NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT

There's no gainsaying the fact that the tears of sorrow that will flow down the cheeks of 170 million Nigerians tomorrow will not stem from a feeling of grief being felt by the departure of the Jonathan administration. Those tears will emanate from the sense of betrayal meted out to Nigerians by an accomplished demagogue; and the ruthless vandalism of the Nigerian State by a sot that Nigerians had the greatest misfortune to have had as a President. If anyone thinks this is a denigration of a decent man's character, I daresay such an individual is deserving of even more scorn than Jonathan.

It is no use trying to highlight his failings, for they would fill a whole book! What is of pertinence to me at this juncture in our national history is the autopsy of this deceased government, learn lessons from it and ponder the ramifications of this misrule for the immediate, medium- and long-term survival of our country. Nigerians have gone through six sad and disastrous years, and not a single one of us ever saw it coming! We just basically shot ourselves in the foot, and the resulting limp will surely last even longer. We were attacked in every way with impunity and we just rode with it. As luck would have it, Jonathan was unceremoniously shoved out of power, thereby redeeming ourselves and generations yet unborn. It's no doubt that keeping Jonathan in power would have amounted to a collective seppuku and Nigeria as we know it would have been history. For the mere reason that we didn't shoot ourselves in the back, we should pat ourselves on the back. We were taught uncountable lessons in failure by the most callous, infernally corrupt and murderous leader since Abacha. Hundreds of thousands have been sent to their early graves as a direct result of sheer incompetence, unparalleled greed,  and an unprecedented level of corruption. Now that his end has come, the vast majority of those that collaborated with him in bringing utter destruction on our economy and general well-being, and a shame on our country, have all but deserted him. Still, we should be thankful that even though Nigeria is on its knees, it's not on its back. I shall not waste my, or the readers', time any further by looking back on those six inglorious years presided over by that infamous milksop. However, a befitting epitaph every Nigerian should write on the grave of the Jonathan misrule should certainly be: "Nemo me impune lacessit" ("No one attacks me with impunity". It is the national motto of Scotland and it is of particular resonance here)
We need to move on to the here and now. Buhari and his administration have an unenviable and onerous task of putting the pieces back together. Nigerians know this is going to be a rough ride to where we ought to be, and the navigation is surely going to be stormy. Nigeria, at this point in time, is a shambles. As I indicated in my video broadcast last week (https://www.facebook.com/iolarewaju/videos/10153844510259112/?l=1570642130410036759), President Buhari's first test will be the configuration of his cabinet; round pegs must be put in round holes. Eagerness to assuage political egos must not supersede competence to perform. President Buhari must realize very early on that Nigerians didn't put him in office to massage egos, and we expect our interests to override any other. Our interests are very clear and precise, and we shall entertain no excuse for failing to meet our expectations. Make no mistake, at the top of our expectations is the clawing back of stolen funds stashed away locally and expatriating those stashed away abroad. No corrupt individual should get away with whatever they have so brazenly stolen from Nigerians. We simply would not forgive if Buhari and his government failed in this regard. 
There's rumour doing the rounds that Goodluck has challenged Buhari to probe not only his administration but also the ones before it. This clearly is desperation on the part of a man who failed Nigerians so badly, and single-handedly destroyed the lives of so many. He should be made to account for the mess that he created, and it's his problem if he failed to probe the administrations before his. This odious man is clutching at straws and he must be made to pay. Sanity must be brought back into public life and there should be no hiding place for thieves in government.
Our demands are simple and can be broken down into ten actionable items:

