NOW THAT THE ELECTIONS ARE OVER… Femi Ojo

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The much awaited and hyped 2015 elections in Nigeria have come and now over. Our ethnic salesmen/women, political traders and religion merchants in political creed have gone back to their habitats. Political Posters are now being removed from our walls and some section of the media are smiling to the banks waiting for another election year.Those who promoted hates and divisions among us have faded away. The ones who predicted political doom and balkanization of our country were the first to acknowledge the great Nigerian spirit in all of us and they have since congratulated Nigerians for a job well done.  Losers and winners have been announced, Nigerian electorates are already waiting for the exit of the current administration on May 29^th, 2015 and the beginning of a new   government.  The expectation is very high, my country people have just exercised their political power and indeed, the world is waiting eagerly to experience something different, now that the elections are over!

It is not yet time to sleep or dance "Skelewu", the road ahead is not near but it is time for serious governance. There are plethora of issues that need urgent attention and these issues to a very large extent, influenced the voting pattern of Nigerians in the just concluded elections. The incoming administration under General Buhari indeed, has many issues to tackle. The cost of governance currently is killing and cutting down cost of governance across boards in all tiers and arms of government is something Nigerians are looking forward to. The incoming administration besides assuring Nigerians that the administration will tackle corruption needs to also reduce the cost of governance. The current parade of many useless political aides to our politicians, office holders where unbelievable salaries, allowances, pension and flabbergasting severance packages are paid to these characters must as a matter of fact be stopped. The incoming President, GMB, a man of example must further consolidate his exemplary image by firstly fighting corruption within. I will suggest that our new President should not allow persons with battered and corruptible image to come near overtly in his government. And for the ones who still believe that it is business as usual and fail to toe the part of change, Mr. President should not hesitate to make examples of them.

For so long in our contemporary democratic experience, Nigerians have seen a thin line between governance and political patronage, in fact, political patronage  more often than not has subsumed governance and our elected politicians have also failed to wisely separate these two concepts. In Buhari’s coming administration, Nigerians will like to see a situation whereby political patronage will be effectively managed and then separated from real governance. It is pretty difficult in any clime to avoid political patronage, this is because the events leading to elections in any democratic environment inevitably throw up people who invest in political industry by way of committing great financial and human resources to ensure that certain politician(s) win elective position(s) in exchange of future political patronage. Mindful of this fact therefore, a wise politician with altruistic spirit will manage this issue by establishing a clear separation between political patronage and governance. Our dear President-elect should as a matter of fact divorce governance from political patronage in his administration if truly Nigerians will feel and see the change that is currently the political mantra of Buhari’s electioneering campaign.

For the greatest number of the Nigerian people who have endured the hardship, uncaring governments at all levels, the unemployed, the devastated, the poor and the rich men/women alike whose lives are far from being called a decent one, it not time to sleep and rejoice, it is not time to say that since the elections are over and the supposed near-saint man (Buhari) has won the election, their troubles are over. No, this is the time for Nigerians to hold those who have campaigned and won these just concluded elections accountable by courageously making sure that the promises and manifestos that these politicians sold to the electorates are obeyed to the letter. The Nigerian people having massively showed their political power by determining the many outcomes of these elections must not go to sleep and allow the new crop of politicians that will govern in the next dispensation take us for granted anymore. Thus Nigerians people also have great responsibility to ensure that the horrible experiences of the past do not repeat itself in the coming administration.

Lastly, now that the elections are over, the incoming government amongst other things must ensure that the battered image of Nigeria as a country in the international community must be tackled. Nigerians in diaspora will only be proud of their Nigerianness if we had a government that is responsible and responsive to the plights of our people. Those who travel frequently abroad can tell one how embarrassing it has become to carry our green passports. The way Nigerians are subjected to humiliating screening at various international airports around the world is appalling and this is because of the serial failure of governance at home. Nigerian government in the next administration should value the lives of her citizen both home and abroad by the way and manner the coming administration will respond quickly to issues concerning many of our citizens home and abroad. Now that the elections are over, the President-elect and his political party must ensure that Nigerians experience for once, living decently like what is obtainable in other advanced climes and bring the long awaited sweetness in our polity!