Polling Institute.
Many youths are dumping their country because of few employment opportunities and rising insecurity. This is asides the hardship and hunger in the hopes of more viable prospects abroad.
A report from the National Bureau of Statistics (2020) said that youth unemployment for those aged 15-34 is at 42.5%. The youth underemployment rate is currently at 21.6 per cent. And this figure has sky-rocketed in 2023.
cc: Daily Post Ng