• Bring corrupt individuals to book and claw back as much stolen funds as possible;
• Put individuals of impeccable character and competence in charge of ministries, departments and parastatals;
• Restructure the EFCC and ICPC. Strengthen their powers and set up special courts to expeditiously try indicted individuals. The era of dragging cases through the courts and wasting valuable time and resources should be declared over;
• Reform the NNPC as a matter of urgency and the $20 billion saga resolved. In the same vein, the oil subsidy scam should be thoroughly investigated and the scammers brought to book, while all dubiously awarded oil blocks should be revoked. A programme of resuscitating all of our mothballed oil refineries must be put in place;
• Probe the administration of, and disbursements from, the ECA; 
• The manner in which the defunct NEPA was 'privatized' should be revisited and prompt remedial actions that would benefit Nigerians taken. All Gencos and Discos thoroughly vetted so that seemingly intractable issue of power supply may be effectively tackled;
• The cost of governance must be tackled with vigour, as the current level is not only unsustainable, but also unreasonable, indefensible and patently unfair;
• Embark upon the restructuring of all of our security forces and make them fit for purpose and rethink the war against Boko Haram and other insurgencies;
• NDDC has to be dismantled and reconstituted to stop it being used as a cash-point for militants and miscreants;
• Finally, sanitize the judiciary and make errant judges pay for their venality.

These are the contents of Buhari's in-tray. They encapsulate his mantra of Change and I'm certain Nigerians are pragmatic enough to give him time, but not plenty of it; we are impatient for the manifestations of Change. As from tomorrow, President Buhari has to swing into action; the goodwill of Nigerians is not inexhaustible. You have been warned!!


I, along with the majority of Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora, wish President Buhari and his government God's speed as they embark upon this journey of rebuilding our great nation.
We will be with you but do not stray from us.
We have your back but do not turn your back on us.
We will challenge you from time to time but do not fob us off.
God bless the Republic Of Nigeria and its awesome people.    
   

ON THE BRINK OF CHANGE

(The transcripts of my earlier post today on my FaceBook Page) 

"I have consciously divided this appeal into 3 broad sections:

First of all, the generality of Nigerians

Secondly, the President-in-waiting, Muhammadu Buhari

And thirdly, the APC as the governing party.

Standing before you today, I have never been prouder to be a Nigerian. We Nigerians can stand with our heads held high that we defied all the doomsday scenarios and showed the world that when Nigerians really put their hearts to it, we succeed. The age-old spirit of One Nigeria was severely tested by unsavoury rhetoric salvos by depraved politicians’ attempts to split the common will of the people along tribal and religious lines. They failed, miserably, to exploit our tribal and religious sensibilities. I commend Nigerians for rising above those politically nonsensical manoeuvrings and made sure that, for the most part, our votes counted. We must not hesitate to thoroughly acknowledge the thoroughness with which the INEC and Professor Jega in particular, conducted the whole electoral process. Nigerians are highly indebted to them. It is probably only fair to note Jonathan’s readiness to concede defeat; he contributed in no little way to the calmness that followed after it became clear he had no chance in hell of beating Buhari. The vast majority of the security personnel also did their level best to keep the peace and maintain order in all areas of our country; we must be quick to offer our thanks to them. It is also incumbent on us to acknowledge and appreciate the support of the international community for their impartiality and steadfastness in their monitoring and reporting activities. We all succeeded together, and our collective faith in humanity greatly enhanced in the process.

Now that the dust has settled and the big issue of who will lead us for the next 4 years unambiguously decided, we must turn our focus to the even bigger malaise that threatens our nationhood. It is in this quest that I’d like to appeal to Nigerians to be even more vigilant than ever before; we may have won the battle, but the war rages on. The war, as we know, is multi-faceted. We have decided to be led by a proven general (for want of a better word) to lead us into the war, but we, as foot soldiers, also have our work cut out. For this war to be won, Buhari has to be ably supported and assisted so that we may have the moral right to hold him accountable, whenever necessary, for any lapse in policy direction, formulation and execution. Let’s make no mistake about it, most people voted for Buhari rather than the APC. The Buhari effect helped the APC enormously. Nigerians know that the PDP doesn’t have a monopoly on vile and corrupt people in its ranks; the APC can also boast its fair share. I seriously doubt if Buhari hadn’t been the APC’s Presidential candidate the APC would have won so convincingly. I’m sure many Nigerians share this humble opinion.

