THE HONEY MOON IS OVER, BRING THE MAGIC WAND PRESIDENT BUHARI! Femi Ojo

Photo credit to newtelegraphonline

It is five months of absence of federal executive cabinet, a situation that has put the nation in state of obscurity concerning government’s policy direction. The President has made enough noise on his position on corruption and Nigerians have seen him make some moves to bring some alleged corrupt politicians to book, though nothing has drastically changed in the polity. The ministerial nominees have been screened and we have rumor going round that the President has attached portfolios to some of these successful minister designates. The economy is in shambles, the nation is broke and the private sector of the economy is patiently waiting for the new administration to hit the ground running and show the nation its economy policy thrust. Everyone is waiting even the political contractors are waiting for the magic wand that the ruling party has for economy turn around!

Indeed the first five months of Mr. Buhari’s administration has been characterized with mixed feelings across the country… it has been a mixture of shambolic state of the nation’s economy due to  absence of clear-cut economic policy, early anti-corruption crusade and his globetrotting in search of international support for Nigeria in the comity of nations.  The dramatization in routine appointments and the slow but methodological approach to governance, all these and many others characterized the first five months of Mr. Buhari’s administration.

 Now that the dramatization on ministerial nominees is over, it is indeed time for Mr. Buhari to bring on the magic wand to governance. Nigerians are eagerly waiting for the political miracle that the new administration will bring on the declining economy. The truth is, the economy is bad right now and the slow action of the new administration in tackling this, besides the comatose nature in which the economy was inherited has worsen the situation. The value of naira within this period has declined, the unemployment rate in the country has gone up, new investors are holding back and vast majority of private companies are barely surviving, the security challenges are still there, no thanks to the slow pace and lack of clear-cut economic policy of this administration.

The expectation that Nigerians had of Mr. Buhari shortly after the election was that Mr. President would hit the ground running immediately but this expectation is yet to be met. Nigerians are weary of the slow economic growth due to the absence of ministers that have left the coordination of importance policies in ministries, departments and agencies in tatters. The President have been on political honey moon for too long and indeed it is time for him to start acting with his new ministerial nominees already approved by the Senate.

The methodological approach to governance that Mr. Buhari has opined as part of the change mantra is good but the slow motion which this is being perceived is dangerous. The Senate has screened his nominees and subsequently approved them, Nigerians already have the rumor that these ministerial designates have been given portfolio yet the President is still a little bit slow  to let these characters resume duty and bring on the magic wand.

The first magic wand expected of Mr. President is how to stimulate the economy for rapid growth. The incoming economic team of Mr. President has gotten a lot of headache, the first task is, how this team will revive the economy that is on a downward trend. What Nigeria needs now is a sound economic team that will be made up of men and women who can think strategically, subject international economic models to the logic of our internal dynamism and fashion out workable ways of generating revenue from other sectors apart from the oil. Diversification is the way, hanging on solely on oil economy is no longer fashionable in this century!

As the nation awaits Mr. Buhari to inaugurate his cabinets perhaps later this week, our hope is that the incoming ministers will complement the efforts of the President and help fashion out a clear-cut policy direction for this administration. It is also hoped that as we approach the end of the last quarter of the year, the incoming cabinets and indeed Mr. President will give Nigerians hope to face the coming New Year!