The malaise I alluded to is hydra-headed: the root causes of corruption are impunity and greed. When people realise that they would get away with anything, their proclivity for greed comes to the fore and a regime of corruption is entrenched. A lack of transparency and adequate oversight predispose politicians and officials to graft and insensitivity to the needs of the common people. We, as Nigerians, need to start exposing cases of corruption and not condone them as it hitherto has been our wont. For us to stamp out corruption we must disengage ourselves from the very act itself. Hypocrisy is never a great human attribute.

Our country is in dire straits. The outgoing Jonathan government has depleted our foreign reserves and plundered the ECA (Excess Crude Account); our foreign and local debt profiles have never been starker. The government has been borrowing heavily to even pay salaries!! Fuel scarcity is the order of the day as importers demand the payment of subsidy arrears; many State governments have been starved of allocations and in turn unable to fulfil their obligations. Things are not bad; they are unbelievably bad!! Most institutions have been heavily politicized and rendered useless. Think of the Police, the Army, the Navy, the EFCC, the ICPC, Ministries, Departments, and so on and so forth.

The 16 years of the PDP, and even more damagingly, the 6 years of Jonathan, have pushed our nation back decades and impoverished our people no end. In short, there’s no quick fix and it’s both unrealistic and unfair to expect miracles of Buhari and the incoming government. Studious and steady rebuilding process is required to gradually undo the damage that has been caused by years of PDP’s ineptitude and Jonathan’s weakness and reckless abandon of common sense.

Now, to the President-in-waiting, Muhammadu Buhari (as he wants to be known henceforth)

I have no doubt in my mind that you realize Nigerians would not entertain any excuses for failure in any area of our national life, be it in the guise of paucity of electricity supply, rampant unemployment, insecurity, Boko Haram or any other form of insurgency, infrastructural decay and corruption. Nigerians have suffered long and hard and the hope for a respite was what we voted for and it is what we expect. You’re not an ‘accidental’ President; you have been preparing for this for longer than anyone cares to remember. Nigerians shared your frustrations and we showed that by giving you the mandate to begin to bring succour to our long-suffering people. We don’t expect miracles to happen, but we expect serious action from your Day One in office. We will be watching you closely and any failures by any of your Ministers will be your failure and any act of corruption committed by them will be attributed to you. The hope of 170 million Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora rests on your shoulders. One very important thing you must note: Nigerians expect you, more than anything else, to claw back our stolen funds. Looters of our commonwealth should not go unpunished and EFCC must be restructured, strengthened and empowered to carry out its tasks without fear or favour. A special court must be set up to deal with corruption cases so that they don’t drag on for years with no resolution. Corrupt people must know that the era of impunity is over and that they will be hunted down and not only made to pay back whatever they have stolen, but go to prison for a very long time. We don’t only expect you to step on toes; we demand that you smash toes and cut them off, for good measure. The NNPC has to be paid a very special attention and all the monies missing clawed back and the culprits, no matter who they may be, severely punished. The 20-billion-dollar question must be answered without delay.

For us to have your back, you must show unambiguous determination to cure all of our national ills and the readiness to bring forth that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. We will give you time, but not plenty of it. Your promise of Change is like an albatross round your neck, and we will hold you to that promise. To assist you enormously in the challenges ahead, you’d need to put round pegs in round holes: people of proven ability and character have to populate your team. Attention to political patronage at the expense of professional pedigree would be a misstep.

You have a golden opportunity to leave a lasting legacy of change, hope and prosperity. As the 29^th of May 2015 draws ever closer, I, along with all Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora, wish you well. We wish you God’s guidance as you embark on this journey of our nation’s revival.

Now, to the APC, the governing party-in-waiting. The mistakes of the PDP have to be good enough lessons for you to learn from. The transitory nature of power ought to guide your conduct in office. Your party is in office, not in power. Power belongs to the people. The APC has to be a template for good governance at all levels of government and make Nigerians in every region its focus of attention. No part of Nigeria should be considered hostile. Nigerians are watching you closely, and party discipline is a very close guide to government discipline. Do not take the mandate given to you by Nigerians for granted. Nigerians expect you to work with the government very closely in making sure the letters of your manifesto are adhered to. Finally, one burning desire of Nigerians is to drastically reduce the cost of governance. Your push in that direction would endear you no end to Nigerians. A situation where the legislature is allocated more than the budget of any of 25 states of the country is inexcusable, unsustainable and patently unfair. Nigeria and Nigerians expect.

Thank you for listening. God bless the Federal Republic Of Nigeria and its awesome people."         

ABOVE AND BELOW

With a little over three weeks before the commencement of Buhari's incumbency, the scramble for ministerial positions is gathering pace. While the jostling is not an alien phenomenon in the current context, the incoming Buhari government would do well not to take off on a wobbly note. What has escaped the attention, or rather the observation, of many is that Buhari has the distinct advantage of being the most prepared President in this current political dispensation. After all, he has been fighting for much of the last sixteen years to be where he is today, and boy, has he earned it! The biggest battle of his political career has now only just begun: he has to translate his preparedness into immediate manifestation of his long-held ideas. He also has to stamp his authority on the configuration of his Executive cabinet, and to show Nigerians that he is going to be his own man. Buhari has to realise (if he hasn't already) that Nigerians are impatient and that he has little time to convince us that we made the right choice. Right now, time is his main enemy; other considerations pale into insignificance. We voted for change and change must begin in earnest; there should be no excuses and no flip-flopping; Buhari must be on the front foot right from the off, which is why Nigerians are waiting to see those whom he would appoint to run the most important offices of State.
It is pleasing and most heart-warming to note that he has pledged to trim the size of government, but we expect individuals with proven expertise and experience in their respective professional careers to populate the Cabinet so that visible and palpable change could be brought to bear in double-quick time. Were Buhari to shun the political shenanigans that characterized much of the last sixteen years, he would be adjudged to have lived up to his reputation as being indifferent to patronage and intolerant of corruption at whatever level. Hence, the need for a high-calibre Ministerial configuration cannot be over-emphasized. Even though the so-called Federal Character (as espoused by the Constitution) has to be applied, the need for such compliance must not take undue precedence over the absolute need for unimpeachable characters running the affairs of State. Besides, there is no part of Nigeria that such people could not be found, and party affiliation should be treated with utmost care.
Almost every government institution has been destroyed by successive governments, but none more so by the Jonathan administration. The Army, the Navy, the Nigeria Police, the EFCC, the ICPC, the Judiciary, and so on, have been so politicized that they have lost their way and abdicated their constitutional essence. The NNPC has become a cash-point and a cash cow for the political elite for many a year. The NDDC is just a sick and costly joke, with trillions of Naira disappearing into criminals' bank accounts. These are areas that Nigerians need, and demand, immediate wholesale changes. No ifs or buts. All of these institutions must be totally rejiggered without much ado so that Nigerians may begin to rebuild confidence in these areas that directly impact their lives. Nigerians want their stolen monies returned and the recovered funds be expended to reverse the unprecedented infrastructural decay that has bedevilled our nation in recent years. All convicted thieves have to be brought to book in strict accordance with extant laws, without fear or favour. No Nigerian should be ABOVE the law, and no Nigerian should be BELOW it. Equal application of the law and non-selective compliance with it is the bedrock of a decent, just and equitable society. That is what Buhari should aspire to make his legacy, and Nigerians expect, and deserve, no less.
Nigerians hope that May 29, 2015 will usher in an era of verdure in our country, and much of that hope rests squarely on Buhari's shoulders. I sincerely wish Buhari well, and I sincerely hope that Nigerians would feel justified in reposing their trust in him.